I'm a big girl now!!!

And I'm not talking about size!! I have finally graduated, and conquered the city of Riyadh on my own (well not totally alone- with my trusty Indian sidekick driver name Chandoo). Today I ventured out solo- in the midst of Ramadan, with my hair uncovered, blowing provocatively in the air!! 1st stop- the Canadian Embassy to have a visit with the notary. 2nd stop- the grocery store where an elderly Saudi lady approached me and said "Salaam Aalaykom" to which I replied "Hello." My Arabic is coming along quite slowly as the majority of the patients at work speak English. When put on the spot any words I do know fly out of my head- and English is all I can get out! 3rd stop- the purchase of a very overdue new camera. So looking forward to using it in Budapest and Vienna this coming weekend!!

On a travel note- my dear dear pal Jen is coming to see me on the Middle East in a months time- we are meeting in Jordan, and planning on traveling up to Syria and over to Beirut if all goes according to plan. This will mean I have a visit to the Syrian Embassy in the next couple weeks to look forward to! Also just booked my ticket for Sri Lanka at the end of October- let the traveling begin!!!!!

The Path

So the other day while at one of the local bookstores I stumbled into the game section and made an amazing discovery!!! I found the Muslim version of the game of Life called "The Path." So last night we pulled it out and gave it a go, and let me 1st say it did not disappoint!!!

The premise of the game is similar to the game of Life. You get a career, get a house, a car, get married (only once), and have as many children as possible. The rule guide said that "raising good Muslim children counts towards winning the game, so you want to have as many as possible." Mom- I am happy to report that on "my path" I was very fertile and you would have more than enough grandchildren to be happy!!! The game was amazing- the car choices ranged from camel to BMW. The houses from a ti pee to a houseboat (hardly useful in the desert) to mansions. Oh and you got prizes for shopping and countries visited!! Great way to pass a Thursday night!! This is what a winning card might look like:

And this might be a losers card AKA my card:

Nursing Lingo

Work is a very interesting environment- often with many different nationalities working together. On my floor we have Canadians, Americans, Australians, Kiwi's, Filipinos, Czechs, South Africans, Jordanians, Egyptians and Saudis. This can make communication quite interesting. Phrases that I took for granted can mean different things- or nothing at all depending on where one is from. For instance vital signs are referred to as "obs." Report is called "hand over." My personal favourite is something that I didn't think could really be called anything else. BM or "bowel movement" (for those non-nurses out there) is referred to as "bowel motion", BO does not refer to body odour but "bowels open" or BA "bowel action." I pretty much giggle like a school kid every time someone says any variation of these phrases.

Ramadan

So the holy month of Ramadan is upon us. For the next month (according to the Hijri calendar) Muslims will fast through the day and break fast after the evening prayer. People will be working much shorter hours, and those not working will be awake all night and sleep during the day. Non-Muslims must be respectful and inconspicuous. Chewing gum or candies is not allowed. Drinking and eating must be done out of eye sight. Restaurants will be closed during the day. Stores and malls will open after the evening prayer and stay open until 2 or 3am. It is said that the religious police (Mutawa) will be out in greater force, and western women should not leave their compounds with there hair uncovered. Luckily, I am going on leave for a week during this time- and am counting down the days!! I am heading to Budapest and Vienna in 17 days and counting!!!!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- NOT

Growing up in Canada we recycled everything- seriously everything. My mom was anal that soup cans be cleaned and put in the metal recycle bin, and the paper label into the paper bin. Plastic sandwich bags were washed out and reused. Very specific. Here, not so much- or really not at all. Recycling does not exist in any form. Everything gets thrown out. I feel like a small part of me dies every time I throw a soda can or water bottle out. Often times things don't even make it into the garbage. At work it is not uncommon for a patient to simply throw their things on the floor- even when a garbage can is like a foot from the bed. Weird. I sort of raise my eye brows and say "OK then" and turn and walk away. I have to remember that employing servants is very common here, and I suppose maybe at home a persons garbage is picked up off the floor, and placed into the garbage by someone else? Different culture- different cultural norms.

Picnicking- Saudi Style

So last night while on the way to a compound party we passed a bunch of cars pulled over on the side of the highway, and there appeared to be groups of men laying out on carpets (possibly magical) and eating. It was like 10:30 at night, and an odd time for a picnic. Oddly, you see this all over the city, usually once the sun has gone down. Families or groups of men will set up picnics at the side of the road/ highway, or under an overpass, lay down a carpet and eat/ hang out. Kinda odd. I'll have to ask one of the Saudi's at work about this. There are very few parks in the city- so I guess this is the next best local?