It's funny to confess this, but one of my guilty pleasures is grocery shopping at Carrefour on a Thursday morning,the first day of the weekend here! Riyadh has three Carrefour grocery stores run by the French chain, selling all the best France has to offer. All their upper level managers are imported from France as well as many of their customers! It's what I call "expat central" on that weekend morning.
It is the place to buy your cheeses, delicacies, prepared food, fruits, vegetables and fresh dairy products imported directly from France and arriving on the shelves on Thursday morning. Many of their products are also the Carrefour store brand that you came to rely on for their price and quality.
And, as I found out yesterday morning, their receipt is even printed in English, a big plus from the Arabic receipts from last year. I can review the prices after purchasing all my goods and wonder how my total bill is always around the same amount, with 5 or 10 or 15 grocery bags filling my grocery cart!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Batha Souk
Today will/should be the last day of Ramadan, when at Iftar the Eid Mubarak will start, the most celebrated holiday of the Muslim year. Families and friends will get together, eat and be merry and the children will receive gift envelopes with money. So, as you can imagine, people all over Riyadh are antsy to finish Ramadan and their fast. Since this is a holiday, all services in the compound will be suspended for the next 5 days, so might as well get out while we can! This morning, Imy daughter Emma and I took the compound bus to go to the Souk. The driver was supposed to take us to the Dirah Souk, where you can find rugs, decorations, appliances, and abayas... Instead he dropped us at the Batha Souk, mostly a textile souk. Emma accompanied me as she needed a new abaya to start school, since it is school policy that all girls grade 4 through 12 wear an abaya to arrive on school campus, to cross the street for PE classes and to leave in the afternoon.
You may think that abaya shopping would be pretty quick, right....how many models of black abaya could exist...but you are so wrong! The souk was just opening up when we arrived, lights turned on and merchandises were being displayed. At first, we could not see many abaya shops. After wandering around and checking out those that were opened, they just seemed to multiply. Everywhere we looked you could see an abaya shop. Emma is pretty picky (already, for age 9) for any piece of clothes..so imagine her choosing a black abaya. We knew the length she needed and she wanted one with pink! Of course, all the ones displayed had blue, green, orange, red or yellow stiched decorations...so those did not fit the bill! Eventually, at the 10th shop (or more, as I quit counting) she saw one that she liked with interesting looking sleeves, some rhinestones details and a cool design in the back...We had a winner!!! To my surprise, her chosen abaya does not have any pink in it, but I did not say anything as to not have her change her mind! After some bartering, just a matter of principle since we are at the souk after all, I paid the man and Emma immediately put on her new abaya and removed the too short old one she was wearing, without showing an inch of skin! She's very quickly adapting to the "no show" rules of the Kingdom.
Two of my freshly arrived colleagues were accompaning us on this shopping trip. It was their first time in a Riyadh souk and they did not know what to look at, sensory overload. Since they are new, they are still looking for necessities and ended up buying shower gels, shampoos, lotion and hairdryer. Throw in some cashewnuts, almonds and even a new abaya for one of them and it was a successful trip! It was interesting to see it through their eyes. They were interested in everything and asking me if the quoted prices were reasonable. I felt like the oldtimer, which is kind of funny since I haven't been here a year!
You may think that abaya shopping would be pretty quick, right....how many models of black abaya could exist...but you are so wrong! The souk was just opening up when we arrived, lights turned on and merchandises were being displayed. At first, we could not see many abaya shops. After wandering around and checking out those that were opened, they just seemed to multiply. Everywhere we looked you could see an abaya shop. Emma is pretty picky (already, for age 9) for any piece of clothes..so imagine her choosing a black abaya. We knew the length she needed and she wanted one with pink! Of course, all the ones displayed had blue, green, orange, red or yellow stiched decorations...so those did not fit the bill! Eventually, at the 10th shop (or more, as I quit counting) she saw one that she liked with interesting looking sleeves, some rhinestones details and a cool design in the back...We had a winner!!! To my surprise, her chosen abaya does not have any pink in it, but I did not say anything as to not have her change her mind! After some bartering, just a matter of principle since we are at the souk after all, I paid the man and Emma immediately put on her new abaya and removed the too short old one she was wearing, without showing an inch of skin! She's very quickly adapting to the "no show" rules of the Kingdom.
