Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

During our stay in Jeddah at the Fal Resort, our male teachers were asked to join the traditional dancing which only the males participate in. It was very entertaining to watch!

On our very last day in Riyadh, we were taken for our second visit to the desert where we were finally able to ride camels. It was rather interesting to see a flatbed truck arrive with two camels and two ATV's in the bed of the truck!

Here I am in a full face veil and hijab. While I did not have to wear this during my travels, many women in Saudi Arabia opt to be fully covered like this when they are in public.

Monday, April 9th, 2007

Hi Ryan and Mrs. Maynard, Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Emmond and everyone on that team! Thanks for all of your incredible questions. I will try and answer each question for you so here goes..........

Hi mom its Ryan. So those questions I was telling you about I have right now so here they are.

Are there any animals in Saudi that you wouldn't see in N.H. If so what?This I will have to ask around about. I will tell you that the only dogs I have seen were out in the desert and they were wild. People here have cats for pets and I often seeing them walking and cuddling with one, and I also see many stray cats on the streets. People also have birds as pets.

{How does it feel to be in a hot climate?}I love the warm weather so it feels great except for the fact that I am wearing black abaya which absorbs the heat! I try to drink water all day long to stay hydrated and there are lots of delicious fresh fruit drinks to quench your thirst. The weather here is actually mild for the region with temperatures around 70-90 degrees but there is always a nice breeze which gets quite strong later in the day. In June - October it will get very hot here with temperatures well over 100 degrees. Luckily everything here is air conditioned.

{Do the women talk a lot?}Many do, but many are quite shy. Their culture has raised them to be quite shy and to not interact with people outside their friends and family. Saudi women can be reserved around men they don't know as it is not proper for them to speak with other men that are not family. The woman we are meeting however, are less traditional and more westernized. They are eager to talk to both men and women and they are incredibly well educated. Most of them have traveled around the world and have attended colleges in the United States.

How do you get around? We travel by a large "Coach" style bus which is very comfortable to be in. That is good as we spend a great deal of time in it going from place to place. There are no train stations in each city and no public buses so that means everyone (male) has to have a car. Since women cannot drive here, every family has to employ a driver for the women and children in their family and it is also common to have a house servant.

What food do you eat? Whats the geography like
How is the economy there? Are there a lot of homeless people?}The economy here is getting stronger, but the employment level is high ( around 13%). This is because, many Saudi's view certain jobs as "beneath them". For example, up to this point in this society, service type jobs, working in restaurants, hotels, and other industries like that have been done by foreigners from India, Bangladesh etc. Now, as the economy grows and more young people are needing employment, they are having to consider these jobs and they are slowly having to accept that these jobs can help them to make a living.

Does the geography really vary? The coastal regions are relatively flat in some sections and mountainous in other regions. The interior of the country and the regions to the south, like the Empty Quarter (Rub a Kali Desert) are vast areas of desert. There are some sections that are oasis, fertile areas of palm trees feed by underground natural water supplies.

What are the cultures /customs of people? That is a big question and one I will answer briefly now, and one I'll expand on when I see all of you in 7th grade. Family is the most important tradition in their society. They have great pride in the clan or tribe they come from and family live near each other. Family helps to select marriage partners for their men and women. Respect for anyone older than yourself is most important. Education is looked at as a very important gift and the children here are very studious.

What would happen if the women refused to wear the Abaya? Most of the pressure to wear the abaya comes from the girls family and tradition. There are no laws requiring a girl to cover, but societal pressure exists so most conform.

What are the foods and drinks like?}Drinks are incredible... lots of colorful fruit juices which look amazing to drink before you even taste one. Kiwi, orange, mango, coconut, and apple juices are very popular. Teas like green tea, and coffees ( with cardamon flavor- very bitter) are also very popular. Lots of water is also consumed. Foods really range and I but sea foods like lobster and shrimp, fish, lamb, curry flavoring, hummus, pita breads, fruits, rices are just some that I tasted. I will do an entry on my blog at a later date to tell the specific names of traditional foods.

{Does the food taste good? What is it made out of? YES... most of it was awesome!

Do baby girls where abayas? Do you have to where the abaya to bed?}I saw little girls as young as 6 or 7 wearing an abaya with no head covering and I also saw in the stores abayas that were very tiny for 3-4 year olds.

(This ones from me){Are the camels as big as the ones at the museum down in Boston that we saw.} The camels were a range of sizes, the older they got the bigger they got and yes, they ended up at least as big as the one's we saw in the Boston museum.

{How is it wearing an abaya}Sometimes it gets hot, and I really get tired of fixing the hijab head covering which falls off and blows off when it gets windy. I watch the Saudi women, and they are constantly fixing their hijab covering as it slips off their heads too! In some ways, it is like wearing a uniform, because you don't have to worry about what you are wearing, but remember, that women, once they arrive in an all female environment, or at home, can take off the abaya and were regular clothing. Trust me, the Saudi's are VERY into fashion and the beautiful stores that are everywhere have the very latest of clothing that most girls in the US would die to wear.

{Have you seen any interesting foods there? The most interesting food I saw was balls that looked like meatballs but they were made of camel liver. I admit to tasting one and it was a bit game-y tasting. One bite was enough for me!

Where do you stay? Aramco Services provided our accommodations for the 3 cities so we stayed for 3 nights at the Aramco compound in upscale dormitories, 3 nights at the Jeddah Hilton, a seaside hotel, and the Al Faisaliah Hotel, a stunning 4-5 star hotel in the capital city of Riyadh.

