The Arab Swimming Incident

Okay, I have a story that I’ve shared with many of you. It's a story about what really is right and wrong and what is perceived as right and wrong. I often think about the story and call it The Arab Swimming Incident –

A few months ago, while on a business trip on Dubai, I went to the pool for a swim after work. The only other people in the pool were these little Arab kids about five or six of them, water-wing age and a little older. Trouble already, you can see it coming.

While I was hanging out in the water, I noticed one of the kids was trying to teach himself to swim. He was flailing terribly but he was trying really hard. I mean he was just flailing! The other kids were playing with each other a little ways away.

I looked around for any parents but outside of lifeguards, no adults were around. After watching this kid for a while, it was more than I could stand. So against my better judgement, I went out to this swimmer kid and began teaching him some swimming basic.

As you can picture it, this required holding him while teaching him the basics. How to move his arms, kick his feet, breath etc.. This went on for a few minutes and we were making some good progress. As the other kids saw me, they wanted me to play too. Pretty soon, this turned from swimming lessons to full-on pool play. I was throwing the kids off my shoulders, having splash fights and normal pool roughhousing.

All of a sudden, I see this big Arab guy standing next to the pool with his hands on his hips. The guy was big, tall, wearing dark glasses and full-on Arab dress. He began shouting at us in Arabic. I mean he was shouting loudly and with much passion. My heart sank and I just knew I was about to go to jail…or worse. I imagined doing this back home in Katyland and the wrath that I would probably get from scared parents. But this is not Katyland and I don’t have the same level of rights that I would there.

The Arab dad yelled out more Arabic and then followed up with English language. What he was shouting was, “Raffi, listen carefully what the man is teaching you. He is teaching you how to swim”! He walked away just as quickly he appeared.

After I collected myself, we began our swimming lessons again.
I felt the way you feel after experiencing a really bad, near-miss traffic accident.

This incident really struck a chord with me and I’ve thought about it often. What gets me about this situation is that this is the way it should be.
So, there you go, now you know The Arab Swimming Incident.

Hamburgers in Hamburg.

...or, Valentines Day in Cardiff -

Walking the streets of Hamburg

13-Feb-2011 - Sunday: Depart Houston at 4:15PM for Cardiff, Wales. Arrive in Cardiff at 3:30PM (14-Feb) and set out to Saundersfoot. Alone, in UK rental car, driving from wrong side of the car, wrong side of the road and lanes that are the size of parking spaces.

Arrive at the St. Brides Hotel and Spa in Saundersfoot @ 6PM as the sun is going down. Have a lovely solo Valentines dinner with all the other couples. Need to get sleep.

Go to bed @ 10:30 - toss and turn - never sleep more than 1.5 hours at t a time.

Get up at 6AM

Have breakfast, review meeting agenda/notes. Leave hotel @ 8:30 - drive, get lost, arrive @ 9:45 at South Hook LNG Plant. Begin watching safety video and then begin meeting at 10AM.

Have lunch with the client in their on-site cafeteria, finish meeting and leave for Cardiff at 3PM.

Drive in miserable conditions for 120 miles, hit Cardiff at rush hour (dark, rainy, unfamiliar, wrong side of the road, jammed with traffic, ehhh).

Arrive at Marriott hotel at 7PM. Walk around the hotel, have a hamburger and a Stella, go to bed at 10:30PM. Sleep really well until the kids start rolling out of the pub outside my window. It is 1:15AM. It's very loud and I'm ticked off. Go complain, stay up until leave hotel @ 4AM for airport. Flight leaves at 6AM for Amsterdam -

Arrives @ 8AM (Amsterdam time). Connection for Hamburg departs @ 9:55AM - I don't change the time zone on my watch up an hour and mess around the airport. I arrive at my gate at 9:40 - boarding is closed - I actually think it is 8:40 and I am early.

Go to KLM service center. Get ticket reassigned. Use charm to avoid the penalty fee as the Spanish speaking woman next to me raises hell as they charge her the fee.. The rescheduled flight is for 1:15PM ---- I was so looking forward to some well needed rest.

I finalize tomorrow's presentation while waiting for the flight.

Catch the 1:15PM flight. Starting to feel nauseated on flight and "spike up" to about a 9.5 on the throw-up scale. I grab the vomit bag - hold it down (except for a little throw up in my mouth that I swallow back down). Arrive at 2:15PM

I get to the hotel at 3PM - Lay down (exhausted) and set alarm for 4:30....MUST NOT SLEEP TOO LONG OR WILL NOT SLEEP TONIGHT.

Wake up from a very deep sleep - it is everything that I can do to get up. But I know that I must. I connect with Michael (whom I've never met in person until just now). We discuss the meeting for tomorrow and he tells me the team is c oming for dinner....we are all meeting at 7:30 for dinner and drinks. Oh my!! Go back to room...watch Simpsons in German language....funny "like hell"!

Meet at 7:30...six new people in a foreign lanugage, have a beer, order a soup, finally apologize but must take off @ 9:30PM.

Hit the bed @ 10PM SO TIRED and SICK...feeling lifeless.

Wake up @ 11:30PM sweats and nausea...hot hot hot! Room is cold by temp.

Try to fight off sweats, vomiting and headache - FINALLY DRY HEAVES @ 1:30AM. SPlitting headache by this time. Take pain medicine sleep til 3:30AM - head is splitting again. Take another pill. Sleep til 5:30AM, get drink of water go to sleep til alarm rings @ 7:39AM.

Feeling oikay but VERY tired. Take a shower, get dressed, have breakfast. meet up with team at 9AM. Pre meeting prep for 10AM meeting. 9:45 they tell me, "...by the way, the meeting is all in German". SHIT!!

Meeting is attended by 12 Siemens people and 9 customers. How appropriate and consistent.

Now it's 12:24PM and my presentation is for 1:30 PM. It has all been in German...I feel like a dog...looking around and nodding without understanding shit.

3:21 PM - I'm finished with my presentation and am feeling much better.

Everyone splits and I am the only one left at the hotel. My flight is tomorrow morning.

I stroll on to the best western hotel restaurant...."Food & Fun".

there are about 4 couples there when I come in. No talking, no smiling and watching billiards on TV. They all look sad or mad...can't decide.

The waitress asks me what I want and I say, "Food and Fun". She doesn't get it and gives me a stern German snarl. I tell her that I just want a hamburger and promptly shut up. How appropriate, a hamburger in Hamburg. I think about the irony.

I go straight to bed and get a good night sleep. I leave for the airport at 5AM and the rest of the trip back to Houston is smooth sailing.

- Larry