Tag Archives: Riyadh

Going for a Swim

Here in Riyadh, many compounds (expat residence communities) have swimming pools. But if you don’t have a friend on a compound, can you go swimming?

Yes, you can!, my teacher friends told me.

Here’s the scoop:

  • You have to have a driver take you to the Diplomatic Quarter. You must also arrange for them to come pick you up. Arrange with a driver, not a taxi, as empty taxis are not allowed into the DQ. (Cost roundtrip about 60-100 SAR ~$15-$20)
  • Bring your passport.
  • Wear a one-piece swimsuit, plus bike shorts underneath and a swimming cap.
  • Pay 50 SAR ($13)
  • Choose hours when women are allowed

Easy, right!!Well, it’s an option. Hmm…

Ah, I’m thinking fondly of the women’s sauna with swimming lane, 10 minute walk away, no clothing required and $4 entrance fee on Jeju Island.

Mulan: If I Were a Boy …Saudi style

Mulan …If I Were a Boy…Joan of Arc

Just before I left Korea, I was teaching the story book of Mulan to my grade 5-6 students. 

The story of Mulan, I learned, is based on an old Chinese legend about a girl who must take her father’s place. She masquerades as a man, and becomes a famous warrior.

Other cultures have similar stories, like Joan of Arc.

So, I have this dream of masquerading as a guy, just once. (Okay, just once a week.)

Could I pull it off? Tuck my hair into something? I could wear the traditional Saudi man’s headscarf and long white tunic. A slight bulge at chest height could keep going with a bit of padding, to give that chubby Saudi belly style that many men sport.

But then, if I was wearing that, how could I fulfill my dream? I don’t want to drive. I don’t want to eat in the men’s section of a restaurant. I don’t want to play pool or ping-pong and drink coffee at the nearby hangout. And I definitely don’t want to go into the spa at the Hotel Mercure.

If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d masquerade as a man, 

so I could ride a bike!

You’re Welcome: Marhaban

You’re Welcome …Marhaban!

Living as a woman in Saudi Arabia means you’re constantly guessing as to whether you’re allowed or not.

A few weeks ago, for example, I walked first to the tailor shop across the street. If you can see in, and you can see men, oftentimes women aren’t allowed. But in some stores you are.

So, I walked hesitantly to the storefront. I motioned and said, is it okay? Can I come in?

The two men working there nodded yes. They were sitting at separate tables. One was working on a blue sequined ball gown. The other was working on an elegant black dress.

So, I walked up to the door, opened it and I stepped inside. Suddenly, they both were shaking their heads and waving their hands, No!

But, but…I thought they’d just said it was okay.

“Window,” one of the men pointed. Then I realized that I’d just walked into their private workshop and they serve customers (at least women and maybe all) outside at the window. Oopsiedaisy!

Okay, so I’m being too cautious. Lighten up, I thought to myself.

Next stop is the Hotel Mercure, pictured above, that for some reason is designed to look like The Love Boat, or at least a cruiseship. 

We’d been walking by the hotel daily for a few weeks now, and noticed that the sign said “Spa and Health Club”.

I’d tried going in once, but when I walked up to the door and as I was about to go in, I noticed dozens of guys. Only. Guys in traditional Saudi dress and no women. Ah, heck, I thought. I didn’t have the energy that time to test it out.

But today, I wanted to try again.

So, I walked up to the door and saw again the same thing. Lots and lots, maybe 30, Saudi men in traditional dress (red and white checked headpiece scarf and white long robe). There was no one at the door so I went in. The staff at the lobby were wearing hotel-y types of suits and I looked at them and did the, “Am I ok here?” symbol. “Yes, Yes,” they motioned. “Marhaban.” (Welcome!) When they saw me, they got the best English speaker to come help me.

Right about then, I felt really silly for thinking that women weren’t welcome in the hotel. As I was getting ready to ask my question, a women (with nikab) appeared so I was relieved that at least some women were in the hotel.

