I haven't written a blog post in over a month! I have been busy. I went back to the US with my husband. I was able to stay for three weeks. He was only able to stay for four days. :( Prior to leaving for the US, I was helping my friends work on a guide to Yanbu. We were rushing to get it done before we all left for our vacations because Ramadan is coming up. So, the last 5-6 weeks have been a blur.
Working on the Guide has been interesting for a few reasons. First of all, I got to know some very interesting ladies working on the Guide. I was on the scouting missions to find places for people to shop, receive healthcare, banking, transportation issues, etc. Some of the places I wasn't aware that they existed: fabric and craft stores, herbal stores, shops that sold Saudi items, etc. We were told about a park for women only. We found it and were allowed to enter (for a small fee). It is a walled area. The walls are probably 10 feet high. No men or boys over the age of 9 are allowed to enter. Once in the park, women can shed their abayas, veils and scarves. The park is landscaped to be hilly. There are picnic areas, a menagerie zoo with peacocks. Actually, I think that it might have been an aviary-all birds. There was a concession stand serving a limited selection of fast food and drinks. Sometimes they have craft markets set up there. There was a small round building that had arcade-like video games in it. There was a inflatable bouncy house for the kids and something that looked like a slip and slide. All the women were walking around smiling and friendly to us. It was a little bit surreal because you rarely ever see Saudi woman unveiled and without an abaya. The only other time I saw this was at the engagement parties. In the park, they were strolling around in their jeans or casual pants. The park was open to the sky, but the walls were high enough to prevent prying eyes.
On the scouting missions, when we went into the stores asking questions, we were usually treated very well. Sometimes, we asked questions of the shopkeepers and kept notes. When the shopkeepers saw the notes, they wanted to know what this was about. When told that it was for a guide, they seemed pleased that they would be in it.
At a shop that sold freshly made juice, two young Saudi men came in. They were very well mannered and seemed well travelled. They were listening to us speak. Finally, one asked where we were from. One of the ladies asked them to guess. They asked if one of us was Russian. One of the ladies was born and raised in what was Yugoslavia, but had spent the last 20 years in Portugal. She still has a very strong accent that sounds Eastern European, to me. He thought the other three of us were from Canada. Two of us were from France and, of course, I was from the US. They, also, were interested in what we were doing. They tried to answer our question as to where the museum in Yanbu was located, but could not. No one seems to know where this museum is located. The only odd experience was when we saw a nice looking coffee shop in the area and decided to give it a try. Usually coffee shops are just for men. We thought we would go in and get take away. But when the worker at the coffee shop saw us walking up to the door, he hurried to it and kept the door close behind him, saying that we could tell him our order and he would bring it out to the car. He was smiling and nice, but very clear that he did not want us to come into the coffee shop.
Another aspect of doing the Guide that I enjoyed was learning a new skill. I had volunteered to do the maps for the guide. To do that, I had to learn a new software (for me), working with Paint software. I had to determine how I would make the maps with only the most important details. I painted the street layout in watercolors by hand, but had to put the numbers and some of the street names and highway numbers in with the Paint software. The best projects that I do involve learning something new, especially a new skill.
Then, of course, there were lots of proof readings getting from the first draft to the final version. What made it more interesting is that the submissions were from people speaking different languages (French, Portuguese, and English). So the ways that things could be phrased were up to interpretation.
The result is a very nice guide that will be helpful to newcomers. I was very happy to be a part of this.
The next day after the Guide was finished, Ken and I flew home to the US. It was a full flight from Istanbul to Houston. He had a few doctors' appointments, then had to fly back. I stayed on and had a great time! There was a Mother's Day crawfish boil and a Mother's Day Brunch in New Orleans with my family. I visited with my in-laws. Back in Houston, my daughter took me to a MLS Houston Dynamo game (which they won), and to Brennan's Houston for a Mother's Day Brunch. While there, we had great enchiladas at Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen, great tapas at Batangas, Sushi at Hot Sushi, steamed mussels Sale Sucre, a cauliflower dish at Roost where the bonniato fish flake continued moving slowly in the dish for a few minutes after the dish was served. etc, etc. I saw my old and present friends from Yanbu at my friend Livi's in Houston. I saw most of my Houston friends. It was a whirlwind!