Two of my freshly arrived colleagues were accompaning us on this shopping trip. It was their first time in a Riyadh souk and they did not know what to look at, sensory overload. Since they are new, they are still looking for necessities and ended up buying shower gels, shampoos, lotion and hairdryer. Throw in some cashewnuts, almonds and even a new abaya for one of them and it was a successful trip! It was interesting to see it through their eyes. They were interested in everything and asking me if the quoted prices were reasonable. I felt like the oldtimer, which is kind of funny since I haven't been here a year!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Ramadan and Iftar
Right now, Muslims around the world are living Ramadan, the ninth month of their lunar calendar. During this entire month, they fast and do not eat or drink from dawn until sunset. The act of fasting is to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and spirituality. They pray more than usual during Ramadan and ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. In a way, you could compare this to the period of lent that Catholics live every year between Ash Wednesday and Easter. However, unlike the Catholic lent, Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar and changes dates each year, moving backwards about eleven days each year depending on the moon. Because of that, we are not 100 % sure when the Ramadan will finish, as it depends on the sighting of a full moon, which may not happen if the sky is covered that night.. Prayer, which usually numbers five daily for about 5 minutes each time, are longer and in the last ten days of Ramadan, are very important. In the evening, two hours after Iftar, the break of fast, we have been hearing prayers around town, for about 90 minutes. There is another added prayer, in the middle of the night, around 1:00 am, which again lasts for 90 minutes. I woke up last night, thank you jetlag, and heard the night prayers from the closest mosk.
Now, during this whole Ramadan period, life for non-Muslims is also different if you live in Saudi. It is extremely recommended to abstain from eating and drinking, laughing or behaving extravagantly in public. Modesty in dress code should again be followed more strictly. All in all, these are considerations for the respect of those fasting.
What does it really mean to us? Well, being in a workplace where many of our colleagues are Muslims, we do not eat or drink in front of them. Today was our first day back and breakfast and lunch were offered, in a separate room. We could see that some of our colleagues were fasting, from the low level of energy and the pale faces. You have to understand that the sun rise around 4:30 am and set after 6:30 pm, which means 14 hours without water, while living in very high temperature in the middle of an arid desert! I've considered not eating, but couldn't fantom not drinking. I'm really feeling sympathy and respect for my colleagues and for Muslims around. It's also interesting that until moving to Saudi, I really had never thought about the hardship of the fast.
At sunset Iftar or the break of fast happens by first eating one date and drinking a glass of water, then on to prayers. It is after all important to eat nutritious and healthy foods after fasting all day. Imagine the best of middle eastern food every night! Stuffed grape leaves, hummus, falaflel, pita, baba ganouj, fattoush salad, tabouleh, lentil salad, fresh fruits and many many others! Last Thursday I was invited to an Iftar banquet...what celebration! Everybody was gathered, a prayer was said, dates were eaten by all, then more prayers, then off to a buffet with all kinds of great tasting food... You can't live in the Middle East without having some favorites, of course and was really happy to have them again, after two months of western food fare. I had not realized that I had missed it!
One of my colleagues was actually explaining all this to me and when asked what she missed the most during Ramadan she said coffee! At Iftar, the first thing she has are TWO cups of black coffee...and somehow feels all that sudden a burst of energy. Only then does she sits down and enjoy foods..and here I am, worried about all of them not drinking water during the day!
At the Iftar banquet, a man was pouring date juice from a special carafe...it was probably one of the best juices ever, a mix of what I think was rose water and date juice...Another man was going around pouring coffee as no self-respecting meal would be complete without cardamon coffee and Arabic sweets!