“Do you have a health club? …or a spa? here?” I asked the staffperson.

“Yes. Yes, we do,” he said. I smiled, beamed!

“But it’s only for the guys you know.”

My friend had nearly the same conversation with him that day at a different time, when he mentioned, “Of course, you’re welcome in the coffee shop and restaurant!”

Crazy Women Drivers

Crazy Women Drivers

The first thing you’re greeted with when you walk in Le Mall is the sound of electric cars tooling around. Driven by toddlers up to about age five, the vehicles are snappy, but not actually so fast that they’re dangerous. You just gotta watch your step a bit, and keep eyes and ears tuned for these little low-speed-demons.

Not just boys on these motorcycles and cars though. Plenty of girls are driving, with moms and dads herding them about, smiling.

I wonder if these same little girls grow up and fondly reminisce, I remember when I drove a car once. I was three years old and it was a silver beauty…

There’s an ice skating rink in the mall for kids too! But again, how would a woman ice skate with an abaya? Now, that could be dangerous

Really …you can’t celebrate Xmas or New Year’s!

Teacher friends planned a Christmas part in their apartment, which has only foreigner residents. They posted a sign in the lobby saying “Christmas Party” with the time, date and apartment number. 

Somehow the Mutawa (Religious Police) got word of it and objected. They came to the apartment building, removed the sign, and came to the apartment listed. They told the teachers they could not have the party, and that the Mutawa would be back at the date and time mentioned to ensure it.

Sound far-fetched? No, and it’s not only Christmas that is un-Islamic, and thus banned. According to an article on the bikyamasr website, a foreigner was just arrested on the street for celebrating the New Year’s Eve with balloons. 

Saudi Arabia arrests foreigner for celebrating New Year’s with balloons

So, when I was in line in the grocery store the day after Christmas, and a nice guy in full Saudi dress first helped me unload my cart, then wished me, “Merry Christmas!” …I said, “Thank you” but wondered

…is this a trick question?

A Real Picnic

Grass? What? Really? Where?

…was my friend’s incredulous response when we told them we’d gone on a picnic, and sat on the grass eating lunch.

King Abdulaziz Historical Center is an oasis in the city.

It made for a perfect ‘Sunday afternoon’ (okay, it was actually Friday, but the second day of our weekend). We ate hummus, babaganoush, tabouleh, Arabic-style tuna salad (peppers and lemons), and spiced fava beans.  We didn’t have a proper picnic mat or blanket. One friend said, “My abaya is my picnic mat.” aha, multipurpose these things!

The weather has been amazingly perfect, with clear sunny skies and light breezes. Just warm enough to still be comfortable wearing an abaya (yeah, we had to keep them on in the park), but not too cool to need a jacket (which you’re really supposed to wear under your abaya.)

It was a treat to see kids riding bicycles, kicking soccer balls and just playing. A girl in an abaya rollerskating was struggling, but honestly even without an abaya, she would be no roller derby contender.

Twice I tried to use the public restroom in the park. But women here can be pretty aggressive when it comes to queueing, or rather not. If you don’t have your game on, there are times when you get left in the dust. I just didn’t have it in me to fight to keep my place in line for some extremely marginal toilets. I decided to wait until we got into the museum. Good call!

map

Non-Alcoholic World

Non-Alcoholic World

It’s a bit of a shock to walk into the classroom and see what looks like an opened can or bottle of beer on a student’s desk. Of course, it’s non-alcoholic. No alcohol is allowed to be sold, bought or consumed in the Kingdom.

But actually, it’s a bit of a shock to see that what the US has brought to the Kingdom is Budweiser! I’m not a beer or a non-beer connoisseur, but I’m just saying…

What are your plans for the future? …oh no, not you

We are preparing our girls for the final exams. One part is a speaking test. We, the teachers, act as interviewers and assessors for this test. This week we’ve been practicing with the girls.

