Ma'a salama Saudi!

So, this is the last post from Jeddah. Originally, I was meant to stay for about 6 months or so, but it seems that 4 is my limit. In all honesty, Saudi Arabia is a challenging place to live in, especially if you are young, western and female. I guess that now that it's behind me, it's time to evaluate the experience.
It's not something I could just label as "good" or "bad". Very few things are like that, anyway. Being in Saudi Arabia took me light years out of my comfort zone. From the moment I set foot in Jeddah, I had to adapt to a completely alien lifestyle, one that I probably would have never even imagined existed, had my family not been confronted with it. It's quite odd living within, and yet completely apart from, a society as secretive as Saudi's. Before arriving, I had hoped to get some serious insight into Saudi Arabia's culture and society, but, in the end, I barely got a glimpse of it. Even though I left the confines of the compound as often as possible and was surrounded by these people, they remained completely shrouded in their blacks and mystery. It doesn't have much to do with the fact that I only stayed for 4 months. You could spend a lifetime in Saudi Arabia as an expat and never enter a local household. That's just the way it is, and it was a pretty big disappointment for me.
Despite the many challenges, I think I managed to make the best of it. I used all this excess free time to indulge in activities I probably wouldn't have had much time for in "real life". I experienced living in a unique cultural environment and gained plenty of perspective from it. I learnt to cope with the most frustrating rules and restrictions with a dose of humour. And I came home with a bunch of great anecdotes. Not a complete waste of 4 months I would say...
The three things I will miss most from Saudi Arabia are my family, the diving and Hellenic Hijab. I had a great time working on this blog and I wrap it up with a sense of loss. Perhaps I'll write a post or two on one of my future visits to Saudi, but this is officially the end of Hellenic Hijab. A big thank you to all the people who subscribed to me, and anyone who took the time to read even one post. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have :)

.

Saudi Stuff

Here's a small, random collection of some of the funniest things I've come across here: from products you'd be hard-pushed to find anywhere else, to exclusively Saudi situations!

Here, for example, we have the entrance to a marina, with separate entrances for men and women, clearly marked, to avoid mingling of the two sexes. The fact that the entrances lead to the exact same pathway obviously has no significance, whatsoever. 

Abaya shampoo! Because we wouldn't want to see our favourite blacks fading out now, would we?

 Uh-oh, this looks dangerous. Time to call in CSI Jeddah. Meanwhile, if any ladies are interested in contacting one of these young villains, a BlackBerry Messenger pin is provided. Seriously, this is how teenagers flirt around here. When a boy sees a girl who seems to have potential under her wrappings, he walks by her and quickly mutters his BBM pin out of the corner of his mouth. If he's lucky the girl will offer hers as well, and the flirty texts will commence.  These exchanges usually happen in malls and supermarkets. Other techniques for boys include "writing my BBM pin in huge letters on my car in the hopes that some girl will dig my ride and hit me up", and the all time favourite "calling random mobile numbers at all hours in search of a female voice".

Tired of swimming with your abaya dragging you down? Thanks to this modern burqini (burqa + bikini), it is now possible to enjoy the beach and preserve your modesty. (Note that this is actually way too radical to actually be worn on a public beach around here. From what I've seen, women generally just sit on the sand fully covered and watch the men prance around enjoying themselves.)

So it was prayer time in the furniture store, and this salesman decided to take a refreshing nap on the merchandise. When I first came here, I thought this sort of thing was pretty remarkable, until I realised that the same rule that applies for picnicking applies for sleeping, as well: it's acceptable anywhere. 

 

These signs are found on virtually every escalator in every mall. Apparently, getting the apostrophe right is an issue. Even so, I think it's good advice, considering how often I trip over my own abaya. 

The "water fountain" at the souk. For a drink of water just fill the tin cup hanging from the barrel. Everyone uses the same one, so it really strengthens your immune system. Sharing is caring!

In the album covers of this box set,  Amy Whinehouse brazenly shows off her bare arms, knees and collarbone. Thankfully, someone went through all the boxes in the store and scribbled over the uncovered areas with marker, saving us from this disgusting display of promiscuity.

Same with all these bathing suit-wearing mothers on the outside of these inflatable toys' boxes. There were practically hundreds of boxes in the store, so I couldn't help but wonder if they hire people especially for this purpose. It could be a legitimate profession in this country: "Unveiled Woman Scribbler". It would actually be really good for the economy, as it would create thousands of job positions, while simultaneously helping the promotion of morality.