What's the difference between their schools and ours?}Boys and girls never attend the same school in this country which reflects the traditions of the culture in this society. The class sizes were also quite different, as most classes we visited had 40 or more children squeezed into a classroom the size of Mrs. Robinson's! Amazingly, the students were saw were all on task and working hard to pay attention to the lesson.

{Has the way you looked at America changed since you have been there? One thing I will take back from this trip, it that Americans need to be careful not to impose their Western ideas on other cultures. Just because someone dresses differently, does not mean that they need to change to be more like us. I admire how committed this culture is to preserving who they are, but also hope that they allow change to happen if the people of the society desire change.

Do you have to where abaya to bed. No! Like I said, the abaya is like a coat, that you wear when you are in public. As soon as a female enters their home, the abaya gets hung up at the door, just like you hang up your coat when you get home.

Do the kids play the same sports as we do?}Football (soccer) is very popular here, but they play on dirt fields and we see them everywhere. Kids also rollerblade, swim, fish, play basketball, ATV , jet ski... I have not heard of lacrosse or American football here.

{Is it really hot there especially w/ that burka on? Yes... it gets hot in the middle of the day and black is a tough color to wear in the heat, because it really absorbs the suns rays.

What do the police look like?} The police here wear an olive green uniform with a black beret.

{How is the weather there and what is there hottest temp?}We have had great weather with temperatures between 70-90 degrees. In another month, this region of the world will be unbearably hot with daily temperatures well over 100 degrees F. We have actually had moments of slight rain, ( 2 minutes of a passing light shower) which is very unusual in this area. That little rain really helps desert plant life to turn green.

{Is it hard to adjust to their different culture there?}There are definitely some things that are easier to adjust to than others. The currency, Saudi Riyals is the equivalent of $1.00 = 3.75 SR, so if you see something that is 120SR you just divide by 4 (rounding) to get an approximate cost in US dollars ($30.00). The language barrier could be difficult but we have been escorted so that has been pretty easy too. The restrictions on women regarding how we can come and go has been more difficult to adjust to and having to look a certain way (abaya) is also something that I feel I would get tired of as an American woman who has been allowed to chose how I dress my whole life.

{What is the most exciting part of you visit? Would you go back there?} I would come back here in a minute because I think anytime you have a chance to learn about another culture, you should jump at the opportunity. For me, the most exciting visits were to the special education school and the public school for girls. I love seeing children and have missed my own children and my students at AMS.

{Why do the women have to wear black clothing,can you were any other color?}The Islamic or government laws do not require black abayas, but Muslim tradition does encourage it. Abaya fashion is becoming quite popular and younger women are moving away from the all black abaya to more festive abayas like the ones you see me wearing in my blog pictures.

{What type of food do they have there and what is your favorite and least favorite?}My favorite was the stuffed lobster and my least favorite was the camel.

{Do you need to follow the Muslim religion?}The only religion allowed in this country is Islam. People traveling into this country are not allowed to bring symbols or books regarding any other faith.

Thanks for your great questions! I am going to post them all on my web site tonight! I hope to have an open house to showcase everything I have learned after I return. Thanks again and Shukran.

Sunday, April 8th, 2007 Happy Easter to all who celebrate the holiday

Greetings everyone. How strange to travel in a country that does not recognize Christian holidays. Several bags of jelly beans from the states floated around our bus today in honor of the holiday.Today, our travels took us to the Shura Council, the appointed representatives that help govern the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These 120 elite members of the Saudi society were personally selected by the King Abdul Aziz for their proven abilities in both academic and societal success. Each member on the committee serves a four year term. They must be a registered Saudi at birth, over 30 years of age and renowned for expertise in many fields.

This is the outside of the building where the Shura Council Committee members meet. Just like in Washington DC, this facility has high security to protect the important members of their committee.

Out discussions with members of the Committees which report to those on the Shura council took place in a round table format.
Our meetings began by entering the room where General Meeting Panels are held. This round table format, had our names on name plates and we were each asked to introduce ourselves to selected members of the education delegation for Saudi Arabia.

This is the great hall where formal legislative sessions take place in Saudi Arabia.

Following this question and answer format, we were given a guided tour of Shura Council Auditorium before being seated in a balcony to observe on ongoing Shura Council Session in progress. The agenda items we listened to (with headphones to translate into English) were as follows:

1. transportation, communication and information technology Committee's perspective on views regarding advertising on public rental cars and other vehicles.
2. Discussing draft regulations on civilian rehabilitation centers for the disabled.
3. Discussed draft of the traffic bill.
4. Discussion about fines collected from inheritances and repayment obligations
5. Protocol on combating manufacturing and trafficking of firearms/ illegal activities.

Here we were able to observe a session of the Shura Committee as they presented various issues that were on the agenda for the day.
Watching the procedures was just like being in the United States and watching political discussions take place in the house and senate. Very similar protocol and formalities were used to order the meeting.

Our morning session ended with our IIE guide, Josh, being interviewed by a Saudi TV station about the groups impressions of Saudi Arabia and the Shura Council. Now we have returned to the hotel for a luncheon hosted by one of the teachers we met at the public school yesterday and then we go on to the King Abd Al-Aziz Historical Center for a 3 hour tour of its facilities.

This is the view of the inside courtyard at the Riyadh Heritage Center that is next to the National Museum. We attended a presentation which encourages international dialogue and sat in an open air courtyard prior to dinner.
Our evening program takes us to a dinner held in the honor of Al Faisal Ibn Abd Ar-Rhaman Al- Mu'ammar, Advisor at the Royal Court. I am sure that you are seeing that many of our hosts have very long names, and that is their formal name which tells which family and which clan system they are a part of. Family history is very important to the Saudi people.

