- Becoming a family of 4!
- I meal plan for almost every night--and usually have the groceries on hand to cook the meals! That never happened without a significant level of stress before moving here.
- Daddy works out on a regular basis (when mama lets him get up at 3:45 am to do it...)
- Lucy can talk almost as well as an adult. Today she told me "my peter jelwy sammich does not taste good". She was probably right because the bread is kinda old and I had to use off-brand peanut butter. Then last week she said "I want to go across the street by myself to the store and buy a banana." Sorry kid, you're not that independent yet!
- Ellie smiles and talks to us a lot during the day. And last week she started SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!
 |
| She can get away with anything when she looks at us like that! |
- We took a family vacation to Germany when Ellie was only 10 weeks old and it actually was fun, relaxing, and helped us to appreciate our home. Someday I'll finish the blog post about our trip!
- We are finally feeling settled in our house thanks to some organizing and rearranging projects Travis' parents took on while they were visiting.
 |
| The most organized closet I've ever had in my life. |
- We are now comfortable navigating the medical system and pharmacy when in need.
- I know how to make a grocery list--with alternates--in case the store doesn't have an ingredient I'm looking for. Like chicken.
- I've used pure vanilla beans and maple syrup as substitutes for Vanilla extract, and it turned out ok. I've also made my own bechamel sauce for lasagna when I couldn't find Ricotta cheese at the store.
- I've learned how to smock!
 |
| And I will proudly display this every Christmas for the rest of my life! |
- I've learned how to play the card games Shanghai and Canasta.
- I've discovered I actually have curly hair and am no longer fighting it every day by embracing the curl.
- I participated in some yoga.
- Lucy thinks dates are a perfectly normal snack, and routinely requests them.
- We saw dolphins in the swimming area behind the compound!
- We have become good friends with people here who make life here a lot of fun.
 |
| Life's always more fun with a friend! |
Now for the interview!
What's the most surprising thing about living here?
It's really interesting to live in a culture that is not driven by consumerism. They couldn't care less about the fact they are losing out on my shopping dollars by closing 5 times a day for prayer time. This is such a huge contrast coming from the states where everything is driven by consumerism, and a business (generally speaking) wouldn't dream of doing anything that doesn't cater to the consumer.
However, for a culture not driven by consumerism, they sure do like their high-end fashion!
Another thing I find interesting is the total lack of regard for conservation of any type. The side of the highway is littered with plastic bags, tires, and any other trash you can toss out a window. I've been told that picking up trash is beneath a Saudi's position, so I guess they wouldn't participate in 'adopt a highway' if we tried to introduce that program. I did see a recycling container once but now I can't remember where. Water comes from a desalination plant so we don't have to worry about water restrictions here. The compound does use reclaimed water in the sprinkler system, so I guess there's that. For a country that only has oil and sunshine as a natural resource you'd think they would be a teensy bit more conscious of what they use, but I suppose since they can buy whatever they don't have its not a big deal to them. Last week I heard that when people first moved to the compound they were told they could recycle, but then when they asked where the recycling went they were told "the trash". LOL. You just have to laugh.
 |
| The natural landscape. Can you see all the debris on the side of the road? It's quite depressing. |
What is the most frustrating?
The ridiculous amount of bureaucracy and red tape it takes to move here or to visit. We turned in a visa application about two months ahead of my parents visit, and government relations did not get their visa to them in time and they had to delay their trip by a week. Even at that, they literally picked up their passports from FedEx the morning they drove to the airport. There is no reason it should have taken so long. We also turned in Travis' parents visa application in about two months ahead of time, and they would have had that back in plenty of time except they spelled his dad's name wrong. They ended up received their visas a few days before their trip.
None of this even mentions the insanely frustrating process we went through to get our own visas and residence permits. I'm still too frustrated to talk about that!
Coming in a close second is how all businesses close for prayer time. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store during nap time but have the doors slammed in your face because they decided to close early.
Another aspect of life here that can be frustrating is how society is very hierarchical, with Saudis on top, westerners next, and easterners on the bottom. This is a big culture shock coming from the states where equality has been preached my entire life.
