Eid Mubarak!

At this time of the year, Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice.  This affects us in several ways. First, Anna gets a week off of school (yay), but secondly, most of the stores are closed until the nighttime (sad face). This cuts back on my daily activities significantly. However, in a feeble attempt to see the upside of things, I have learned a new greeting to say to the few Muslims that I come in contact with…Eid Mubarak!

A few women on the compound have graciously offered to teach their native languages to us, so I am attempting to learn conversational French and Arabic. So far, I have learned that I am not so good with foreign languages. I can say hello, thank you, and you're welcome. That's it. Since I've been here, I have been relying on the people of KSA proficiency in the English language and gesturing.  Since Anna is learning Arabic in school, I'm trying to get in some practice with her, but she seems to have her mothers talent for languages.

This past week, the girls, some friends and I went to the western beach. We drove about an hour north from the city, and off-roaded a mile or so to the check in station. The man I rode with had to take all of our identification cards and check in with security. The eight of us waited in the car for about 15 minutes while he had to drink tea and make small talk with the guards. When he got back, he drove down to the shore and we set up camp. In the meantime, the guards drove their jeep right above us to make sure no trouble ensued. Martin has since shared with me that they will chase off any non-westerners that try to come (Saudi's included). I suppose this is for our safety, but also because they have had issues in the past with men coming to watch the women in their bathing suits. The group of us had a great time. The water was great, and the weather was good. I didn't get a chance to explore the coral reef, but there were a lot of fish and crabs near the shoreline. I'm excited to go snorkeling soon.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

It has not hit me, despite the 26 hours of travel that it took for us to get here, that I am a world away from home.  It could be that I am in a compound inhabited by westerners, or that Skype has made it easy for me to contact the ones I love at home.  Whatever it is, I do not feel as out of place as I expected.

Martin, Anna, Charlotte and I spent the first few days at the local mall buying the necessary items for settling in this foreign land: nonstick pans, cooking spoons, a toaster oven, hangers and Baskin Robbins ice cream (yum!). The mall is an interesting place. Most of the shops don’t open until nighttime, and they all close during prayer.  Basically, we have a two to three hour window to get what we came for and leave.

About once a week, I go with several other women from our compound the bus to the mall.  We wear our black abayas, and most of us choose to cover our hair as well.  The women are from all over the world: Singapore, Canada, Korea, Italy, and Egypt. In a place like this, you make friends fast.

I am still adjusting to the food here.  The beef at the Hyper Panda has been gross. Many of the ingredients to familiar recipes are not available. And while I’m complaining…it is hot. Very hot.  

Now for the ugly…Back in the US, I always wondered about unibrows. I don’t think I ever really saw someone who sported a full on unibrow. I wondered if they really existed or if it was just something that existed in comedic circles. Well people, they really exist. The other day I saw a man whose eyebrows came together to form a point just above the bridge of his nose. It was fascinating. It was one of those situations where it was both nasty, but intriguing. I couldn’t look away.