Here I am with a new teacher friend, Martha, who teaches at an all girls private school in California. These lovely gold chairs surrounded the perimeter of the outdoor courtyard in the Heritage Center.

Well everyone, my journey is almost over. Tomorrow, we leave for a 4 hour visit to the desert region of Riyadh and then it is four flights and 30 hours before I reach Manchester, NH. I don't want you to think that this blog has come to an end. It really is only the beginning. I have so much more information to share and hope to continue to update the blog with more information for months to come. While I am in no way an expert on Saudi Arabia, I now have many unique experiences that I wish to share with anyone who will listen. I encourage you to continue to post your questions and to keep your eyes out for press coverage about this trip and about events that deal with relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Thank you all for traveling with me thus far. I hope you are willing to help me take the next step, which is to foster international relationships between our country and Saudi Arabia. I have made many contacts that are willing to help build bridges between both students and adults and I intend to make that my on going mission.

Once again, Shukran (Thank you!) In Shallah (God Willing), our countries will remain at peace and one day, the tensions between our two countries will be much less.

Debbie Hinrichs

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

Hello everyone back home. Today was a momentous day in American and Saudi history as we were the first American teachers to ever visit Saudi Arabia's public schools. Previous teachers have been invited to private schools, or schools on the Aramco Compound, this was an incredible first for us and we felt very honored.

To respect Saudi culture, our team of teachers was divided into a men's and women's group. Each group traveled by different buses to a public school location in Riyahd. We were fortunate to visit a school led by Principal Foziah M. Aldobasi. we were welcomed into the schools library and served pastry and coffee by students and faculty. The principal gave us a welcome speech and then a teacher who was educated in the states for her pre-college education gave us an overview of the programs offered and answered our questions.

A public school for girls in the capital city of Riyahd.

This school was a high school for girls only, ages 14- 18. About 422 girls attend this school with 35 teachers. The class ratio is 1 teacher for every 35 to 40 students. The students attend school from 7 am to 12:30pm, five days a week and then go home for lunch and the remainder of the day. The girls wear a uniform in this school which is a long kelly green skirt with a green and white stripped tailored shirt. Inside the schools, the girls are not required to wear the abaya and hijab.

My favorite part of the presentation was when eight or so girls, who attend the school directed a question and answer session with us. They asked us about how co-ed education works in our school and whether there were problems with that. We responded that our country had worked so hard to eliminate segregation of race for so long, that any system that suggests segregation for the United States, makes us question if the services delivered will be equal. We did say that often having mixed classes can cause some students to be shy or more outspoken and that it was up to the teacher to monitor that equal participation in the classroom occurs.

When asked about what they each wanted to be when they grow up, they responded with a variety of answers which included, brain surgeon, skin doctor, scientist and generally famous!

A big question asked by many students was what American students think of them and their country after September 11th. Many were afraid that "we"/ Americans might hate them for the horrible acts of the extremists.

They wanted our students to know that their religion does not preach hatred and that they would welcome you as friends in their lives. We hope to set up continued relationships with these students so we can continue to ask questions to each other and to learn from one another.

What I was most impressed with was the level of fluent English that was spoken by these young women. Each one was able to express themselves with ease using vocabulary that you would find with our own high schoolers in the United States. They were bright, articulate and wanting to have bright futures.

Our trip to the school ended with a tour of the facility which was in the shape of a square with an open courtyard in the center. The school was 2 floors and all the rooms opened onto the courtyard. Girls here receive instruction in religion (Islam), Arabic, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Home Economics/ (Life Skills), and Art. At this time physical education does not exist in public education for girls, but the Ministry of Education for the Kingdom is starting to create programs in this area. As we toured, the students asked us questions and waved to us. I think they were laughing to see all of these Americans dressed in hijab and abayas indoors!

While the school and the teachers and students were fabulous, I can't help but want a bit more for all of them. The class sizes were incredibly large and overcrowded schools are a problem they are dealing with as the population of young people continues to increase. The school library, while very neat, lacked the numbers of books that a library should possess. Later in the day today, we will be visiting the capital's public library and I can see what literature is possible to be in the women's libraries. The Kingdom Tower- The views of the city are amazing and the arch way at the top has very sloped floors so it was a weird sensation to walk across that connection floor at 99 stories high.

We are off to visit the Kingdom's Tower, which is 99 stories high and should have a magnificent view of the city. After that, we are having a very formal dinner in the Al Faisaliah Hotel up in the Globe Restaurant. You can see the globe in the picture I have taken. I will be sure to take pictures so that you can see the view.

The Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyahd is where we are staying for our last three nights of travel here in the Kingdom. Tonight we had dinner in the Globe Restaurant which you can see in this picture. The restaurant is located on the 32nd floor and has magnificent views 360 degrees of the city.

Friday, April 6th, 2007

This is one example of the modern art that is everywhere in Jeddah. There is great book called Jeddah City of Art, which I will purchase, that shows all of this incredibly creative and fun to look at sculpture throughout the city.

As salamu alaikum! You know when you are getting to the end of the trip because the time is really starting to fly by for me. We have just left Jeddah today and have flown into the capital city of Riyhad. We will be spending 2 1/2 days here before beginning our long journey back to the United States.

This is the view from my hotel room in Jeddah on the last night before we flew into Riyahd. Spectacular!