Bon Appetit, or more appropriately, بالهناء والشفاء / بالهنا والشفا (bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā')
Now, during this whole Ramadan period, life for non-Muslims is also different if you live in Saudi. It is extremely recommended to abstain from eating and drinking, laughing or behaving extravagantly in public. Modesty in dress code should again be followed more strictly. All in all, these are considerations for the respect of those fasting.
What does it really mean to us? Well, being in a workplace where many of our colleagues are Muslims, we do not eat or drink in front of them. Today was our first day back and breakfast and lunch were offered, in a separate room. We could see that some of our colleagues were fasting, from the low level of energy and the pale faces. You have to understand that the sun rise around 4:30 am and set after 6:30 pm, which means 14 hours without water, while living in very high temperature in the middle of an arid desert! I've considered not eating, but couldn't fantom not drinking. I'm really feeling sympathy and respect for my colleagues and for Muslims around. It's also interesting that until moving to Saudi, I really had never thought about the hardship of the fast.
At sunset Iftar or the break of fast happens by first eating one date and drinking a glass of water, then on to prayers. It is after all important to eat nutritious and healthy foods after fasting all day. Imagine the best of middle eastern food every night! Stuffed grape leaves, hummus, falaflel, pita, baba ganouj, fattoush salad, tabouleh, lentil salad, fresh fruits and many many others! Last Thursday I was invited to an Iftar banquet...what celebration! Everybody was gathered, a prayer was said, dates were eaten by all, then more prayers, then off to a buffet with all kinds of great tasting food... You can't live in the Middle East without having some favorites, of course and was really happy to have them again, after two months of western food fare. I had not realized that I had missed it!
One of my colleagues was actually explaining all this to me and when asked what she missed the most during Ramadan she said coffee! At Iftar, the first thing she has are TWO cups of black coffee...and somehow feels all that sudden a burst of energy. Only then does she sits down and enjoy foods..and here I am, worried about all of them not drinking water during the day!
Bon Appetit, or more appropriately, بالهناء والشفاء / بالهنا والشفا (bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā')
Monday, August 30, 2010
Return to the Magic Kingdom
After a busy summer break, it came time to fly back to Saudi, alone, as kids and hubby were staying behind for another week. So, 3 flights and 2 layovers later, I arrived late last night at the villa and was glad to see our little kitty cat Gumbeaux alive and well, extremely happy to see me, purring and licking proving that!
The house was hot...probably close to 100 F/40 C inside when I entered. We only had one AC unit running for the cat, which turns out not to be enough to cool the whole place in such high summer temperatures. The floor felt sandy, the wooden side tables were covered with a thin film of sand (and cat's paw prints for some), the water in the toilet bowls had totally evaporated, the back door in the laundry room had piles of sand and ants all over who all came from the crack under the door and the dryer vent.
So, at around 10:45 last night, I started vacuuming the floors, dusting the tables and mopping like a mad woman. Eventually I had to go to bed and tried to fall asleep. Not an easy task when you are jetlagged with 8 hours difference, and ahhh, before I knew it the alarm woke me up!
Work from 9 to 3, then return home and on to another task: the car! Of course, after sitting under the canopy for 2 months, the car battery was dead! OUr neighbor Sammy tried to jump it to no avail....We pushed the car on the street then workers pushed it to get it started, down a little side street. We were trying to get it to crank up. There, Sammy got his cables again and ran it for 15 minutes...eventually it sta...rted. So, to make sure it wouldn't die, I drove around the compound for about 20 minutes, since I am not allowed to drive on the streets. I even took the car outside between the walls and the fence! The army guys in their watch towers and the security guys at the front gate were looking at me driving around and laughing when they realised what was happening! One of the army dudes even came out of his place to check it out!
Then, after all that pushing, waiting, cranking, I did the most refreshing thing I could think about: carwash, with hot water coming straight from the water tank! You should have seen how filthy the car was...Red sand all over. I had to clean the street afterwards!
Just now, some compound workers just delivered a NEW (at least to us) TV that lets us get over 35 channels, even Nat Geo and History channels.