In Part 1 of the speaking exam, we ask each girl a set of 5-6 general questions. For example: Where are you from? What is your city famous for? What kind of house do you live in? Does it have a garage? (always yes) Does it have a swimming pool? (usually yes)

We can choose one of five sets to ask. But one set says (For Male Students Only).

On the Male Students Only list, questions include: What are your plans for the future? What do you want to do after university? Where do you want to work?

Girls of Riyadh

Girls of Riyadh

 In Jarir Bookstore, two weeks ago I first noticed the bright red cover of the Girls of Riyadh. It was on an end-of-aisle display of the Top 10 Bestsellers. I picked it up, and didn’t want to put it down until I finished it a few days later.

Amazing that it was there! It was banned when it was first published in Arabic, in about 2005.

The author, a 25-year-old Saudi woman Rajaa Alsanea living now in the US, wrote the book as it developed through a series of emails. Every Friday she sent another chapter anonymously to her yahoogroup email list.

There is some controversy about whether the book is disclosing things that are too obvious, while others say it’s too outrageous and unbelievable. But for me, it seems to reflect many aspects of the lives of our students. Our girls are from the more well-to-do slice of Saudi society, and what they talk about seems to be in sync with the author’s tales.

The difference is that in class we are restricted from discussing or debating many of the details of their lives. For example, any mention of the possibility of a boyfriend is strictly prohibited. This book offers answers to basic questions I had like, if girls aren’t allowed to ever be in groups or alone with guys other than their relatives, how the heck do they get married? Are they all arranged marriages?

The Girls of Riyadh paints the pictures of how girls and guys meet: at the mall, in the workplace or higher education for medical students (for example), or through friends of friends. And yes, through the arranged meetings of their families.

There are tons of cultural references about Saudi society, which confirms what I’ve been experiencing from the very outermost layers. It’s an interesting, easy read that I’d recommend to anyone.

It’s also inspirational that a 25-year-old had the self discipline and courage to write, what unbeknownst to her, would become a hit worldwide.

(Source: http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Riyadh-Rajaa-Alsanea/dp/014311347X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325229258&sr=1-1)

Perfect Weather in Riyadh – November and December

Perfect Weather in Riyadh

Yeah, well, I might have to wear and abaya and cover my head every time I leave my apartment, but besides for that, dressing for the weather is a piece of cake! No gloves, jacket, or boots needed now, when at home, it’s full on winter.

Check out the 10-day forecast for Riyadh from The Weather chanel: High around 70F, low around 50F. Sunny, light winds up to 5mph

(Source: http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Riyadh+Saudi+Arabia+SAXX0017)

Greek Salad …Easy and Delicious

Greek Salad: Easy and Delicious
We are so lucky! The ingredients for Greek salads are readily available, fresh and inexpensive. We can pick up fresh heads of romaine lettuce (kept cool in the frig) at our local produce shop, along with roma tomatoes and fresh lemons for the dressing. Kalamata olives and feta cheese are plentiful and scrumptious from our grocery store’s deli. We have the for lunch on a weekend, or pack it for school. Add a pita or two and heaven awaits. (A packet of about 8 fresh today pita is 1 Riyal …30 cents!)

Signs from Above

Signs from Above

Those huge banners that we first saw a couple days ago at the ‘Peace Day’ fair at school… They are now gracing our halls. The banners are about 5’ high and either self-standing or attached to walls.

The topics: Quran Part 1, the Hijab, and the Islamic Code.

This is a pretty big school with about 2,000 students, in three floors, and a few connected buildings.

The banners have been strategically placed, it seems, in one hallway. That of the foreign English teachers where the most non-Muslims are located.

There is no separation of church and state either. Our university is named after the current king, and the school is an Islamic foundation, through and through.

Remember, there is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. So, if you’re a citizen, you’re Muslim.

And then, there are those of us who aren’t …yet.

