Hello Everybody,
As of today, I have been living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for one year. It has been an incredible year in my life, my assignment in the Kingdom has allowed me to see and do things I never imagined possible. In the last year, Elizabeth and I have been exposed to people, places and cultures very different from our own. I think about these differences a lot, sometimes it is difficult to express the feelings I have that are associated with the differences we have experienced. I'm sure some people would say the differences are "bad" or that the cultures and beliefs of some of the countries we have visited are wrong. It's not my position to say they are wrong, what I will say is they are very different.
What do we miss the most is a question we have been asked often. The list of things I miss is very long, not so much one more than another, they are all missed. Food wise, pork is very much missed. We ate pork several times a week back home, here we only get it when we travel to Europe on vacation. Availability of food we like (or can recognize) is another thing we miss. You may find a brand or a product you like at the grocery and then you may never see it again, no rhyme or reason to why it showed up or why it can not be found again. I am not a big drinker of alcohol but I like a beer or a glass of wine with a meal every now and then. Because I only had alcohol 3-4 times a month back home, I never thought I would miss it here but I do, I really do! When we leave the Kingdom, I very much enjoy a beer or glass of wine and look forward to drinking more. The ability to come and go as you please is something else we miss. Having to schedule cars and drivers to take you someplace is difficult to get used to and can be uncomfortable. If your driver has a good understanding of English it can be a good experience but if not, it can turn into a very frustrating event with unfilled expectations.
The comforts of home are also missed. The comfortable recliner, the soft pillow top mattress the dishes your mom gave you as a wedding present. With us selling our house and putting most of our things in storage, we are without most of our personal items. We did bring over some picture collages and a few personal items to make the villa more like home but it is not the same.
There are no movie theaters here in KSA the thought of getting a bag of popcorn, a coke and watching a new release is not an option. Likewise, TV is not the same. Anything that is prime time in America is on at 3am in Saudi Arabia (if it is even shown). Since the weekend is Thursday and Friday here, weekend sporting events (college football, NFL...) are not seen because we are at work.
Saudi Arabia is a very conservative and segregated society. Men and women do not socialize together outside of their immediate families. For example if you go to the hospital. you will find a waiting room for men and another for women. If there is a line at the admissions desk, women, in most cases will be in a separate line. Recently we have seen women working the checkouts at the grocery store. If you are a single man, you can not get in those lines, they are for women and families. Women (Saudi) wear an abaya and niqab in public. Western women all wear abayas but usually do not wear the niqab. Because of their conservative culture, I would never consider speaking to a Saudi woman in public. To emphasis how serious these rules are taken/enforced, several years ago there was a fire at a girls school in Riyadh. The girls were not allowed to exit the burning building because they were not wearing their abayas and head scarfs, many lives were lost.
Since I have been here, I pay a lot more attention to events in the Middle East. I have tried to better understand things like Palestinian statehood, regional conflicts and the Arab Spring. Although I feel I have a better understanding of these things I see no solution to these problems in the near future. My greater understanding only highlights how difficult it is to have a successful Foreign Policy in this area. It is interesting to read a Saudi news article and then read the CNN version of the same story.
I have listed a lot of things we miss but number one must be family and friends. Skype and Facetime are fantastic tools to keep in touch with the people back home, I am so glad to have them. I could not imagine what it would be like if I did not get to see my children and grandchild frequently. It is difficult keeping up with family and friends way across the world but it is important and worth the effort.
I will close with one of my favorite pictures from this adventure.
TJ in KSA
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