Who said the compound was dead??? We had some excitement today!
The house was hot...probably close to 100 F/40 C inside when I entered. We only had one AC unit running for the cat, which turns out not to be enough to cool the whole place in such high summer temperatures. The floor felt sandy, the wooden side tables were covered with a thin film of sand (and cat's paw prints for some), the water in the toilet bowls had totally evaporated, the back door in the laundry room had piles of sand and ants all over who all came from the crack under the door and the dryer vent.
So, at around 10:45 last night, I started vacuuming the floors, dusting the tables and mopping like a mad woman. Eventually I had to go to bed and tried to fall asleep. Not an easy task when you are jetlagged with 8 hours difference, and ahhh, before I knew it the alarm woke me up!
Work from 9 to 3, then return home and on to another task: the car! Of course, after sitting under the canopy for 2 months, the car battery was dead! OUr neighbor Sammy tried to jump it to no avail....We pushed the car on the street then workers pushed it to get it started, down a little side street. We were trying to get it to crank up. There, Sammy got his cables again and ran it for 15 minutes...eventually it sta...rted. So, to make sure it wouldn't die, I drove around the compound for about 20 minutes, since I am not allowed to drive on the streets. I even took the car outside between the walls and the fence! The army guys in their watch towers and the security guys at the front gate were looking at me driving around and laughing when they realised what was happening! One of the army dudes even came out of his place to check it out!
Then, after all that pushing, waiting, cranking, I did the most refreshing thing I could think about: carwash, with hot water coming straight from the water tank! You should have seen how filthy the car was...Red sand all over. I had to clean the street afterwards!
Just now, some compound workers just delivered a NEW (at least to us) TV that lets us get over 35 channels, even Nat Geo and History channels.
Who said the compound was dead??? We had some excitement today!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Summer vacation 2010
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Over the next two weeks, we saw many family members and friends, having dinners and parties here and there. The children showed amazing adaptability and blended in with all the cousins and friends. Throughout our stay Belgium was hit by an unsual heatwave and had us begging for AC! My parents' converted attic where we slept was very hot but we pulled through and were able to enjoy the beautiful Belgian heat and sun..Not many times can you say that about Belgian weather!
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Among the highlights was the visit with my cousin Vincianne of Liege and climbing over 360 steps to reach the citadel. After this climb, we had a well-dereved mid-morning Aperitif at the reknowed Maison du Pequet, the oldest continuously opened cafe/bar since the 18th century. For lunch we had the typical Boulet Frites (meatball in the yummiest sauce and fries) and Potee (green beans, bacon, potatoes and pork sausage). We ended the afternoon behind the cathedral at the Village Gaulois with a refreshing drink. Unfortunately this whole set-up was destoyed the next day by heavy winds and rains.
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We also did the tourist tour of Bruxelles with a viewing of the world famous Manneken Pis and lunch in one of the narrow tourist streets. This statue of a little boy has since several centuries been a major tourist attraction in the city. Nobody actually knows why the manneken is there. He is believed to be nothing more than a decoration on top of a fountain, where people in the Middle-Ages came to get fresh water. Already in the 15th century a fountain called 'manneken-pis' existed in Rue de l'étuve. The official origin can be traced back to the 13th of August 1619 when the city ordered the sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy to make a new bronze statue of manneken-pis to replace an old and withered one. During the course of the centuries our little manneken has often been hidden to protect him against bombs of invading armies. He has also been stolen several times by plundering soldiers at times of conflict. Oftentimes, the Manneken-Pis gets a makeover from his wardrobe of more than 600 costumes. He received his first costume on May the 1st 1698 by the governor of the Austrian Netherlands. Nowadays he still receives new gear when folklorist groups visiting Brussels. There are many legends about the Manneken. According to one of them a little boy had watered against the door of a witch who lived where the fountain now stands. The witch was so angry that she turned the little boy into a statue. Another legend says that a man had lost his little son. He found the child after two days near the place where now the fountain of manneken-pis can be seen. When the father spotted his child, the latter was peeing. As a token of gratitude the father had the fountain with a statue of a peeing boy constructed. I've also heard the legend of the little boy rescuing Brussels from a fire by peeing on it! So as you can see, many legends surround this little guy!