Today was a great day because it was a day of fun at the Fal Resort followed by packing and a 1 hour flight to Riyahd. We were picked up at 7am from our hotel and went back to the same resort we had the night time banquet and ceremonial dancing.

Traditional henna tatoos were part of our Thursday night entertainment at the traditional festival at the Fal Resort. I got one on my right arm and leg.

Today, we did not have any meetings or sites to tour scheduled. Instead, we were allowed to select from a variety of activities. I started out my day by walking around this walled beach community for about a half hour and it sure did feel great to get some exercise. Then a few of us took jet skis out on the Red Sea and that was a blast. We were able to follow the coast line in both directions and see the view of Saudi Arabia from the water. We stopped and swam in the water which was a beautiful aquamarine color, very salty and very warm.

After our jet ski ride, I swam in the pool and just talked with my new friends and before we knew it, eleven thirty had arrived and it was time to get ready for lunch and the ride back to our hotel to pack. Before I left, I did collect a vial of sand from the Red Sea to go along with the sand I collected while visiting the desert.



A fun way to spend the day after many days of traveling, touring and eating!


Our flight to Riyahd was much more calm this time, and only one of us had to switch seats. We were greeted at the airport, as we were in every airport with valets to take our luggage and a large bus to bring us to the next location. The hotel we are staying at is the Al Faisaliah Hotel and if you haven't seen the pictures of this spectacular hotel, you need to! I have the Hotel as one of the links to the right of this site. I cannot tell you how peculiar it is to have VIP service when you are not used to traveling this way. My butler, Louie, came to show me my room and showed me this great piece of equipment next to my bed which is like a mini computer pad. I can use it to raise and lower the heat, open and close the curtains and turn on and off lights all over the room. Pretty cool!

While I hope to tell many of you personally about this trip, I want to be sure to encourage everyone to take the time in your life to get out an experience other cultures in the world. There is truly nothing like it and I think it changes who you are and how you think. You begin to see and appreciate the similarities and differences of the cultures in our world.


Many of you had questions that I may not have answered to here is another Q & A session:

Have I seen a sandstorms?
We thought we were experiencing a mild one in Dhahran but as it cleared we came into an area of construction which had stirred up the dust in that region.


What happens if you don't wear the proper attire as a woman?
Well, that is something that our Saudi hosts do not want us to experience, so they tell us what we need to wear for each event or place we go to. Most times (except the beach resort), we have been asked to wear our abayas, but we did not have to wear our hajab head coverings on our head. You may have noticed in some of my pictures I have worn it like a scarf around my neck. In most instances that is fine, but in some parts of Riyahd, we are expected to have the scarf on. The consequence for not following their traditions is more in the form of harassment. The Mutawa (religious police) can come to you and request that you put on your veil, or individuals may take it upon themselves to tell you how to dress. We have had women in our group be asked where their chaperon is if they are just walking around the hotel by themselves.

This is a picture of two women sitting outside of a medical facility in Dharhan. This is the the hajab head covering with the additional veil which covers your face, except for your eyes. Some women even wear and even more covered version which has a sheer covering that even covers your eyes. We have not had to wear either of these types of head coverings.

Is veiling a choice? For Muslim women, the head covering is really a must right now, and some chose to wear the full face veil as well as the hajab head covering. I can tell you that wearing one is hot. Yesterday when we shopped in the suqs (markets) we were all wearing them, and by midday, I was VERY ready to get out of mine. We also wore them on the plane today and the plane was very stuffy and at one point I really wanted to just take mine off, but I did not.

I hope you enjoy looking at all the pictures I have posted today. There is so much to share about this adventure and I hope you continue to check in for my final 2 to 3 postings before I return. Tomorrow we visit a government school and tour the Diplomatic Quarter. Goodnight!

Thursday, April 5th, 2007

I know my camel adventure happened a few days ago, but I have so many great pictures of them that I want to share. So...keep a look out for more camel shots!

Ahlan wa-sahlan! (Welcome).

I can't tell you how excited I was to see 24 new postings to my site last night. I really makes it fun to read your comments and it helps me to know what to write about in my blogs. Today was another incredible day. Before I go into detail on the day, let me start by saying it is important to know that the company of Aramco has gone to great expense to help coordinate a program that would expose this group of American educators to many areas of Saudi Culture. We have been given access to many well educated, liberal thinkers in all areas of the community and have toured many of the regions of this country. We are seeing and learning many things. Some of the things we are seeing are incredible and other areas need major improvements. Many of you asked about women's rights and the answer is, there is still a great deal of work to be done in this area. Freedom is a modified term in this country, but one that grows each day. What I am learning is that every society has areas of strength and weakness. This trip is helping us, as teachers to build bridges between nations that often have very different political views. When I return I am sure I will be speaking to many of you to share my observations and to answer questions that you might have.

Today, our day began with a visit to Old Jeddah and the building were the first King of Saudi Arabia had his palace hundreds of years ago. We walked through this building and climbed 6 stories to the top of the building. There we heard the Muslim call to prayer, which is broadcast across the country five times a day on loud speakers, which signals all Muslims to come to the mosques to pray. We were able to observe the traditional Muslim prayer ritual, and ended this visit with coffee (yes, more coffee) while sitting on oriental rugs at the top of this museum rooftop.