Now, I am back in Yanbu preparing for 4 going away parties in 4 weeks for 7 great people! It is an exodus of people (more than 50) because a big project is ending. I just hope that we have more people moving in!
Working on the Guide has been interesting for a few reasons. First of all, I got to know some very interesting ladies working on the Guide. I was on the scouting missions to find places for people to shop, receive healthcare, banking, transportation issues, etc. Some of the places I wasn't aware that they existed: fabric and craft stores, herbal stores, shops that sold Saudi items, etc. We were told about a park for women only. We found it and were allowed to enter (for a small fee). It is a walled area. The walls are probably 10 feet high. No men or boys over the age of 9 are allowed to enter. Once in the park, women can shed their abayas, veils and scarves. The park is landscaped to be hilly. There are picnic areas, a menagerie zoo with peacocks. Actually, I think that it might have been an aviary-all birds. There was a concession stand serving a limited selection of fast food and drinks. Sometimes they have craft markets set up there. There was a small round building that had arcade-like video games in it. There was a inflatable bouncy house for the kids and something that looked like a slip and slide. All the women were walking around smiling and friendly to us. It was a little bit surreal because you rarely ever see Saudi woman unveiled and without an abaya. The only other time I saw this was at the engagement parties. In the park, they were strolling around in their jeans or casual pants. The park was open to the sky, but the walls were high enough to prevent prying eyes.
On the scouting missions, when we went into the stores asking questions, we were usually treated very well. Sometimes, we asked questions of the shopkeepers and kept notes. When the shopkeepers saw the notes, they wanted to know what this was about. When told that it was for a guide, they seemed pleased that they would be in it.
At a shop that sold freshly made juice, two young Saudi men came in. They were very well mannered and seemed well travelled. They were listening to us speak. Finally, one asked where we were from. One of the ladies asked them to guess. They asked if one of us was Russian. One of the ladies was born and raised in what was Yugoslavia, but had spent the last 20 years in Portugal. She still has a very strong accent that sounds Eastern European, to me. He thought the other three of us were from Canada. Two of us were from France and, of course, I was from the US. They, also, were interested in what we were doing. They tried to answer our question as to where the museum in Yanbu was located, but could not. No one seems to know where this museum is located. The only odd experience was when we saw a nice looking coffee shop in the area and decided to give it a try. Usually coffee shops are just for men. We thought we would go in and get take away. But when the worker at the coffee shop saw us walking up to the door, he hurried to it and kept the door close behind him, saying that we could tell him our order and he would bring it out to the car. He was smiling and nice, but very clear that he did not want us to come into the coffee shop.
Another aspect of doing the Guide that I enjoyed was learning a new skill. I had volunteered to do the maps for the guide. To do that, I had to learn a new software (for me), working with Paint software. I had to determine how I would make the maps with only the most important details. I painted the street layout in watercolors by hand, but had to put the numbers and some of the street names and highway numbers in with the Paint software. The best projects that I do involve learning something new, especially a new skill.
Then, of course, there were lots of proof readings getting from the first draft to the final version. What made it more interesting is that the submissions were from people speaking different languages (French, Portuguese, and English). So the ways that things could be phrased were up to interpretation.
The result is a very nice guide that will be helpful to newcomers. I was very happy to be a part of this.
The next day after the Guide was finished, Ken and I flew home to the US. It was a full flight from Istanbul to Houston. He had a few doctors' appointments, then had to fly back. I stayed on and had a great time! There was a Mother's Day crawfish boil and a Mother's Day Brunch in New Orleans with my family. I visited with my in-laws. Back in Houston, my daughter took me to a MLS Houston Dynamo game (which they won), and to Brennan's Houston for a Mother's Day Brunch. While there, we had great enchiladas at Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen, great tapas at Batangas, Sushi at Hot Sushi, steamed mussels Sale Sucre, a cauliflower dish at Roost where the bonniato fish flake continued moving slowly in the dish for a few minutes after the dish was served. etc, etc. I saw my old and present friends from Yanbu at my friend Livi's in Houston. I saw most of my Houston friends. It was a whirlwind!
Now, I am back in Yanbu preparing for 4 going away parties in 4 weeks for 7 great people! It is an exodus of people (more than 50) because a big project is ending. I just hope that we have more people moving in!
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