So, after living in Saudi Arabia for almost a full year, I have began to call this place home. Honestly, I never thought I would like this place as much as I do. Of course there are disadvantages to living here, but those can pop up anywhere in the world. Even Houston.
Anyways, before I forget I wanted to write about an experience I had that pretty much puts into perspective what I had been struggling to explain for so long. Every time I go home to Houston I am bombarded with a plethora of questions about life in this part of the world. Recently, we were in Stavanger again (Norway), and a few of J's Houstonian co-workers were also there at the same time. They asked all the same questions that my friends and family back in Houston always ask. The main one always seems to be about the treatment of women in Saudi, and everyone always seems to be entranced by my answer. I am not going to lie; I myself had a lot of misconceptions, before I moved, about the way of life here.
So, on our way back from Norway, we happened to fly directly into Saudi. Usually, we fly in through Bahrain and then make the 45 minute drive home across the border. Our flight arrived around midnight, and needless to say, we were extremely tired, mostly because of the connections and stopovers that are the norm with flights in and out of small European cities. As we headed to customs, I saw the line and my heart fell. Well, lines..with an S.
Most of the other travelers were Brits and a few other Americans returning from vacation.
There was no way we would get through that in less than 2 hours. I set my laptop bag down and began to surf the web on my phone.
Right then, a Saudi government official came up to me and asked me if I was traveling alone. I told him I was with my husband and pointed at J. "Come," he said. We followed, and that's when I realized he had also asked the 2 only other females in all of the lines to come also. He opened up a desk, checked our visas, and off we went. We sped through the lines that would have taken us 2-3 hours within 3 minutes. J was overjoyed and kept saying how awesome it was.
So, no the women in Saudi cannot drive. But, that doesn't mean things are tough for them and they are locked up at home. Oftentimes, I feel the men are the ones having to suffer more than the women. When the husbands get home from work, they usually have to take the wives to the grocery stores. Most of the time, when we are at the mall, we see men waiting patiently while the wife (and daughters) shops to her heart's content. Which, by the way, is the national pastime. People shop so much here, it should be a crime. I do it, too. Not that much, but a lot more than I would if there was an alternative. It doesn't hurt, of course, that the malls have all of the American stores I'm used to, but even better, they have all the European stores, too!!
Until next time, peace!!