Then, the fun began! We went to the suqs (local outdoor shopping markets) to purchase items for our classrooms, friends and family. Because we were given only two hours to shop, we divided up our list of items we needed and groups would go and bulk shop for the items to negotiate a better price. Myself and one other woman, Mary, were in charge of the abaya and veil shopping. Others shopped for spices, Aladdin lamps, prayer beads, prayer rugs and incense. We had a great time selecting abayas for those who needed them. We did a great job negotiating and turned my hotel room into Filene's basement later on, and distributed all of our purchases to each other later in the evening.

Our evening was spent at a resort in Jeddah called the Fal Resort. The upper class Saudi families belong to resorts like this one, walled communities, with pools, swimming, jet skis, snorkeling, scuba diving, bowling, health clubs and a restaurant. We arrived just in time to see the sunset over the Red Sea and then took a tour of the resort. I bowled with a group of people until we were escorted down to the beach. As we walked, a group of native African singers with drums, performed behind us and led us to a large sitting area which was created on the beach front for us. It was wild to see 20 couches and 10 oriental rugs set out along the beach like an outdoor living room.

We sat and enjoyed colorful and delicious fruit cocktails (non-alcoholic), eating dates and yes, more coffee. As we sat, the singers began to perform native dances and invited the men in our group to dance. In this country, traditional families only allow the men to dance, so the women watched and talked. We ate dinner by the pool area and returned to the outdoor living area for more dancing, coffee and conversation. Women were invited to get henna tattoos, which I of course did. I have two long tattoos on my right arm and leg and they are very cool to look at. I hope they don't wear off too much before I return to the states.

Well, it is late once again, nearly one am and we are getting picked up at 7:15 to return to the resort for a half day of fun and sun before we get on a plane to Riyhad. I must say that I will miss Jeddah very much.

PS. I heard that we got 10 inches of snow and had a snow day back home. That seems crazy for so late into April. I hope that it is all melted away by the time I return. KEEP POSTING!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

This is a picture of Dr. Faia Adel Alkahadra, the Director of Educational Training who works for the Ministry of Education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We met over lunch and were able to ask all kinds of questions about the public schools in Saudi Arabia.

These children were just a few that I met while touring through the Help Center, a school for children with special needs. They were having a wonderful time giving me "high fives" and loved to see their pictures on my camera.

Masa el khair ( Good evening)

Masa el noor (your reply)

Today we spent the day so far visiting the Oun Help Center in Jeddah, which is a beautiful school facility for children with special needs. We were given a tour and had a wonderful time playing with the children and seeing their facility. This school was only built in the last 10 years and the government of Saudi Arabia is working hard to improve the services provided for all students, but they know they have a long way to go.

We also visited an art museum in Jeddah which was very helpful in showing us the history and culture of the region. I took many pictures which show the rituals of a Saudi man and woman during their marriage ceremony. Did you know that most marriages here are still arranged marriages and many do not meet their spouse until the day of the wedding!

Next, we went ot lunch at Byblos, a Lebanese style restaurant with incredibly delicious food. I cannot tell you how many courses there were, but suffice it to say, there was plenty of food for all.

We ended our day by having a tour and discussion forum with the Saudi Gazette Newspaper, meeting with the editors and writers to discuss the issues that face the Arab nations and the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States. We had some amazing exchanges and asked very frank questions to one another. We discussed issues like freedom, democracy, tradition,religion and family values just to name a few.

Our final destination was an 8:30pm reception and dinner hosted by a gentleman who was like the Gandhi of Saudi Arabia. He was the most impressive speaker and he talked of building bridges between nations and how every culture must reach out to learn about one another. He talked about how the weapons and technology development have brought this earth to a place where we can no longer afford to go to war with each other, as we each possess weapons that could destroy everything we know and love. It was an outstanding discussion and one I hope to continue in the classroom when I return.

Many of you have been asking wonderful questions, so let me see if I can answer some more of them here:

My bedroom is beautiful here in this hotel. The Jeddah Hilton is 12 stories and I am on the 8th floor overlooking the city. I have a king sized bed with the softest sheets I have ever slept on. It has a little sitting area, which I have not used yet, because I am either out touring or sitting at this desk typing. It does have a little balcony with a chair and table and I have been eating breakfast there.

Camel questions: Yes they drool. Thankfully, the one I was kissing did not. The younger camels did not seem to be so drooly. They make quite a sound when they stuck their tongue out. I never saw them spit!

Airplane questions: With all that shuffling around, I got bumped from my seat, because a woman and her two daughters couldn't sit with a strange man. The seat they moved me to was the seat of a Saudi man, and he was moved to another location. This seat switching is very common place and must happen during every flight within Saudi Arabia. I will let you know because I still have two more in country flights to take as we move from city to city. The flight did take off on time so they must budget this last minute seating shuffle into their loading procedures.

For fun, children here go to the beach and fish, ride ATV's on the beach and on the street, play soccer in dirt covered fields, play at playgrounds, play basketball... They also go to the mall, have cell phones and hang with friends. One thing they don't have is movie theaters, but everyone we talked to said that doesn't matter, because they all have large rooms in their home with big tvs and they by all the same movies we do from Amazon.com so they don't mind.

The only language I hear is Arabic and it is a difficult language to follow. I only know some of the most basic phrases and that is it. I think it would take years to become fluent in the language.

The weather here is really quite pleasant, with 70-80 degree temperatures so far. Keep in mind, that most of our days are spent indoors and driving from place to place. I have not had to be out in the sun in my abaya so sunburn or being too hot has not been an issue for me.

I have talked to many men and women about the marriage traditions of Saudi Arabia and family tradition is what is most important. Most marriages are arranged and women are typically married before 30 years of age. I can tell you more of what I know on this topic when I return. I have met women here who are divorced, and those who are in arranged marriages.

The restrictions for women definitely exist, but I have come to a new understanding that many of these restrictions are traditions that many Saudi's wish to continue. While the abaya is expected, it is not the law. Wearing a head covering (hajab) is also expected but the partial or full face veil is a choice. Some women are more traditional and want to have full coverage and others chose the option of just the scarf. I can't wait to tell you more about this because the Saudi people feel that Americans get focus too much on what the Saudi's are wearing and not on who they are as a people. Spending time here has opened my eyes to the traditions of this region.

We will not be seeing the most sacred sites of the land, Mecca and Medina, because only Muslims are allowed in these regions. We have visited mosques and been able to observe Muslims praying throughout the land.

That's all for now. I have to rest up. Tomorrow we visit the old city of Jeddah and shop in the local suqs (markets). Salaam.

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

On to Jeddah and a look back at our final day in the Eastern Providence of Saudi Arabia

Marhaba everyone. Today we flew out of Dhahran to Jeddah on the Red Sea arriving last night at 12:30pm. I updated my blog, posted pictures and comments and fell into bed at 3am. We were up at 7 am and just returned to the hotel now for a 2hours break, the first break we have had in 7 days. Believe me, I am not complaining, but we are fitting more into a 24 hour period than I could ever have imagined.

This is the city of Jeddah and the view from my hotel room at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel, a magnificent 4 star hotel on the Red Sea.

Jeddah is an incredibly beautiful resort city compared to the Aramco compound and oil field region we were in before. I will tell you that my hotel is incredible, but we are not allowed to leave the hotel unless we are leaving on a scheduled tour. Our Aramco Hosts request that we not go down to the water, or walk around the outside of the hotel unless we are escorted for security reasons. The hotel has several military guards posted at the gates behind sandbags - something you don't usually see at a 5 star hotel in the United States. After 911, the security level in Saudi Arabia has tightened dramatically and precautions are being taken to assure that westerners visiting their country are kept safe from extremists. While the restrictions are frustrating, we understand that it is being done in our best interest.

This is Gara Mountain- an incredible rock formation of caves in the middle of the oasis region of Al- Hasa. The temperature inside the caves was at least 15 degrees cooler than outside.

Let me tell you about yesterday. We headed on a trip about 1 1/2 hours from the compound to a place called Gara Mountain. This mountain was a rough outcropping of rocks with awesome caves that we could walk through. We spent about an hour exploring the caves before driving to a local pottery tent in the middle of very small rural town where we watched a man create his pottery. Then we went to a 400 year old historic mosque and toured through an underground jail cell that is no longer used. We had lunch at the Al-Hasa Intercontinental Hotel and then made the hour and half journey back to the compound.

From there, we drove 45 minutes to my favorite part of the day. Our host, Fasir, took us to a distant relative who is a Bedoin camel farmer. It was quite a site to see this enormous Greyhound type bus off roading through the desert sand. We drove for about 10 minutes until it clearly seemed unsafe to go any further in this vehicle, and then we were all transferred into SUV's and smaller trucks to get all the way out to the actual farm. This wild ride will forever be remembered. Picture 12 teachers, packed into a small SUV, bumping and flying all over the place, going quickly so we would not get stuck.

While I did not get to ride on a camel, I did get to kiss one (almost!).

When we arrived in the most remote section of desert, there were almost 100 camels of all sizes and colors for our viewing pleasure. The sound they make is incredible and one of them showed us his long tongue and made this gurgling sound, but I missed getting it on the camera. The host allowed us to be right next to them in the fields even though they were running right by us. We could touch and pet them, but did not get to ride them. Quite frankly, they seemed a bit wild and I understand they can be difficult to ride. A camel of good blood line is worth about 20,000 Riyals which is the equivalent of about $5,000. That would mean that this Bedouin farmer who lives in a tent in the desert had about $500,000 worth of camels in his possession. In Saudi Arabia, camels are used for some transportation, but mostly for the meat and milk. We see butcher shops across the country with camel carcass hanging in the windows. YUM...

This is the Bedouin Camel Farmer who owns all of these camels. I have a video which lets you listen as he describes, in Arabic, how they can tell the age of a camel. Do you know how?

Our camel adventure ended in with our Bedouin (a native tribe of Saudi) Host inviting us to one of his large tents for, yes, you guessed it.... coffee and pastries. We took off our shoes and sat on oriental rugs, leaning against pillows and exchanged pleasantries with our hosts next to an open fire. It was quite a site. The sun set and there was a full moon rising. As we left, the sky was turning a deep purple color and the desert scenery was amazing to see.

We caught a flight to Jeddah at 9:30pm which was an experience in and of itself. Seating on a Saudi flight is quite confusing due to the religious and native traditions regarding men and women sitting next to each other. Picture a puzzle that you are trying to fit together, but no woman can sit next to a male on the plane whom she is not a relative of. Then picture that they often travel with their house maids and they too cannot be near a male. It gets very complicated, and the stewardesses spend a great deal of time moving individuals from seat to seat to make it all work out!

Our hotel in Jeddah is amazing. I have room on the 8th floor with a view of the city. Most of the architecture here is stucco and painted white or cream color. Mosque towers are everywhere. Jeddah is the city of architecture and driving around the city is like being in an open air museum. Modern art sculptures and interesting building designs are the main focus.

