 |
| Now how's that for an ad. |
It is an amazing thing to have the opportunity to be here in
Saudi and experience a culture so different from ours. Every day we experience things that are
different to what we are used to.
Sometimes I think, “This is better,” but often not and I am reminded of
the way we tend to judge things. The
truth is there are many things we think of as right or wrong that really fall
into the category of personal preference or cultural norm, not better or worst, like eating with your right hand, or a fork, or chopsticks.
A difference that takes getting used to is that in the US even if you have a job that requires you to work weekends, the weekend is still considered Saturday and Sunday. Here in Saudi the country work week is Saturday
through Wednesday and the weekend is Thursday and Friday. The reason is that Friday is their holy
day. In Bahrain where some Churches are allowed, the services are on Friday and the children go to Friday School. It takes getting used to and we
often forget what day of the week it is, like when Roberto sent me an email from work reminding me to call our insurance company
in the states. Once evening rolled
around in Saudi and it was late enough in the morning in the US for the office
to be opened -- we are 10 hours ahead of US mountain time -- I realized it was Sunday and the office there is closed.
Everything closed!?
This is a phenomenon we experience on and off throughout the day every
day in Saudi. Five times a day there is
a call to pray that can be heard throughout the city. During the call to prayer, doors are locked
and all shops and restaurants shut down until the call to prayer is over (about
30 minutes). No one goes in and, if you
are already in, you can leave only if you have already paid or if you are not
buying anything. Sometimes not even then
because doors are locked and employees disappear to the prayer stations
provided by the employer. More than once
I have found myself at the grocery store ready to check out just when the call
to pray began and had to wait 30 minutes.
To us it seems crazy, but here it is the way of life and they are very
used to it. After the 11:30ish call-to-prayer,
many of the stores remain closed until 4 in the afternoon and then remain open until
midnight.
 |
| We had a wonderful day with a Colleague and his wife. |
 | |||
| Roberto On Ice! There is an ice skating rink on our compound. |
