Farewell, Saudi Arabia

This is a sad blog for me because it is my last.  I have moved back home from Saudi Arabia.  My time in KSA was quite the adventure.  Things are very different there.  It was interesting learning about the culture, exploring the landscape and learning more about its history.

I would have loved to have met more Saudi people, but that is a bit difficult.  But.....I did meet many interesting people from all over the world-Belgium, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Venezuela, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Yemen and probably other places that I have forgotten to mention.  Also, I met many lovely fellow Americans who had experienced interesting journeys all around the world.  And, since one of my favorite past times is trying new and interesting food, the compound was a perfect place to do that.  There were so many people interested in sharing their food and culture.   If you needed something on the compound, there was always someone to help you.  If you were sick, people would bring you food and medicine.  If you were sad, the ladies would cheer you up.  It is a wonderfully supportive community.

 I do think that it takes a certain type of person to decide to go there.   Basically, you need to be flexible.  It was a bit intimidating on my first entry into the compound.  You have to go through security check points manned by soldiers with automatic weapons, around barriers and into a compound surrounded by a wall topped with razor wire.  You have to be flexible about everything.  You need to substitute or forgo certain food and other products that you are accustomed to using.  A favorite cereal (or your top 10 favorite cereals) may be difficult to find.  Meats taste very different.  Vegetable selection is a bit limited.  Sometimes, walnuts and hazelnuts are hard to find.  When I was first there, I couldn't find things like sour cream,  cream cheese, good goat cheese, strawberries, broccoli, etc.  My network of friends would tell me where to find them or with berries, which day of the week and time you need to go to the local grocery to find them.  You had to get used to not being able to try on clothes in the store, but needed to go down the hall in the mall to the Ladies room and changing room.  Sometimes you needed to checkout in the ladies line.  Etc.  There were new rules to learn:  whether you could wear nail polish, any type of shoe, the length of your abaya, where women could not go or what you could not do.

You learn to expect things to take more time. I could not just pop over to the grocery.  The grocery bus ran only certain days or times of the week.  You could take a cab, but then of course, you would want to get the groceries done quickly.  All shopping had to be done around prayer times, so  often times you would have a small window to get things done.  If you weren't finished grocery shopping when prayer time started, you would have to leave your groceries in the cart and come back in 20 minutes or so.  Therefore, a task might require a few trips.  Whereas, at first this was very frustrating, you eventually get used to the change in pace.

I was always treated kindly by  Saudis.  Although I was not able to actually befriend any Saudis, I was often approached and asked where I was from.  When I said "America", it was always received positively.  It seems like many Saudis have either been to the US or have relatives living here. One Saudi lady came running out of a store in the old part of town to ask me where I was from.  She seemed very proud to tell me that two of her children were Americans because they were born in America.   And it was interesting what people thought of Americans.  One time when I designed a centerpiece for a going away party that included a picture of a person going through a finish line with a goal post, the honoree (from Jordan) told me that it was very American.  When I asked her why, she told me that Americans are very goal oriented.   I saw her point.

I did have odd reactions sometimes. When Saudi men would come around a corner at the grocery store and see me, they would sometimes look surprised or shocked, but then recover themselves quickly.  I guess this was because I was not veiled or wearing a scarf, but I WAS wearing an abaya.  I remember laughing aloud one time with friends in a 5 riyal store and all the Saudis in the store turned and stared at me.

I was fortunate to be invited to a few wedding celebrations and the  Saudis could not have been more gracious or welcoming. 

Writing this blog has been an interesting surprise.  I have had so much positive feedback, not just from family and friends, but also from strangers.  Before going to Saudi, a friend had suggested that I write a blog and then have it bound when I got home after the assignment as a souvenir.   I thought about it and decided that it would be an easy way to communicate with my family and friends back home about what I was experiencing in Saudi.  Also, when I had found out about a site that posted expats blogs, I submitted mine and it was accepted.  I have received so many interesting responses and feedback from people that I don't even know.  Before this current post, I have not posted for many months, but still every day there are several people reading the blog.  I can see statistics as to how many people have read the blog each day and where they are from.  And they are from everywhere, here are the top readers:

United States	5983
Saudi Arabia	2024
Canada	312
United Kingdom	160
Russia	96
France	92
India	70
Netherlands	55
Italy	39
Turkey	33

Also, it has been read in Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Brunei, S Korea, Algeria, Russia and Oman.  This was crazy to me everyday to wake up and look to see where my blog was that day.  :)  And people are still reading it every day, 5 months after my last posting!

In the US, people are very interested in what it is really like in KSA.  I have gotten many questions about it.  I have even been asked to speak at a book club that was reading a book about life in Saudi.

As hard as it was to leave so many friends in Saudi, not knowing if I will ever see them again, it was also wonderful to return to the US to my family and old friends.  One of the things that I love about the US is there is such an open expression of joy.

I have been very fortunate to have these experiences and am so thankful to my wonderful, sweet husband for taking us on this journey.