Yesterday was an interesting day for me. It was my first day off the compound after arriving here. I was invited by some Exxon ladies to go to Zumba at the other compound, The Cove. (Exxon ladies have personal drivers.) So, we met at the bus stop, donned our abayas and were picked up by the drivers. The drive was interesting because this is the first time that I saw the Red Sea. It was very blue. :) The other compound is very different from mine. It is beautiful with lagoons, but only 1 big pool. My compound seems more "neighborly". The villas are arranged around many different pools. Anyway, the Zumba was more of an African dance than what I am used to, but fun.
Later that day was the weekly Exxon ladies tea at the Exxon villa. These ladies are crazy (in a good way). One of the ladies had just finished taking a course at the University in learning Arabic. Also, she had just finished having her bathroom re-done, after many problems. So, there was a graduation/bathroom finished party. One of the ladies made a toilet paper cake, another made a graduation cap for her and she was given an abaya to wear so it looked like a graduation gown. Another lady made a diploma in Arabic. We all hummed the graduation song as she came out of the kitchen to our applause. It was fun!
One of the funny things was that I saw a latin lady and her mother that were on the plane when Ken and I arrived in Yanbu. A funny thing had happened. When we were in customs, I noticed that her mother was having the same problems with fingerprinting that I was having. The customs agent kept having her do it again and I could see that she was getting nervous, just like me. Afterwards, when they came into baggage claim, they started laughing loudly and then crying loudly. I couldn't tell if it was happy crying or sad crying. Everyone was looking at them, because it is very quiet and solemn with the Saudi's. They were speaking Spanish so I did not go up to them. But I wondered what was happening. When I saw her at the tea, I told her that I saw her at baggage claim laughing/crying. She is hilarious! She said that her mom was so nervous and so relieved to be through customs that they started laughing and couldn't stop and then it was happy crying. They realized that everyone was staring at them, but they didn't care. So then another lady from Canada said let me tell you about my first experience going through customs. The agent held up his hands showing just four fingers (with the thumb folded inside the palm). She thought that he was saying hello, Saudi style, so she started waving hello and smiling at him. He became angry and finally got across that she was to put her fingers on the screen. After she got it and did that, he held up his two thumbs. She thought that he was saying "Good job", so she gave him the thumbs up sign. Of course, he was not happy with that, he wanted to get her thumb print! So, I guess my experience at customs control was not so odd. :)
Later that day was the weekly Exxon ladies tea at the Exxon villa. These ladies are crazy (in a good way). One of the ladies had just finished taking a course at the University in learning Arabic. Also, she had just finished having her bathroom re-done, after many problems. So, there was a graduation/bathroom finished party. One of the ladies made a toilet paper cake, another made a graduation cap for her and she was given an abaya to wear so it looked like a graduation gown. Another lady made a diploma in Arabic. We all hummed the graduation song as she came out of the kitchen to our applause. It was fun!
One of the funny things was that I saw a latin lady and her mother that were on the plane when Ken and I arrived in Yanbu. A funny thing had happened. When we were in customs, I noticed that her mother was having the same problems with fingerprinting that I was having. The customs agent kept having her do it again and I could see that she was getting nervous, just like me. Afterwards, when they came into baggage claim, they started laughing loudly and then crying loudly. I couldn't tell if it was happy crying or sad crying. Everyone was looking at them, because it is very quiet and solemn with the Saudi's. They were speaking Spanish so I did not go up to them. But I wondered what was happening. When I saw her at the tea, I told her that I saw her at baggage claim laughing/crying. She is hilarious! She said that her mom was so nervous and so relieved to be through customs that they started laughing and couldn't stop and then it was happy crying. They realized that everyone was staring at them, but they didn't care. So then another lady from Canada said let me tell you about my first experience going through customs. The agent held up his hands showing just four fingers (with the thumb folded inside the palm). She thought that he was saying hello, Saudi style, so she started waving hello and smiling at him. He became angry and finally got across that she was to put her fingers on the screen. After she got it and did that, he held up his two thumbs. She thought that he was saying "Good job", so she gave him the thumbs up sign. Of course, he was not happy with that, he wanted to get her thumb print! So, I guess my experience at customs control was not so odd. :)
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