Movies and Music Aren’t Allowed in Class…but sometimes they slip in

Movies and Music aren’t allowed in class, but sometimes they sneak in…

My classed was uncharacteristically poised and attentive today when I started the audio. Or tried to. It was their Dictation Quiz and we were in exam conditions: phones off, bags stored at the front of the room, nothing on their desks other than a pencil or pen. We were doing the sound check before the actual test started.

I clicked the audio and nothing happened. Tried again and went for plan B. I saw that Media Player was installed, so I decided to try to open the audio file with that. The sound was fine. Unfortunately, Media Player opens with advertisements.

The first ad was for the new Tom Cruise movie, Mission Impossible. Movie theaters are not allowed in Saudi Arabia. And any talk of movies is not allowed in our classes.

I quickly clicked to get rid of it. That ad was replaced by one of Shakira. Nice! Dancing and music are two more topics that are not allowed in our classroom. In Saudi Arabia, dancing and non-Islamic music are not allowed in public.

Well, I was quite embarrassed. Luckily I’ve been with my class daily for over a month now, so we know each other fairly well. I gasped a few times, and we all had a good laugh as they reassured me, “Teacher, it’s okay. It’s okay Teacher,” as if to say, we know it was an accident.

We can’t talk about these ideas in class, but somehow my students already knew who Shakira is, as well as Tom Cruise. Hmm…

Last Whiff of Men

I walk to school most mornings. When I near the uni property, the main impression is men:

  • Fathers are dropping off their daughters to school
  • Drivers are delivering their clients, our 18-ish-year-old students
  • Men are standing in small groups chatting: near the construction-trailer office for drivers, in the shade near the parking lot, or waiting in the lot near the buses they have just driven having already done their route and deposited their students at school

The men that are standing in or near the lot are mainly non-Saudis. With 90% of private positions filled by non-Saudis, drivers tend to be Pakistanis, Yemeni, African or elsewhere. They watch out for us and try to help us get safely across the lot, as cars stream past in unpredictable ways, turning against traffic, making u-turns, and speeding in and out of the small streets bordering the uni.

These guys are used to a more Western way of greeting women, so it’s not eyes down and trying to be respectful, as it is a block earlier when we walk past the mosque. No, when you see these guys, it feels like they look at us (all female) teachers, as if we are people, not specifically women. 

“Good morning!” they greet us. “Hello Teacher!” “Have a nice day!” 

We wave and greet them, then as we walk past an area with about 30 buses, parked ready for end of day reverse trips.

The smiles of the guys, and the smell of diesel is all a very manly infusion in our days. We walk for a few more seconds and step out of the world of men, and into the world of women only. 

There’s a faint hint of diesel that sneaks in, along with a couple thousand black-abaya’d girls and women. Once in, they stop in the small entry rooms, taking off their abayas and scarves and fixing their hair and clothes. 

At day’s end, the entire process happens again, in reverse.

Smattering of this week …more later

As we approach the end of the university semester, we are busy with projects, marking, updating scores and preparing our students for finals. So, I don’t have time to write much, but here’s a smattering of happenings and insights this week.

- In the bookstore, there are no videos for adults other than a Pilates DVD/Book, the Quran, and kids movies (including Disney animation, Pixar, and Spongebob). There are however tons of computer games. So, while watching movies is not allowed in public, on our cable station we can watch American movies, Egyptian, and many others. It’s hard to figure out the rules here of what’s allowed and what’s not.

- Last Friday night, we watched the worldwide debut of ‘Arab Idol’. They have their versions of Simon and the other judges. In other Arab countries, they don’t have the same bans on music in public spaces, so you’d expect singers from those countries to compete. But it looked like some traditionally dressed Saudi competitors were in the pack too. Were they singing religious music? Couldn’t tell. I’m not familiar enough with Arabic music to even know what is good singing. If you know what classical Indian music is, this is similar in ways. That warbling sound could indicate tremendous skill and great music, or not. We wondered if this was a big thing, after the Arab Spring. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to talk about non-Islamic music with our students.

- Students are turning in final projects. One came by for clarification. I guess she liked my answer because she hugged me and kissed me on the head. “Oh teacher,” she said, “I love you.”

