Restaurant with No Chairs

This was an interesting, yet cool Saudi eating place that we went last week. Most restaurants are not like this here, so Sohail thought he'd give me a taste of the local culture. We waited 1/2 an hour for our "room," as this was a very popular place.

Instead of being seated at a table with chairs, we were shown to our own private room-with walls, carpet and a cute little green glass door! Immediately, the kids started chasing each other around this 10x10' room. Then they reclined on the carpet and waited for what was next....which was the arrival of our tablecloth- and then food. It was 2 turkey sized platters of grilled chicken, rice and local salsa. It was a yummy and comfy night out!

Ten more things I like about Saudi Arabia, and some that I don't liketoo....

Things I like....

1.My amazing mother-in-law and beautiful sister-in-law are taking care of the kids while Sohail and I are at work.

2.Sohail gets the kids ready in the morning, takes them and picks them up (my husband is awesome-right?!)

3.I get home from work at 5:15 and have up to 7:00 quiet time/me time by myself until Sohail arrives from work, after picking up the kids.

4.Most custom-made furniture assembly and delivery is free!

5. Fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, for less than $1.00! Mmmmmm!!!

6. I have a coffee shop nearby where I work!

7. The beach is less than a 15 minute drive away.

8.I love the people I work with. Work is so much fun!

9. We have “watch guys” outside of our apartment (that’s what I named them). They stay outside of our building all day/night. If I forget my key-they let me in. They also wash our car each evening. Sometimes they take our garbage out too. That’s nice.

10. I am saving the best for last……my FAMILY! I am so blessed to be here with them. Omair, Rohail, Farwa, and my mother-in-law and father-in-law are all here. Soon, Shoaib will arrive and then all of Sohail’s brothers will be here. I love it. They helped clean the apartment before me and the kids arrived. They love the kids so much and play with them. The kids love them just as much and so do I!

Things that I don’t like….

1.When in line to order food, if a man walk up, he gets his food first-even if I already ordered. If two women are in line, the non-American woman gets her food after me, even if she ordered first. I don’t like either one. I think that whoever ordered first should get their food first, right?!

2. Cooking with a gas oven-yikes! I am scarred for life after I lit the stove and caused a minor explosion, causing the exhaust fan to fly off the wall. That oven scares me!

3.I haven’t unlocked my iphone yet, so I use an outdated cell phone. I know-I am spoiled, due to the iphone. It’s hard to go back, people. When I text, I have to push the number button, then use the arrow button to scroll down to the correct letter, then hit enter to choose that one letter. Do you remember those days? I am glad smartphones were created!

4. I miss my Keurig machine-so much! I should have just brought it over and had K-cups shipped here. There is a Nespresso machine, that is similar here, but is more than $300!!!

5. I REALLY miss not having the movie theaters here, to go to. That was always a fun family time for us, back in the US. (*sniff*sniff).
Things that don't bother me at all...

1. The heat -  I am used to it. Houston was actually hotter than Jeddah, yesterday!

2. Wearing an abaya - Out in public, it is required that women (not children) wear this black robe/cloak covering atop thier clothes. It's actually not very hot, protects my skin from the sun, and keeps me from having to worry about ironing my clothes and picking out what I will wear each day. I guess it is like wearing a uniform, kind of. I have 4 abaya's now. One goes over the head, like a dress and zips on the side. The others button up in the front. I just wear short and a tank top or a summer dress underneath.

3. Not driving - It is kind of nice to not have to be stressed out about finding directions to places I've never been. I don't mind being driven to and from work by a driver and having Sohail take me everywhere that I want to go (hehe!)

4. The dust and sand - It's out there, and I'm in here!

5. The language barrier - There really isn't one. Most foreigners and natives here speak English. If they don't, they understand my charade like gestures very well!

Well, thanks for reading my post (s). I hope that I have provided a little bit of Arabian enlightenment or entertainment to you, today!

The Culture of Saudi Arabia - From Shopping to Praying to Eating!

So, our first week in Saudi Arabia has come to an end and the new week will start soon, I think. Here are some interesting things that I have learned so far about the culture and lifestyle here:

1. The work week starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday. So, that means that Thursday and Friday is the weekend. So, since today is Tuesday, that means that the weekend will be here in 2 days. I know, I am still confused about this too.

2. At the malls, most of the kids wear roller skates, use a scooter and some even ride their bikes. The malls are so big here-so I guess this tactic eliminates the "mom, hold me" whining.

3. At the beach, families picnic at night. We drove by and saw families with "camp" fires, roasting their fresh caught fish.

4. People EAT camel meat here! Gross, right? Well, actually, I ate it, thinking that Sohail was lying to me about it being camel. It was actually quite tasty!

5. Stores stay open until midnight here. Some stay open until you are done looking. But others just turn the lights out on you.

6. Stores close during prayer times. I really don't know how to explain this, but for example-we drove up to the gas station and the gas pumps just turned off (the part with the price on it). Prayer time started and we sat at the pump for at least 30 minutes. Prayer time ended-we were able to pump the gas, but the guy pumped it for us. And-it only cost $6.93 to fill up our car!!!!!!!!!!!

7. In restaurants here, there are "family sections" and "single or men's" section. This is also hard to wrap your head around. I am here and don't really completely understand. For example, I walked up to Starbucks in a shopping center. I had to go into the side door for the "family section." I had to wait longer because the men ordering their coffee, on the men's side went first.

8. There are malls everywhere! At least one every mile. Some are even across the street from each other. And, get this-the top floors have arcades and playgrounds (at least the ones that I've been to).

9. The Andalus Mall, has a grocery store in it, on the 3rd floor! That was cool! And-the escalators are not like stairs, but are flat. So, the shopping carts fit on them, all the way down to the 1st floor. That means, that you can roll your cart through the mall!

10. Using toilet paper is not a common practice here. Most homes and public restrooms have a water hose type thing to wash with. Me-I carry tissues in my purse!

That's all for now-I hope you enjoyed reading this!

Comparing Life in the USA to Life in Saudi Arabia



I thank Mike a geat photographer for this amazing photo. Find him on Flickr @Inbet_1979

Perhaps the title is a little deceiving, but one of the main cultural differences is how time is valued. Most if not all successful countries and their cultures show a great level of respect to time and timelines. In America we know our paychecks will be in the account on or before the payday. When our neighbor and friends ask us to help them with something we complete the tasks on or before that day. In our culture we always say I will be there on or before time. When we purchase our furniture we expect it to show up on time if not a little before.

In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia time is like oil. There is plenty of it to waste, which people do all the time. In comparison to U.S. in Saudi Arabia everything is after this or that time. For example most organizations will inform their employees their pay will be disbursed after a certain date. If you insist on knowing a date they will simply say you will get paid after the 2^nd. It can be a day or weeks after that day. You can expect the same behavior from almost all the service providers. After purchasing office furniture I was told my furniture will arrive after the noon prayers. Not used to Kingdom’s customs I was ready at 12:30. I failed to realize, when I was told after the noon prayers it meant anytime after that and before sunrise the next day. The next day I was told they delivered the furniture around 8:00 Pm.

Maybe one day the market will change, perhaps the younger generation can learn from the foreign cultures and embrace all the good. But till that day Saudi Arabia will always be considered as country of  Bedouins. No skyscraper or modern infrastructure built by expatriates can help a nation become successful, unless they start respecting time amongst other things.