And one more thing--last week a cat broke into our home and peed on a couch and some blankets. Gross. I like cats, but I'm not a fan of stray cats that pee on my stuff. Then I think this cat tried to leave his dead, gut-spilling seagull inside my daughter's playhouse in the backyard. Even more gross!
What do you miss the most from life in the states?
The top things I miss (not including people!) are a variety of lettuces at the grocery store and chai lattes from the drive through at Starbucks. Besides that, there are not a lot of 'things' that I miss. Probably because I know that in the grand scheme of life this will be a very short blip, and I can easily live without pork, the occasional glass of wine, chai lattes, and driving for a few years. I'm rather low maintenance and like to 'eat clean', so it doesn't bother me that we can't find some processed foods or 'brands' that we'd use back home. However, I don't understand why it is so hard for the grocery store to carry any type of lettuce but iceberg on a consistent basis! They import most produce, and we have spinach/arugula/romaine occasionally (literally only about 6 weeks of the past 32), but why not just one of those alternatives to iceberg all the time?
Another thing I miss is the consistency of business. While most places have regular hours, it's not uncommon for a business to decide to just not open on a random day or not open after prayer time. This is highly frustrating when you're already trying to schedule a shopping trip around prayer time, driver schedules, nap time, and feeding times!
What is easier about living here than you expected?
I thought I would feel more uncomfortable here given the status of Saudi Women's rights. However, since I don't leave the compound more than a couple times a week, (mostly because I'm parenting two young children!) I don't see it/experience it enough to really be bothered by it. Now if we didn't have drivers, and Travis could drive but I was stuck at home all day without the option to leave, I would be seriously bothered by this. I have a nice abaya to wear and it's easy to forget I'm wearing it when I'm off-compound (until I drag my sleeve through some ketchup or whatever sauce is on my lunch plate). I also want to mention that I have yet to be reprimanded in any way. I'm sure before we finish our time here I will be asked to cover my hair or something of the like but it hasn't happened yet.
Do you get bored living on the compound?
The short answer is No. While taking care of Lucy and Ellie truly takes up a majority of my time, there is almost always an activity going on. In fact I've already had to drop some things because I was getting too busy! Our monthly compound calendar has something on it nearly every day. There's fitness activities including yoga, P90x, and tennis, then there's card games, study groups, sewing groups, and cooking classes. Another interesting aspect about life here is that almost all of the wives don't work. So I have lots of stay-at-home mom friends to commiserate with during the day!
What is the hardest thing about living here?
Besides missing out on the lives of our friends and family back home, it is the revolving door that is the community of expats. We have already seen several people leave who quickly became good friends and we know that more will be leaving soon. It's amazing how easy it is to get close to people simply because we are all living similar lives on the compound together! Even though we've only been here six months it is already hard to say good-bye to people. Now I know what all my friends in Houston felt like when we left!
How has living in the middle east changed your worldview?
I now turn to Al Jazeera for my news! I also have a much greater appreciation for the Islam religion and a muslim's way of life than before. A lot of Muslim women see what westerners consider to be oppression as simply living a life respectful of their religion. There are still a lot of things that don't make sense to me, and every day I am more thankful to be an American where I have the freedom to choose how to live nearly every aspect of my life.
What will the next six months bring?
Well, since we will be traveling for about 3 of those, which will require some planning, at least two weeks to pack, plus an additional two or three weeks to recover from the jet lag, that only leaves me with a month or so of downtime. Truthfully my life right now is filled with domestic duties and mommyhood. I'm hoping to move Lucy to a big girl bed and to potty train her. Ellie will be starting solid foods soon and since they don't have much variety in the way of processed baby food here I'm sure I will be making a lot more food for her than I did for Lucy. There is a never ending mountain of laundry. Mathmatically it doesn't make any sense, but somehow everytime you add a little person to your family the amount of laundry in a household doubles. I spend most afternoons playing with the girls or cooking dinner, and since I will be gone for so long I need to start figuring out how to stock the freezer for Travis while I'm away!
We're also very excited about our upcoming vacation at the end of March. We're going to the Maldives!
If you have found my blog and have questions about living in Jubail or Murjan Village, please leave a comment with your email address. You can request for your comment to remain unpublished and I can answer you via email without publishing your email address on my blog. We have truly enjoyed our time here and I hope that if you are considering a move such as this that I can alleviate some concerns!