On Saturdays one of our favorite things to do is just go to the market and see all the goods offered. Kids also love to go as it always provides them opportunities to see small pets, goats, rabbits and poultry as well as get a pack of some delicious candy!
Over the next few weeks we visited with many friends, having breakfast, lunches and/or dinners at homes or restaurants...all those not very good for our waistlines! We did a quick visit to see the family and cousins in Dallas, TX. We also invaded Granny's house with all of our luggage for the length of our stay, although we tried to stay out of the house for various lengths of time.
One of Worth's favorite activities is playing golf with his regular game on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 'The Rat Pack' game is a high stakes golf game wich deals out good chances to needle each other and play golf. All of the Rat Packers were anxious for Worth to hit it in the bunkers since they just knew his sand game was so much better after living in Saudi Arabia. Worth got the last laugh though when he won the Club Championship division all of his friends were playing. He even was able to get some new clubs courtsey of his Mom for his 40th birthday.
Thanks again to Tante Elaine for taking them to Orlando....as it allowed us to book a trip to a all-incluse resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica! And what a trip that was! Never had we taken such a luxurious vacation: all inclusive in the land of rum and good times. We spent our days at the pools, on the beach, snorkeling, kayaking, Hobi riding, biking... We also went off the reservation and enjoyed a day trip to the hills where we tubed down the Great River and took a trip down a series of zip lines. This was a first for both of us, wearing all the safety gear to glide safely from ropes hanging in the trees and above the river. That was one of the coolest way to see the area trees and vegetation...
All in all, this was a summer to remember, busy as can be and full of adventures. In two days, I'm heading back to the Magic Kindgom and will be followed by the rest of the family a few days later.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sharpie
It's funny how being back in the States makes me realize little things I had forgotten I was missing so much.. For example, picking up a People Magazine and not having any pages ripped up or legs and bossoms blackened with a thick sharpie. I guess I was getting used to it or was not paying attention anymore. This week, I'm leading a workshop and some participants started talking about censorship, which made me think of Saudi and of how aggravating it is to not be able to purchase a magazine with the guarantee of having all the pages still in the mag.
Might as well enjoy those while I can!
Might as well enjoy those while I can!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Ghost town
Imagine standing in the middle of a street and seeing the dust around being picked up by the wind, hearing the distant calls to prayer, marveling at the almost but not quite ripe bunches of dates hanging heavily from the palm trees, laughing at the stray cats frolicking in green lush front lawns, listening to the birds chirping in the lime trees. Imagine children's bikes nicely parked under fabric tent carports, ripsticks waiting to be picked up again, lawn furniture gathering dust under the heavy sunrays...but not seeing a single person!
Our compound has turned into a ghost town! With the advent of summer and the summer vacation, all the families have vacated the premises, some with and some without the dads. The maids are finding that their usual villas have been emptied for the summer, the nannies have been left behind, giving them also a much deserved summer break to enjoy.
Last night, we took our evening walk around the compound and truly did not see another person during our walk. Some cats, some children's bikes and toys, but nobody else. The majority of the villas seem emptied, many are actually being repainted and refurbished before new occupants move in. That's the sad part of the summer, as we had to bid goodbye to some of our new friends who completed their contract in the Kindgom and moved on to literal and figurative greener pastures.
So, to all of you still here, congrats, you are part of the few die-hards sticking it out during the summer.
And to those who have left, we are not very far behind...13 hours and 19 minutes to be exact until take off!
Our compound has turned into a ghost town! With the advent of summer and the summer vacation, all the families have vacated the premises, some with and some without the dads. The maids are finding that their usual villas have been emptied for the summer, the nannies have been left behind, giving them also a much deserved summer break to enjoy.
Last night, we took our evening walk around the compound and truly did not see another person during our walk. Some cats, some children's bikes and toys, but nobody else. The majority of the villas seem emptied, many are actually being repainted and refurbished before new occupants move in. That's the sad part of the summer, as we had to bid goodbye to some of our new friends who completed their contract in the Kindgom and moved on to literal and figurative greener pastures.
So, to all of you still here, congrats, you are part of the few die-hards sticking it out during the summer.
And to those who have left, we are not very far behind...13 hours and 19 minutes to be exact until take off!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Summer Exodus
Every year, a massive Exodus out of the Saudi capital city takes place. The Saudi schools finished this past Wednesday, many of the international schools finished a week or two ago...which means that Riyadh has already lost about half its population and that King Khaled International Airport is seeing its heaviest traffic since the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Summer in the middle of the Arabian desert is hot, temperatures are averaging 45 Celsius daily, in the shade and it's much hotter in the sun, as you all know.
Riyadh is a desert town with the old city of Diryah having been built at this location because of a wadi (Underground River) that could provide water to the Bedouin tribes on a consistent basis, giving them and their animals a little oasis of greenery in the middle of the unwelcoming expenses of sand. Things have changed since then, as most Saudi are urbanized, cars have replaced camels as daily mean of transportation, water comes from a water "factory" that desalinates water from the Gulf to use for daily household usage and bottled water comes from deep water wells and natural sources. BUT one thing has remained the same: the desert heat and dryness.
So, once school is over, Saudi and expat families pack their suitcases and leave the country behind. Their destinations however are different. Expats, like us, go "home" for the summer, wherever home is! So, tomorrow evening, we are heading home first to Belgium and then back to the States where we will stay away from the desert heat, although we will tackle the summer humidity when back in the South! All of our colleagues, almost without exceptions, have already left and are homebound for the summer break. They are going back to Canada, Australia, Singapore, Lebanon, Syria, the States, Colombia, Sweden, UK…
Most of our students also have already left Saudi to go spend the summer in one of their residences scattered around the globe. A few of the favorite places that kept popping up when they were discussing their summer plans included Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Lebanon, New York, Los Angeles, the Maldives, Provence in the South of France...
So, who is left behind? Those who can’t afford a plane tickets, including manual laborer from Asia, families who just welcomed a baby, people who keep on working during the summer, those not fortunate to have an almost two month long summer break. There are advantages at staying put: the streets are much less congested with traffic, the shopping malls are running insane sales, like 70, 80 % off everything, hotels like the Four Seasons are almost giving you their rooms for the weekend for ridiculous amounts compared to the rest of the year..
Would all this entice me to stay? Heck NO! We are so getting out of Saudi Arabia! Too hot and so many other reasons. Just ask when you see us ...
Masalama and have a great summer.
Riyadh is a desert town with the old city of Diryah having been built at this location because of a wadi (Underground River) that could provide water to the Bedouin tribes on a consistent basis, giving them and their animals a little oasis of greenery in the middle of the unwelcoming expenses of sand. Things have changed since then, as most Saudi are urbanized, cars have replaced camels as daily mean of transportation, water comes from a water "factory" that desalinates water from the Gulf to use for daily household usage and bottled water comes from deep water wells and natural sources. BUT one thing has remained the same: the desert heat and dryness.
So, once school is over, Saudi and expat families pack their suitcases and leave the country behind. Their destinations however are different. Expats, like us, go "home" for the summer, wherever home is! So, tomorrow evening, we are heading home first to Belgium and then back to the States where we will stay away from the desert heat, although we will tackle the summer humidity when back in the South! All of our colleagues, almost without exceptions, have already left and are homebound for the summer break. They are going back to Canada, Australia, Singapore, Lebanon, Syria, the States, Colombia, Sweden, UK…
Most of our students also have already left Saudi to go spend the summer in one of their residences scattered around the globe. A few of the favorite places that kept popping up when they were discussing their summer plans included Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Lebanon, New York, Los Angeles, the Maldives, Provence in the South of France...
So, who is left behind? Those who can’t afford a plane tickets, including manual laborer from Asia, families who just welcomed a baby, people who keep on working during the summer, those not fortunate to have an almost two month long summer break. There are advantages at staying put: the streets are much less congested with traffic, the shopping malls are running insane sales, like 70, 80 % off everything, hotels like the Four Seasons are almost giving you their rooms for the weekend for ridiculous amounts compared to the rest of the year..
Would all this entice me to stay? Heck NO! We are so getting out of Saudi Arabia! Too hot and so many other reasons. Just ask when you see us ...
Masalama and have a great summer.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A Girl's Guide To Saudi Arabia
This is it! Last day of school for the students...actually they didn’t even have school and reports were distributed this afternoon. I survived my first year in the Kindgom, with some ups and downs... and how fitting that TODAY Vanity Fair publishes a teaser for an article in their August issue about “A Girl’s Guide To Saudi Arabia”. Link the Vanity Fair Article
Now, as a girl who now can say has lived in Saudi Arabia, I’m starting to know how to function in this society and the article is AGAIN talking about all the stereotypes of women in Saudi. Before moving here, I had heard and read it all...had to cover, could not travel alone, without a male guardian, could not do anything independently. Living here opened my eyes and ears and showed me that, although Saudi is still a very religiously controlled country, visiting women are treated with decency and are not required to cover completely...
Maybe I’m overreacting, but I even left this comment for the article: “ I'm writing this from Riyahd. As a western women currently living in Saudi Arabia I do not like this teaser article. It again perpetuates the stereotypes of being a woman in the Kingdom. Before moving here, I had the same idea as the author, but after 10 months here, there are more sides to the story than these quite sensationalized and exaggerated points of beign a women. I will buy the magazine when it comes out and will read it, hoping that the author went beyond what is believed life to be like in Saudi.”
Let this be heard and make sure to get a copy of the full article at publication! That probably will be another blog!
Now, as a girl who now can say has lived in Saudi Arabia, I’m starting to know how to function in this society and the article is AGAIN talking about all the stereotypes of women in Saudi. Before moving here, I had heard and read it all...had to cover, could not travel alone, without a male guardian, could not do anything independently. Living here opened my eyes and ears and showed me that, although Saudi is still a very religiously controlled country, visiting women are treated with decency and are not required to cover completely...
Maybe I’m overreacting, but I even left this comment for the article: “ I'm writing this from Riyahd. As a western women currently living in Saudi Arabia I do not like this teaser article. It again perpetuates the stereotypes of being a woman in the Kingdom. Before moving here, I had the same idea as the author, but after 10 months here, there are more sides to the story than these quite sensationalized and exaggerated points of beign a women. I will buy the magazine when it comes out and will read it, hoping that the author went beyond what is believed life to be like in Saudi.”
Let this be heard and make sure to get a copy of the full article at publication! That probably will be another blog!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Elections
Aujourd’hui j’ai exerce mon droit de vote en tant que citoyenne belge, vu que ma pauvre petite Belgique se trouve à nouveau dans une crise gouvernementale (et si on en croit certains medias au bord de la scission de la Flandre et de la Wallonie.) En tant que résidente belge a Riyad, inscrite à l’ambassade, j’ai eu le droit de m’inscrire pour les élections au sénat et a la chambre. Il y a quelques semaines, j’avais rempli mon formulaire pour les élections, la semaine passée, le consul est passe délivré ma convocation en main propre, donc j’étais prête pour les élections. Ce vendredi matin, l’équivalent du repos dominical partout dans le monde, je me suis rendue a l’ambassade. De la centaine de Belges inscrits, seulement 25 avaient décide de voter en personne, les autres ayant opte pour le vote par proxy. Le bureau de vote avait des assesseurs ainsi qu’un chef de bureau (tous personnel de l’ambassade). J’ai reçu mes deux bulletins de vote, me suis rendue dans un bureau servant d’isoloir et ai enfin contribue au bon déroulement de la démocratie belge !
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