Later that day, when I gave scores for presentations, other students swarmed me, with less love, “Teacher, Why-y-y-y-y? I want full marks!” (repeat x20)  I never tried that in university. Did you?

Another student had turned in an earlier draft of a Happy New Year brochure, telling all about the celebration. They still use the Hijri calendar, so it’s the year 1433 here, as well as 2011. They don’t celebrate Jan 1 as New Year’s so it was a bit bold to begin with, as Jan 1 is considered a Christian calendar celebration. But it was gonna slide by. Then the next draft appeared and had a page in the brochure about Christmas and clipart of Santa and angels. Omigosh, no! This is strictly forbidden (haraam). I had to tell the student to redo her project, with no reference to Christmas or Christianity, otherwise it could not be accepted.

- Walking home from school, at the door, all of us are putting on our abayas. I walk past the mosque and it’s prayer time, so men and boys in traditional Saudi garb are walking to the mosque. The sound of the Imam floats in the air. I feel in the rhythm of the place. Then I turn the corner, and there’s a boy wearing flip flops and a soccer jersey, skipping down the street kicking a ball. Suddenly I feel silly walking around in this black cloak.

- My first trip into a compound was strange. A coworker has a friend who drove us (male, of course). We had to weave our way through a dozen barricades to get to the first gate. There, they check your passport and you walk to the other side and a driver comes. The driver took us to the next gate where they take your passport, then drive you directly to where you’re going. She went for a massage. I stayed in the car and went back out.

So if a woman wants a haircut, she can go to the women’s floor in Kingdom Tower, to a salon in a compound, or have someone come to her house. Or, like me, I cut my own hair. Just a trim really, but I have to admit, it’s the first time I’ve ever cut my hair. It seemed like the easiest way to handle it. When the haircutter my friend uses comes back from the states, I’ll make an appointment and try that.

- It doesn’t look like Christmas at all here, because Christmas decorations in public are forbidden. I did see a Christmas tree in the community room window of the compound and my reaction was, Woooo (scary, brave!) A few teachers and I had a Christmas crafty get together. But we can’t display our creations at work, and probably not a good idea to even discuss it in the teacher’s room.

- Out running errands on Thursday (our “Saturday”) we wanted to get a coffee or bite. The only refuge was Starbucks. We went around to the women’s entrance (look for frosted glass), and as we reached for the door, we heard it being locked from inside. We knocked and they opened it.

“Oh, yes,” the staffperson (Italian maybe?) said (basically), “You can come in but you’ll have to leave before prayer time in 10 minutes because the Mutawa (religious police) are out today.”

If the police take offense to allowing customers to remain in during business hours, the staff would be in trouble …though I’m not sure exactly what that means.

As we sat and drank our coffee (quickly), my friend said, “Hey, I found nice ice cream over there. Better than Baskin-Robbins!”

“Oh really? Cool. And you could sit down there?”

“Oh no. They served me, but there was no women’s seating.” Ah yes, again.

The weather has been amazingly lovely. We wear a t-shirt and sweater at work,  Covered by an abaya when we’re out walking, is comfortable. High 60-70F and sunny. Perfect.

And it’s lovely to hear the sound of prayer calls drifting through and punctuating the days. It’s an odd combination, because you feel included in the prayer in that you always hear it. Excluded though because women can not go inside a mosque. And along those lines, non-muslims can not visit Mecca.

Still when I heard the sound of prayer calls coming thru the window tonight, I found that I did prefer it to the cheesy Christmas music we had playing on the i-Tunes 24/7 Christmas station on my laptop.

Hangman Game …reconsidered

Hangman Game: Reconsidered

Hangman is the age old game of guessing a letter, and slowly killing off a cartoon stick figure. Harmless enough, and okay, but not thrilling. But, it’s a great filler when you just have a few minutes and you can use it to review a new vocab word or concept. But I wanted to take it up a notch. So, in Korea I started playing a version I invented after hearing of other variations.

I draw a person holding four balloons, floating above the sea. A shark with an open mouth waits below. Missed letters pop one balloon at a time (I erase the balloon) and modify the person to show a frown, panic, and tears as the stick figure gets nearer to dropping into the shark’s mouth, with each incorrect guess.

I wanted to play this with my Saudi classes. But it occurred to me that maybe there would be some objection to this. So, before class one day I asked the couple of students that were there early if it was okay. I showed them and they said, Yes! Of course, it’s no problem!”

One student said, “Teacher. Why would you think it was a problem?”

Maybe I’m a bit skittish. The previous week I was told during class by the same student, that I’d just done something “haraam” (forbidden). The rule in class is no food or drink (only water.) A different student walked in late, set a can of juice on her desk and opened it. I walked over and without stopping what else was happening, nonchalantly took the can from her desk and set it in the trash can.

The student told me that it was very upsetting to them because it’s haraam to put good food / drink in the trash, like that. The discussion that followed was civil and while others said the fault was the students’, many others agreed that my actions were not okay. Later in class, I suggested that the student who raised the concern and I could meet and come up with a solution suitable to both of us.

So…back to the Hangman game. Good, I thought to myself, so I can play Hangman with them.

Suddenly, I remembered the gruesome public executions carried out routinely in Saudi Arabia and I felt nauseous…

Starbucks Gender Segregation

Starbucks Gender Segregation

I walked into the Starbucks in the fancy Kingdom Tower mall. At the counter, the man there asked me, “Please, can you use the families section?” Where? “Around and to the left.”

I’d walked into the men’s only section. It looked exactly like most Starbucks I’ve seen elsewhere in the world: US, Canada, Korea. But, I should be learning by now.

The family section is actually another Starbucks, so the two are next to each other. Family Sections in general have frosted glass on the lower section so as to prevent men from looking at women. This Starbucks had ample space for women to not only purchase, but also to sit and enjoy their drinks.

In the photo, you can see the men’s Starbucks on the left, and the families Starbucks on the right (where the woman and boy are coming out)

Smartphone: GPS …aha, so that’s where I am!

Smartphone GPS: Aha, so that’s where I am!

Click on the photo to link to the google map of my route from home (left) to work (right). Zooming out is fun.

I had a heck of a time figuring out exactly where my apartment and the campus were. Street signs are in Arabic, roads zig zag, and I couldn’t figure it out with paper or online maps.

Until, I got my new phone. I haven’t been much of a smartphone user, mostly because of the cost of using them. But last weekend, I settled on a Samsung Galaxy Android phone. After I bought it, I realized it has GPS.

I was able to mark home and mark school, then put that into Google maps and it generated my walk to school exactly.

Riyadh is a fast growing, sprawling metropolis of 10 million ish inhabitants, who use a variety of languages. So being able to show where you are accurately on a map is really valuable. You can also text or email your location to someone.

Tonight, we went on a little outing to a shopping center. I watched the blue arrow showing my location move as our vehicle traveled, and for the first time began got a sense of some major roads. Wow, with a little more practice, I might be able to direct a driver home.

Smart. phone. I get it, now.

(Source: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213001000696740304148.0004b388b0b0ead4fccdb&msa=0&ll=24.794342,46.737299&spn=0.003954,0.006899)

Big Family Shopping

Big Family Shopping

Some of our students (age 20 or so) are already married and others are planning their weddings. I can’t say much, as I myself was married at age 21.

The difference might be that these girls are likely to be moms of large families, more like the families of your parents’ days, than of your childrens’.

When they talk about family size, some say six kids would be perfect. Others say, no, I want a small family. Four kids is enough.

We see these young women in the grocery store with carts piled high with food. Their husbands are often with them, as the women can’t drive themselves so need  male relative, driver or taxi to get everything home.

So, doing the shopping alone is a big task for these women, many of them quite young. But, at home, they tell us, many have a servant that prepares the meals.