For this update, I decided to try to relate to you the normality of life on a compound in Saudi Arabia. So here I sit in my den typing this update to you on my computer. Granted, our internet connection is not the greatest, but it seems to keep us relatively connected to the world. And considering I just paid another month’s cost at a little over $100 per month, it should get me up to Christmas Break now.
As you can see, the place has the look of a normal home that you would find in suburbia in the States. We have a fairly large kitchen, a good size dining and living room, two bedrooms and a maid’s quarters. All total, we have three and a half bathrooms as well. Even our new home in Roanoke cannot claim that many toilets. We are hoping to move to a bigger place soon as the compound did not have a three-bedroom available for us in August, so Hannah is in the maid’s quarters. And after I just built her new IKEA desk, she has even less room in her cramped quarters.
Here is a view of our villa from the outside and a look at the pleasant weather we are experiencing during November. We have been told that it will be getting colder soon, but it is hard to believe it when our kids come home with farmer’s tans after being in the sun so long.
As you can see, the compound has streets and sidewalks as well. We have taken to walking our dog twice a day so we can get some exercise around the compound. We can usually get a good mile or so walk out of it, and it allows us to scout out any empty villas that may be coming up for us. So far, no luck. On the right below, you can see Hannah riding around on Nathan’s bike. This was his birthday present back in October. There is also a picture of the birthday boy below. We had a few kids from the compound over to celebrate. Parties are the same no matter where you have them. We recently had a games night for my (Bryan’s) birthday this past week, and it was a lot of fun as well.
But for young girls like Hannah, it is a bit hard for them to have much of a social life. Since there are no movie theaters and being in mixed company is pretty prohibited, most of the western kids that Hannah hangs around with spend most of their times visiting other teens at other compounds. When you are on the compound, all the Saudi rules are off. Some compounds even prohibit abayas (black coverings for women) for all women. Although we do not post signs to the effect, there is much more freedom on the compound. Jennie often drives around the compound since she cannot drive in Riyadh and it is not uncommon to have guests bring alcoholic beverages to the compound restaurant or to parties. This is usually homemade hooch.
Speaking of drinking, we have begun to enjoy going to a new Applebee’s here in town because they have wonderful meals, fantastic service, and a drink menu that is extensive and all alcohol-free. Somehow drinking a virgin pina colada or margarita is more fun and guiltfree. The local drink is called a Saudi Champagne and is usually an exotic combination of fruit drinks. We went to Applebee’s for our anniversary this year and Jennie had here first encounter with the mutawa (religious police). These guys patrol malls and public areas and try to impose their interpretation of Muslim law on everyone. The favorite is to get women to cover their heads. It is usually the westerners and Filipinos that go around uncovered. Muslim law is supposed to prohibit men from speaking to women, so the mutawa are supposed to tell the husband to get their wives covered. Most western women ignore them unless they are accompanied by a police officer who can then make the situation worse for you. Such was the case in the mall where Applebee’s was. The mutawa and his police escorts were coming up the escalator as we were heading down. I saw him motion to his head, but I wasn’t sure what he meant. He passed me and politely asked Jennie to cover. She did. Later, at Applebee’s, the staff told her they saw her encounter and apologized to her saying that there is one mutawa who seems to have adopted this mall. They do not seem to like it any more than we do. This same caution accompanied dinner as well. We were put in a booth and a sliding wood panel closed us off from everyone else in the restaurant as mixed dining should not be viewed by others either. When they found out we were celebrating our anniversary, the entire wait staff slid the wooden panel and extended a hand to congratulate us at some point during the meal. Finally, the manager came and said, “If you were in our Jeddah Applebee’s, we would sing to you to celebrate, but here in Riyadh, the mutawa are much stronger, so we do not sing.” We laughed, but sometimes this strange acquiescing to the whims of this religious regime gets on all of our nerves. When Jennie covers her head and I get separated from her in a store, it takes quite a while to find her again when all the women look the same.
The picture above is NOT your typical market as it is part of a Harvest Festival we had here at our compound. These are some shots of some of the shopping available. There was an abundance of carpets for sale, as well or handmade items from other areas nearby. We are especially drawn to the camel saddles that people have just for a decorative stool.
The Harvest Festival was a chance for us to have guests on the compound for a celebration. There were rides, food booths, cook-offs, bands, and just a fun time in the Saudi sunshine. I will close with a few pictures from the day.
Above you can see a band of students who played at the festival. They are all students in my class and they played quite well. Next is a shot of the audience enjoying the show, this is mainly a shot of Hannah and her friends.
Nathan worked the Fun Run, helping runners know how to navigate the course that ran through the compound, and I took a break from the fun to eat a chicken shwarmer. Yummy!
