Last night, we went to the mall and the market. The mall looked no different from any American mall, except for having signs in Arabic and English. (Yes, everything in KSA is in Arabic and English. It's wonderful.) We had our first experiences with the men's section v. the family section at the mall. We ordered our food from the family register instead of the mens, certainly not a big deal. As we carried our food to our tables and took our seats we watched our first experience with the enforcement of the segregation. We had become very aware of a group of young boys, teenagers, that had been walking in our general area throughout the mall for a while. As we sat at our table in the family section and waited for our hostesses before eating, two mall security officers, not the religious police, approached the group of boys and asked them to leave the family area for the men's section. The boys argued with security, but eventually were escorted out. We watched in somewhat amusement and were sincerely glad to see them leave. We enjoyed traditional Saudi fast food and great conversation. After enjoying the modern mall, we climbed in our little bus and drove over to the market to look at abayas. It was rather late, so we only got to stay for a few minutes. The stores were both open and closed front, full of beautiful rugs, fabrics, dresses, abayas, and jewelry. Then we headed back for much needed rest.
This morning I woke up after a great night of sleep and ordered room service. The sheer amount of food that came on the trolley should have indicated the volume of food that would also be put before me for the rest of the day. While everyone was at the mosque for services, our delegation met and talked about some of the things that we had noticed so far and prepare for our meetings for the next two days. We had a lunch meeting with one of the advisors to the King and Royal Court. He was very cordial with us. We talked about everything from religion and politics (it was ok this once) to education and the economy. He spoke very freely and openly. He provided a great perspective on governance. We really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with him. The topic he specifically asked us about was our understanding of the Arab Peace Initiative. The American policy regarding the API seemed to be something that he could not understand. The food that we ate was remarkable. We had a four course meal with a buffet entrée and then coffee and tea afterwards. Our stomachs and brains were very full. After meeting with him, we traveled over to the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center. They dropped us off right at the door. In order to do so, however, we had to drive down the sidewalk in our little bus. We chuckled as we watched the confused faces of the many families out enjoying the large courtyard out in front of the building. The Historical Center began with the Islamic understanding of the beginning of time and ended with the unification period under the Al-Saud. There were beautiful artifacts of pottery, fossils, weapons, and replicas of old architecture and tents. We even watched a documentary with a bonus laser light show about unification. We really enjoyed the center and seeing all of the families out front enjoying their equivalent of a Sunday. Our dinner host was the Secretary-General of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. He was clearly a passionate man. We talked about economic and social issues with him. He shared his personal opinion about the women issue and offered his heartfelt passion about caring for the women in his life. He was very hopeful for change-and soon. After another buffet dinner, we enjoyed dessert and great conversation just among the American women about what it means to be an American woman. It was a fascinating conversation. Given that it was New Years Eve, we felt compelled to stay up until midnight. We had most of the fellows come over to my room where we laughed, shared stories, reflected on our experiences, and wore festive hats and celebrated with noise makers. Now it is nearly 2am here in Riyadh and I'm trying to settle down to go to bed. We have an early morning at a local college, only after watching the ball drop and celebrating the new year with our American friends and families back home. More stories to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment