Transportation

Now that we've established that women cannot drive in Saudi Arabia, perhaps you wonder how I get around.
That is a very good question. There really isn't a public transport system of buses or trains.
There are five means of transportation for a woman.

1) The husband drives his wife in their family car.
My husband is happy to drive me on the weekends and evenings if needed. However, he isn't always available during the day.
2) Limo service provided through the compound (not applicable to a Saudi woman)
My compound provides a "limo" service with decent drivers. I just book a car when I need to go out. It's pretty simple to use this service.
3) Taxi service, available 24 hours
I've only used a taxi a few times because I don't always trust the drivers. If I need a taxi, I call a couple of drivers who we've used before that are safe and reliable.
4) Shopping buses provided by the compound
Shopping buses from our compound go out twice a day, 6 days a week to various malls around the city. I have a monthly schedule that gives me the times and locations.
5) Personal driver
Some families hire a driver who is on call whenever the family needs him. This isn't really an affordable option for our family, but I know families who do have personal drivers.

So what do you think? Does it sound difficult or bizarre?

Pictures from Riyadh

 

 

 

 

Censored

Before moving to Saudi Arabia, I had read on some blogs that some magazines, especially women's magazines, are censored when they enter the country. Sometimes, they cross out images with markers and other times, they rip out offending pages. Until today, this was something I had read about but not experienced.
I recently bought a book from Prevention magazine about walking workouts. The women pictured in the magazine are dressed modestly. So when going through the book a little more thoroughly today, I discovered that a few pages had been RIPPED out. I cannot even begin to imagine what the muttawa found offensive about this particular book. Strange, huh.
Good thing I had my favorite magazines go to my sister in the States!

Blogs I enjoy about Saudi Arabia

My life isn't exciting enough for a new post. However, you may enjoy these blogs about Saudi Arabia.

A Canadian in Riyadh
This blog has really funny and useful posts about life as an expat. She doesn't go much into Saudi culture. I read a lot of her blog while looking for places to live in Riyadh and getting a feel for what life would be like. She no longer posts as I think she has moved back to Canada.
http://canadianinriyadh.blogspot.com/

Blue Abaya
This blog is written by a Finnish woman, married to a Saudi man. She works as a nurse at a hospital. I find this blog interesting because she has a lot of interactions with Saudis. She has an insider/outsider perspective that I find fascinating. Her posts are funny as well.
http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/

American Bedu
This blog has a lot of fascinating posts about Saudi history, culture, and useful info for expats.
http://americanbedu.com/

Images of Saudi
A photography blog with images of Saudi Arabia.
http://imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/

I know there are many more, but these four are blogs I read frequently. Enjoy!

Kingdom Bazaar

The one thing I had heard about before moving to Saudi Arabia were the coffee mornings hosted by various compounds throughout the months. All sources I read insisted that the Kingdom Bazaar was the best to hit. A couple of friends from other compounds and I agreed to meet at the playground during the bazaar to let our kids play together.
So I have to say, what I read didn't do the bazaar justice. It was much better than I imagined and will definitely become part of my monthly routine.
So what exactly is a coffee morning? Some compounds actually offer a breakfast buffet and shopping. But it seems like shopping is the central feature of Kingdom coffee mornings. And the shopping did not disappoint. I love craft fairs and bazaars because you get to wander around, seeing crafts and art, and having a more personal connection to the items displayed, then some ritzy mall.

What was available? There were book stalls, selling kids' books in English, activity packs, Easter treats, a small scrapbooking booth, (I suspect the lady was selling stuff from her stash. Her prices were pretty high. If I had not prepared so well, I may have been tempted.), a photographer selling beautiful photographs of Saudi Arabia, dvd stalls, a jam stall, (homemade jam!) abayas, and stall after stall selling Saudi items like carved camels, beautifully decorated plates and trays, framed and mounted daggers, handcarved chess sets, etc.
I hadn't intended to really buy anything, but I did come away with a few items. I bought a pack of beautiful postcards from the Saudi photographer. The jam stall was too enticing, and after tasting yellow plum jam with vanilla, I couldn't resist buying a small jar, and at $10 it was pricey, but the indulgence was SO worth it. I found a gorgeous calender with exquisite black and white photos of Saudi Arabia. I'm going to frame the photos and hang them on my walls. At one stall, I ended up buying a beautiful leather camel, loaded down with bundles, suggesting an exotic journey on the spice trail, which captured my imagination. I can't wait to go back next month.
After wending my way through the stalls, I took Bubba J outside to enjoy the playground while I met some friends. Unfortunately, Bubba J was seized by an attack of anxiety and wouldn't go two steps from my side, hindering conversation and interaction with others.
Oh, and one other tidbit from my day! A friend introduced me to a delicious arabic treat of thin bread, filled with an extremely salty cheese and then briefly cooked in a very hot oven. Delicious! I paired the bread with a perfectly tart lemonade and thoroughly enjoyed the treat.
It's official! I love bazaars and look forward to going to Kingdom next month.

Family Seating and Male Seating at a Restaurant

I've talked about the strict gender segregation before, but I don't think I have fully explained what that means in daily life, even to something as simple as going to eat at a restaurant.

Restaurants, though not all, have two sections: family seating and male seating. The latter is seating for men only and women do not go in those sections at all. The booths are not hidden, but sit in open view. For example, in the malls, male seating is typically out in the open, without curtains or anything. Family seating is a different matter. In the mall, family seating is behind a set of walls. In restaurants, family seating is set into a different section of the building. The booths and tables are curtained. If a restaurant only has one section, it means that only males can go in. There are not any female-only restaurants, that I am aware of, in the area.

Only males can sit in the male section. I believe fathers can sit there with their sons. Family sections are designated for families--fathers can join if they have daughters or a wife with them. And of course, women are only allowed to sit in the family section.

Generally, this isn't a problem. But sometimes, restaurants only have male sections, which means that a woman isn't really supposed to go inside. I could be wrong (and Saudi readers are welcome to correct me), but that is definitely the impression I get. Yesterday, I went to the bookstore (bookstores are, as a rule, delightful--and this one was no exception). Following my grueling shopping expedition, I was very hungry and had an hour to kill before my taxi came to pick me up. There were a number of coffee shops, including Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, a Cake shop, an arabic pastry place, etc. As I walked along the row of shops, I realized that none of the stores seemed to have family seating, which meant, that I couldn't go in. My son was starting to get desperate. Luckily, I found the family entrance to Starbucks and was able to get in.

I bet none of you even imagined having different sections for people at a restaurant, did you?

A Writer in Embryo

My little girl comes home from school everyday and runs to our craft cabinet. She pulls out pens, paper, markers, and scissors. For hours, she draws, colors, cuts, and pastes. Her projects litter our home--drawings of fairies, snowmen cut-outs, paper glasses, masks, and picture books. Her need to draw is almost compulsive, and her output is impressive. I look at her and see an artist in embyro. And I recognise her need to create.

I'm a blogger because I can't stop the words from coming. They fill my mind all the time. I'm constantly composing essays in my head, spinning words to describe my experiences, or constructing arguments about current social issues. Most of it doesn't get written because I forget a lot of it by the time I have a minute to sit down and write. I'd like to say that what does get written is the best of a lot of junk. But that simply isn't true. I write because the need is compulsive. I process my experiences, my thoughts, and even my positions through writing.

I've resisted the label of writer, because I don't feel like I'm good enough for the title. My prose doesn't hide layers of meanings, my language isn't sophisticated, and I certainly don't entice readers to visit my site in droves. I don't polish every post, preferring to write off the cuff.

However, after watching my daughter create art, I am starting to wonder I could possibly accept the label as a writer in embryo. Is one a writer because you can't stop the words from coming? Perhaps not. But at this point, I'll take it, promising myself I'll work on this craft, developing better skills and someday, perhaps, calling myself a writer. Until then, I'll gladly say that I'm a writer in embryo.