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.