Rookie Mistakes

Our third full week in Saudi has brought some learning experiences as we ventured out a little further into our new world.

1. KFC (at least the one we went to) does NOT have a family section. Also it is one of the few places the menu and signs are entirely in Arabic. We are spoiled that most signs and menus are in English in addition to Arabic. Luckily all Lucy and I got in KFC were some pointed looks and some honking, and we were able to return to our vehicle without being reprimanded.

2. Travis went to the bookstore/electronics store 4 times in two days. Turns out the weekend after Ramadan/Eid al Fitr holiday means stores can be open whenever they want and no one knows when that will be. Unfortunately when we finally made it there during opening hours they didn't have what we were looking for.

3. It's best to not try and shop between 11am and 4pm here. A lot of shops close for the 11:30 prayer time and don't open again until after the 3:30 prayer time. Reminds me of the Spanish Siesta time!

4. A few years ago the King allowed women to start working in administrative roles in hospitals and as retail clerks. They all wear the traditional Saudi veil where you can only see their eyes. I already have a hard time understanding people with thick accents, but when I can't see their lips to try and figure out what they are saying it's nearly impossible! The Saudi women I've encountered are generally soft spoken so this makes it even more challenging.

5. The differences between a culture built on commerce (America) and a culture built on religion are pretty interesting. Obviously we have a lot more learning to do here but I find it fascinating that they just don't care if they are losing out on making money during prayer time, if they are exclusive to men only, etc.

6. I had my first experience with a true Saudi public restroom on Tuesday. There are no toilets. I'll just let that sink in for a minute....

Yes, somehow a pregnant woman in an abaya is supposed to pee in a hole in the ground. Why they haven't moved their bathrooms into the 21st century is beyond me. At least the door locked. I'm so grateful that the fancy-hotel-hospital I'm delivering at has toilets in its restrooms.

7. Having nothing to compare this experience to before moving here, I think I expected Jubail to be a lot more like Prague in that it would be hard to find things, hard to communicate, and poor infrastructure. I think I subconsciously expected simply because women's rights are so behind the times. However this is not the case at all. Jubail (at least the parts that I have been to in our three weeks here) is significantly more modern and western than I anticipated. Khobar/Dharan even moreso. With the exception of the toilet issue, pretty much everything else is almost on par with western standards. I know it has changed a lot in the last 3 years since our company first started letting expat families live here, and I'm grateful to be moving here now with the upgraded grocery store and more restaurant and shopping options. The streets seem well maintained, most people drive vehicles that are less than 10 years old, and the grocery store has almost everything you could want. Even dragon fruit. Now they might not have dragon fruit next week, and the cheese selection seems to change weekly, but that's ok, because at least they HAVE a cheese selection, which was not always the case in post-communism Prague.

Just a quick note on our safety: Several of you have expressed concern about us being here with the recent embassy closures and state department travel restrictions. We feel extremely safe here and are confident that if there is a threat to our safety in this specific area our company will make sure we are safe where we are or evacuated. Our compound has numerous checkpoints and is highly secure. The places we have been going to (restaurants, grocery shopping, other stores) seem just as safe as places we would go back home. Probably more so than Houston where I was always concerned about what weirdos were in the parking lots!

We're enjoying our time here and excited to begin exploring more now that Ramadan is over. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on getting our first air shipment and our cooking adventures!