Reflections on the days past.

right now i am sitting outside on the patio. I have hung the laundry up to dry in the heat and it will probably only take about 4 minutes because it is so dry. I have taken a break from chemistry online because i cannot get the work book to open. putting thing off that aren't working... not such a good philosophy buuut the laundry needed to be taken outside and now the sun and prayer calls were too inviting.

Five times a day the speakers around town blast melodious voices from the top of their mosque towers. I don't know why but i am called by these voices. i don't consider myself spiritual but i am almost entranced by these words i cannot even understand. Five times a day I come out to our patio and swing on the bench with my eyes closed. Sometimes imagining what the voices are really saying; other times just to be lulled by the passion in their voices.
So here i am. stripped down to shorts, a tank top and my computer. content to be in the sun.
Mom is inside sleeping on the couch.

So, reflections on this week. It has now officially been a week and two days that I have been in Riyadh and I am still filled with the same enthusiasm I had when I arrived here. Everyday seems a new beginning. The first day we arrived we were surprisingly rested from our 14 hour flight. the Dulles Airport was the beginning of this journey. It was apparent where we were going the minute we stepped on to our gate. Women were covered and silently holding their cooing babies. Men were dressed in norma wardrobe seated next to their cloaked wives as protectors. I showed up uncovered and felt the eyes on me from behind the black vail. Quickly mom and I both put on head coverings but I felt even more awkward that everyone had already seen my true identity. Uncovered. Then covered again for their sake.
Aboard the flight mom and I sat in consecutive rows with three whole seats to ourselves so we could stretch out and sleep.

The feeling of walking off the plane and into a completely new world is really indescribable. There were no bearings in the airport. Nothing familiar. The world had suddenly become black and white quite literally. After making it through customs and heaving both mom and my 70 pound bag around I was ready to find Dad. Coming out of the terminal was quite the same feeling as coming off the plane. We cam through the glass doors and there were hundreds of men in white staring; looking through your black veil to see if they could recognize your eyes. I had been told to look away from men so it was disconcerting to be so on show, let alone be one of the few with an entire face showing. I saw Dad but he did not see me. He looked right into the stream of clack fabric; I can imagine how we all looked the same.

We had flown into Riyadh on the side of the plane where all we saw was desert. No city with a population of 5 million; nothing but sand. So driving into the city was where things began to settle and sink. For some reason I haven't really had any culture shock. Maybe it was because I read and studied a lot about saudi arabia before we came, or maybe it was because I had gotten so used to the idea in our two month transit period of waiting for everything to get settled so we could leave. Being here just didn't really seem that different.
I immediately felt at home.

I am going to skip over the sight seeing, the interesting cab rides and the Malls for know so I can write about this weekend while it is fresh in my brain.

The weekend here is Thursday and Friday. So our Friday night is actually Wednesday night. After Dad came home from work we ate dinner and watched a bit of T.V until the 5:30 and 7:30 prayers were over because you cant really get anything done between them and everything closes uo for a about 40 minutes while they are going on. So around 8 we left to go explore with the idea of the Kingdom tower. We grabbed the first taxi we saw and this time he did not speak english. So with the plans to go to the tower we headed out. Passed a new mall we had never seen and plans changed. Instead we went to the Riyadh gallery. A beautiful mall with a man made river running through it and real stuffed animals around the scene. It is a night culture here. Where people stay out until 3 or 4 in the morning with their friends. There is not really any reason for their parents to worry because there is absolutely no drugs or alcohol in the country. Before we knew it it was midnight. After browsing through the shops having a second dinner and going to the grocery store we were ready for bed. The next day was centered around the dinner planned between Dad and a few co-workers and their families at a traditional Saudi Restaurant. Dad and I went to explore for a little while before the dinner and went to a mall and the bottom of the Fisalia tower; malls malls malls that is the favorite pass time here. so there are always lots of people there . But then it was time to come back to the House to get ready for dinner; I was excited at the prospect of getting to meet some of the co-workers families and hopefully kids!

the best

Today.. or rather this weekend has been the best ever. I am too tired to write much more but i will leave a teaser... Today was filled with many new exciting experiences: A real saudi family, camels, a new traditional souq, 4-wheeling in the desert, not bland food! and horse-back riding....! All in one day...

Letter To my teacher:

I am having a GREAT time! I really really like it here! Although there are many differences here that make it blatantly apparent that i am in a very foreign country I actually feel as though it is not that strange and that I fit in pretty well. I'll fill you in on what I have been doing: I spent three days in DC staying with my brother and Sister and while there I got to take advantage of the Smithsonian Museums. I spent time at the National Museum of American History which was great! ( My favorite exhibit was the huge room of past first ladies inaugural ball gowns, so cool! Also There was a very interesting show on all the presidents and their significance. Oh AND I saw the ruby red slippers from The Wizard Of OZ annnnnnnnd Mohammed Ali's boxing gloves!) Thennnnnnnn we went to the National Museum of the American Indian which was really cool and had GREAT food. he he he. Last but not least we went to the new NEWSEUM which is the coolest museum ever all about reporting and media of the past and today; we didn't get much time there so I am going to go again on the trip home in May! So all that excitement was JUST in America.
Here in Saudi things have been great, the compound I live in is very safe but not too Americanized which is very cool. Yesterday We took a taxi ride all around town to look around and also go grocery shopping; the grocery store (Tamimi) is actually a Safeway which is interesting; and strangely enough is located at the end of one of the biggest malls I have ever been in. (Although you cannot see what any women are wearing under the abaya judging by all the clothing stores in the mall they look GOOD.) welllllllllll I think you got more info than you needed but as you can probably tell I am very excited and having a lot of fun.

day two written somewhere else

Day two of the Adventure day four of the journey; 25 February 2009.



Right now I am flying over the mountains outside of Sofia. Eight hours and twenty-seven minutes into the 12-hour flight into Riyadh. Mom is sitting in the aisle in front of me; we both get to spread ourselves over tree seats for sleeping. This enormous 747 is only carrying around 70 people. When I turned on the TV in the forward headrest I was confused at what I saw, constant blurredness. Beverly Hills Chihuahua was playing but the actress’s bodies were blurred out. IF it was knees or above, or chest or shoulders you cannot see it. I found this strange and distracting at first but once used to it other things were clearly missing. The man at the bar was not staring at bottles on the wall or at the own drink in his hand; instead he was looking into a fogged glass with unknown things behind. Things to wretched to be seen; things such as skin and alcohol. Scenes cut from familiar movies, no kissing at all, words such as “Jesus”, “Devil”, “sucks” and “Damn” all stricken from my vocabulary. As this flight went on and the movies ran together this no longer seemed weird. The modesty of the women around me is charming, seemingly forgiving is everyone when I forget my place and steal a glance at a passer-by.