We spent the morning talking with young women attending the Effat College in Jeddah and meeting with the local Chamber of Commerce at Khadeejah Bint Khuwailed, which just started the first Women's Business Center in the country. These women are very western thinking and have wonderful dreams and goals for their country. We have made wonderful contacts and generally dine with the people who have just presented to us, so we use the meal times to ask questions and learn about the culture here.

Signs around the cities are in both English and Arabic. Arabic is written and read from right to left.

Well, time to run. I hope you continue to post your comments and ask questions. I will try to answer the questions you ask in the next posting.

Monday (late), April 2nd, 2007

A salaam a laikom. It was a very late night last night. We flew out of Dharhan to Jeddah on Saudi Airlines arriving here at 12:15am. By the time I had unpacked, ate and updated my blog with photos, it was nearly 2:30am before I crawled into bed.

You have all asked so many great questions so I am going to try and answer those questions in this blog in addition to telling you more specifically about what I have seen and learned over the last 3 days in Dharhan.

This is a picture of the most dynamic woman I have met in Saudi Arabia. She is employed with Aramco Services and is an ambassador for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. I cannot wait to tell you about her life, her dreams and her views on the world.

First of all, it is important that you know more about Aramco Services, the oil company that is sponsoring this educators trip to Saudi Arabia. Aramco is owned by the Saudi government. The government is the sole shareholder in a company that generates a revenue of over 700 billion dollars a year. ( I am still trying to confirm that number) This company has set their mission to bring oil to the world in a responsible and efficient manner.

Saudi Arabia contains the world's largest supply of crude oil in the world. They have the 4th largest supply of gas reserves. This company was initially established with American help in the early 1970's. Slowly, the company transfered ownership from 75% American and 25% Saudi to 100% Saudi Arabia by 1980.

Many of us teachers here are constantly asking ourselves and our hosts why Aramco Services went to such great expense to bring 24 teachers from the United States here to Saudi Arabia. We have been told that they want us to ask questions,many questions so that we can form our own opinions about the people and the culture of the Saudis.

My opinion changes daily and I will reserve my comments on this until our trip is complete and I have time to think about everything I have seen and heard. I will tell you that there are definitely two Saudi Arabia's ( I don't mean this literally), to see and we, as teachers, are trying very hard to see both.

OK, on to your questions. Clothing is a great place to start because like it or not it is the first impression you have of people and here the clothing makes a powerful statement. We were fitted for our abayas on the first day and as you can see from my photos, the garments can be quite beautiful. The more traditional abaya is solid black with no embroidery, as the purpose of the abaya is to not draw attention to yourself. Women begin wearing an abaya with the hajib, head covering, at the age of puberty, but you see girls younger than this wearing abayas in a more casual, less covered way.

Women here cover themselves to different degrees depending on their family values and traditions. Fundamental muslim women are completely covered, including black gloves and a veil without eye holes. Lesser versions include those with eye openings, and scarves that your face from the eyes down, to no veil on your face, just on your head.

Men wear what is called Saudi formal, which is the long cotton white robe, with a gutra and igel, the red checked cloth and black rope on their heads. Men also wear western clothing and have other color options on attire as you may see later from my pictures. Men clearly have less restrictions.

On to more questions...

There are no movie theaters in Saudi as they are banned, but they do have cable tv and the hotels have movie stations. While I was on the plane into Saudi, I was able to watch "The Perfect Storm" a movie about Glouster Massachusetts fisherman! I also watched a comedy channel show with Jack Black, from School of Rock. They have CNN, Fox news and of course local arabic channels.

Outdoor markets....

We have been to some local shops like potters but haven't been to a place with outdoor markets but we will this week. Here they are called suqs and they sell jewelry, clothing and other items. The time we have been given to shop has been quite limited, so when we are given 30 minutes, we are shopping maniacs.

Religions...

Religion is incredibly important to this country. Here, church and state are not separated, so it is mandatory that every Saudi national is Muslim. Mosques are everywhere and the muslims pray 5 times a day, which closes the country down for short periods each day as we travel and visit. When Muslims pray, they use a prayer rug and face towards Mecca, the holiest city according to the Muslim faith. Every room you enter has a directional arrow showing you the location of Mecca from where you are. Even on the plane, a video screen showed the direction of Mecca as we flew.

Well, I have to run to my first session in Jeddah today. I have so much more to tell you and if we get a break before dinner today, I will tell you all about Gara Mountain, my experience with camels and my Arabian feast. In the mean time, I will just post you these three pictures so you can get excited about learning more. Salaam!

The top picture is of a what is called a squat toilet. Most places have both a traditional toilet and a squat toilet to chose from.

This is a picture of our Arabian Night Banquet near Dharhan. The food was amazing as you can clearly see!

Monday 4/2

Greetings from the students of Saudi Arabia. These boys were visiting the Aramco Oil Exhibit Museum.

Asalam a lai kom (Greetings)...
Your reply Aliakom Asalaam ( and greetings to you)!

Hi everyone. My apologies for delaying in posting but the blog and chat room formats are censored on the Aramco compound so I could not access my blog to update it. I have been able to email my family daily and thanks to my sister, Barbara Bellipanni, who teaches first grade at Clark School, I have been able to update my site through her. Thank you Barb! We have been incredibly busy these last two days so let me fill you in.

My beautiful abaya was tailored and ready for me in a few hours. Each female teacher received an abayba which we are required to wear in most cities in Saudi Arabia. The embroidery on each garmet is lovely.

We start each day at 6:30am and never get back to our rooms until 11:30-12 midnight. Tonight we got back at 11:30pm and while it has only been 2 days here in Saudi Arabia, I feel that we have seen so much. Our hosts are men dressed in long white robes and red scarfs on their heads, named Khalid Al- Amoudi and Abdullah Al-Ghamdi. Each day there is a schedule planned, but as of today, we have never followed that exact schedule, so we never know exactly what we are doing next! We just get on the bus and they take us to the next spot. They are trying to coordinate speakers and lunches and dinners, as well as take us to key sites and also museums and other sites. At most, we have 5 minutes before we take off to the next place.

Last night we ate at a seafood restaurant, Al Sanbok, in the city of Al-Khobar, at a long table that sat 30 of us! It was enormous and I felt like a princess at a palace. The meal is served on big trays and they continue to offer you more and more until you feel like you might explode. I have been trying to be so careful with my stomach, eating a simple breakfast and taking small samples at each meal so I don't overeat. So far so good, but there are still many days ahead.

Today, the men in our group need to shop for the thobes- the white robes to wear for a formal banquet tonight. So we all were driven to a local men's shop and I bought the entire garment that men wear and a few that children would wear, and a muslim prayer rug which has a compass in it so you can point your rug towards Mecca as you pray. Later in the day, we got to go to an arabic book store and I got lots of items to display at school... books that show how to count in arabic, the Saudi flag, and a Fula doll.. this is their version of a Barbie doll and it is a modern doll with modern clothing and it comes with a Burka (abaya), the black gown that the Muslim women are required to wear.

Here is a photo from our Arabian feast at the Heritage Gallery Museum and Restaurant. We were served a delicious feast consisting of large platters of lamp, shrimp, and chicken. Hummus, taboule, salads and other appetizers along with pita breads and fruits were served. Absolutely delicious!

After our quick (everything is quick) shopping spree, we were taken to the Heritage House, which is a museum and restaurant which looks like an old terracottta sandcastle. We sat on pillows on the floor in a rounded room for more coffee and appetizers, then took a tour of the musueum. Then we were brougth outside to a large tent for the banquet. This super sized tent the size of the AMS gym was divided into 3 sections. Carpeting was on the floor and sofas lined the walls of the room. MORE coffee was served along with dates as a predinner snack. Then we were brought into the most amazing room. This part of the tent looked like a banquet from the movie "Alladin". A 30 person low table was in the middle of the room and pillows surrounded the table. We all sat and feasted for 2 hours on a meal of lamb, rice, salad, taboule, humus, pita, shrimp and more. It was incredible. We ended the night with a celebration for one of the teachers who was turning 50 today.

It has been an incredible 2 days so far, and we still have 7 more days and two cities to go. Tomorrow night, we will be flying from Damman to Jeddah on the Red Sea for four days and then we fly to Riyadh for another 3 days before flying home.

Before we fly out tomorrow night to Jeddah, we are going to have one more terrifc day here. We are going to get to ride camels and then we are visiting an oasis in the desert. We are all so excited. Our flight is not until 9pm tomorrow so we have all day to enjoy this region of the country. I will tell you all about it in my post late tonight. We don't land in the next city until 11:30pm (Saudi time) so it will be very late by the time we check into our hotel.

Well, thanks for sending me such an awesome update. I will update my blog tomorrow night (InShallah- God willing), when we arrive at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel. Hopefully, I can post more pictures to the blog and you can see how it all looks. We are meeting some incredible people and are learning a lot about Saudi lifestyle and asking a lot of questions.

Saturday/ Sunday 3/31 & 4/1

Marahba everyone! Sorry for not writing again sooner but we have virtually no free time and we are getting to bed well past midnight each night. It is 12;15 am and we just got back in after heading out today at 6:50am. They have set up a jam packed itinerary and we are hosted, toured and dined all day long.

They had a full sit down buffet lunch for us at a beautiful HolyDay Inn ( as they call it) Hotel overlooking a pretty swimming pool. We began the day with a tour of the Aramco Oil Exhibits and then later a trip to EXPEC their R& D development center.

After lunch we went to a small museum on the Aramco compound and then a museum in an Aramco Executives home which was amazing. We sat in one of those rooms with matching couches that reached around the room and sat all 26 of us. They fed us coffee, dates and little pastries. I took a sip of the coffee but it is like bitter tea and I really couldn't drink it all. Then after an hour they toured us through their museum and then when we thought we were leaving, we came back into their house to see their house servants bringing out another round of coffees, appetizers, breads and desserts. So much food, so little time.

We had 40 minutes before the bus to the dinner location, so we all ran to the commissary to pick up food items to bring home various food items to show everyone when we return to school and then it was time for our abaya fittings and dinner.

We had dinner at a long table that sat over 30 of us at a restaurant on the Arabian Gulf. A sea food fest.... if you weren't careful and turned away from your plate, the waitstaff would come along and put more food on your plate. Saudi hospitality at its finest. We ate with 3 amazing Saudi women who were incredible to talk to - very open and honest. I can't wait to share with everyone how interesting, intelligent and confident I found these women to be.

The women brought all of the women in our group these beautiful flowing gowns and the other places we went to each gave us books, music cds, dvds of the country.... my 2nd luggage bag will be very full and we still have 7 more days of travel. This is truly a once in a life time trip.\

I am not having great luck with posting to my blog here at the Aramco compound because they have filters on their internet so I might not be able to add all of this until Tuesday. Keep checking the blog to see if I have new postings or pictures.

If you wish to email me directly as we sometimes have problems with the internet connection, my email is dhinrichs@sprise.com and that I can access daily.

In'Shallah (God Willing) I will post again tomorrow night!