Daily Life

So far, I've only posted about the interesting things I've been seeing and doing since I came to Saudi Arabia, but haven't talked about life on an everyday basis. Now that the novelty of living here has started to wear off, I think it's about time I covered this topic. Not that it's especially fascinating.
I spend most of my days in the compound, as there isn't much to do outside of it anyway, except go to a mall or the occasional restaurant. If you're not working or going to school here, it's incredibly easy to get bored, so I've tried to fill my days with as many activities as possible. Since I came here I have basically  become that kid we all knew in elementary school, whose overbearing mom made him/her do about a billion extra-curricular activities, from basketball to Swahili workshops for kids. My "extra-curriculars" include  Arabic, Spanish and tennis lessons, training in Tae Kwon Do three times a week and going to the gym. I also took a photography course a couple of months ago, and of course there's scuba diving at the weekends. All this keeps me relatively busy.
A typical day goes something like this: I wake up round 10.00 and go to the gym, do a light work-out for about an hour, then return home to study Arabic or Spanish. After that I just kill time until evening rolls around, which is when all the other activities take place.
I really enjoy doing all these different things. After all, when else will I have this sort of opportunity? The problem is, this routine becomes dull after a while. What's also incredibly frustrating, is not having anyone around my age to interact with. I've been here for 4 months or so, and I've barely met any young people. Most young expats leave the country the minute they graduate school, which is hardly surprising. That leaves me in the company of myself and my family.  Both fine in moderation, but after a while it drives you up the wall.
Life in Jeddah is hardly the dream-lifestyle of an 18 year old. Even so, I believe that stepping out of your comfort zone and trying out a different way of life is always beneficial.  If it's good it's wonderful, if it's bad it's experience. 

Flying Saudi Style

Most people don't ever get the chance to travel to Saudi Arabia, due to the country's extremely strict visa-issuing policy.   However, if you ever fly with Saudi Airlines (aka SAUDIA), you'll certainly get a small taste of what it's all about.  So far I've travelled with SAUDIA a few times, and each trip I marvel at how the uniqueness of this particular country is reflected, simply in the space of an aircraft. You're probably wondering how flying with a certain airline can possibly have any cultural significance whatsoever. Well, here you have it.

The first sign you're not in a typical aeroplane comes right before taxiing for takeoff. A recorded message informs you that you are about to hear a prayer which Prophet Muhammad recited before embarking on a journey, and immediately a deep, stern voice blares through the speakers: "Allah o akbar. Allah o akbar. Allah o akbar". After having established that Allah is indeed great, the prayer goes on for about a minute or so, with most of the passengers mouthing along in unison. Only after having obtained God's protection can the plane leave the ground safely.
During the flight movies are projected on the screen and, by plugging your headset into the armrest and tuning into the correct channel, you can watch whatever is showing. Nothing unusual about that. Of course, the airline isn't permitted to show anything even remotely haram, ruling out romance, unveiled women and probably pork-eating as well. This leaves a pretty limited range of movies. They always show a mini-documentary about Mecca, which I've already seen 3 times, and I've also caught a short animation film with some weird, blobby creatures that wear veils a couple of times. Not my first choice of films, but they help pass the time. What's really remarkable though, is what happens when one of the five prayer times rolls around. Yesterday, for example, I was watching the lame documentary about the Loch Ness Monster they were showing, when all of a sudden the buttons on my armrest started flashing red. Instantly, the hazy images of Nessie gave way to a compass indicating the direction of Mecca, and the mullah's call to evening prayer blasted through my earphones. When I tried to save myself from the cacophony by changing to a different channel, I found it was stuck on this specific one and I had to wait for the prayer to be over in order to listen to anything else. And that is why you should never, ever travel with a half-charged iPod, especially on SAUDIA flights.
Besides that, there's an announcement a half hour before the plane reaches a certain zone around Mecca (no aircrafts are permitted to fly directly above the holy city), so the passengers who wish to pray may prepare to do so. Some of the larger aeroplanes even have special prayer areas for this purpose.
While we're on the subject of passengers, I think it's worth mentioning the type of people I usually travel towards Jeddah with, regardless of the airline. Because Jeddah is the gateway to Mecca, all Hajj* and Umrah** pilgrimes pass through the city, however fleetingly. These people come from  all over the world, even from the most remote places you never even knew existed, to fulfill the journey of a lifetime. It's really an experience traveling alongside African women draped in endless folds of colourful fabric and wizened old men with henna-dyed orange beards, wearing nothing but the two towel-like sheets (ihram)  required for the pilgrimage. Many of these people have never flown before, judging by their disoriented behavior, and I've been on flights that have been delayed up to an hour due to the time it took to persuade them to get out of the seats they have chosen for themselves and strapped into their assigned ones. Even so, their determination to step out of their comfort zone and reach Mecca is quite admirable.
Despite these small oddities, which really don't affect the passenger much, SAUDIA flights are generally enjoyable, and the great quality of Middle-Eastern hospitality is evident throughout the whole thing. From the Arabic tea you are offered right after take-off to the multiple course meals with a choice of three different types of meat and the thick, wooly blankets. On longer filghts you even get a kit containing a toothbrush and toothpaste, a sleeping mask and an extra pair of socks. And all this is just in economy class.  So, all in all, it's a very luxurious affair. Saudis may have many faults, but when it come to pampering themselves they do it best!

* Hajj: it is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.

**Umrah: Pilgrims can also go to Mecca to perform the rituals at other times of the year. This is sometimes called the "lesser pilgrimage", or Umrah.