Italy here we come

Nice Quote

Rasha Essam Al-Shawaf is a third-year Saudi medical student studying at Alfaisal.  She was interviewed by Arab News, on how her interest developed  in helping her community in any way she can.

Rasha has set an excellent example of the students we aspire to produce at Alfaisal, and we commend her on the difference she has made in the community.  Please click on the link to read Rasha’s interview.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/467168

We end by sharing by sharing a quote by Thomas S. Monson that Rasha makes a reference to in the article:

“Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.”

Saudi Coke Commercial

Peaceful Man with his Freind

How Big is Saudi Arabia? Nine Idahos

Saudi Music Janadriyah Festival

Janadriya Cultural Festival

Janadriyah Festival Basket Weaver

Ladies selling goods on the Street

Gale, Garbin, and Hameed at Janadriya Festival

Bedouin Men Socializing in Luxury Accomodations

Why do you want our picture? DeAnna Julia, CeCelia, Keanna, Shahnaz

World Famous Basket Weaver

Happy Birthday to Meeeee!

My Friend Shahnaz From Iran

Is this Guy building a boat?

CeCelia's beautiful henna in typical Saudi markings.

Prayers Are Serious Business in Saudi! And Birthday Bashes

Hello Dearest Friends and Family,

Are you so surprised to get another letter so soon? I've been thinking a lot about this newsletter so I couldn't wait to send it to you. I have been so amazed at the devotion of these people that I wanted to share some thoughts with you.

When we first arrived in Riyadh, the first thing everyone wanted to inform us was about prayer time. As you know, Islam believes in prayer five times a day. There is a mosque on almost every corner in Riyadh, some very beautiful, some quite nice, and some just a portable trailer. Prayers are broadcast through minarets (towers) in every neighborhood starting at one hour before sunrise. This means about 4:30 in the morning! I guess there are some advantages to being hard of hearing, ha, ha. It starts with a male voice in a sing-song manner announcing prayer. A few minutes later, the actual prayer begins and this is also done in a song. It lasts for around 15-20 minutes. Men are expected to go to the mosque at the call with their prayer rugs. Everyone leaves their shoes at the door.  Women may also go but they are off in a side room for their prayers, not the main hall.

         

Here is Saudi, all business' are required to lock-up when the call to prayer is announced. You can't get into any business during prayer time. If you are already in the store when it happens, you can't check out because all of the employees either take a break or pray. They don't mind you shopping however because the crime rate is pretty low. Who wants to shoplift when you may have your hand removed in the public square by a razor sharp saber and an exact executioner! No tempting thoughts here. I've never liked public displays much anyway.

We were in the grocery store during prayer time one day and they threw out a large rug in the produce department and a bunch of employees were kneeling, saying their prayers in their typical up and down motion, touching their noses to the floor. What is truly amazing is that when you are caught in a store during prayer time, everyone becomes quiet, they dim the lights, and there is almost a reverent feeling around you. I've seen women praying on a rug in an aisle of the store, or in the corner of a restaurant, or in the hall in the mall. It's quite a sight of devotion. You just don't want to show up at a store before they close their doors because you won't get in until 45 minutes later! In other words, everything is planned around prayer time. Especially going out to eat because you'll either have to wait or you won't get your food and you know how much I like to wait for my FOOD!!!

So, prayer happens five times a day and the times change with the seasons. Gale has an application on his phone that tells us when we can and can't go. It just makes it hard to plan sometimes when you have to navigate the horrendous traffic on top of it. That's another story for another day. We've learned to adjust and only find it mildly inconvenient anymore. Other Islamic countries that we've visited allow for the choice of the shop owner, which makes more sense if you believe in freedom. I hear from my friend Shahnaz that Iran doesn't require it either.

I had a wonderful birthday, thanks to many who sent me good wishes. We went to the Janadriyah Cultural Festival in the evening that was like walking in a dream, it was so different. Maybe even like time travel or something. I'll send some pictures. It was quite windy with a lovely sandstorm blowing but that was part of the fun! Here's a great website if you're interested in more info. It's like the county fair only bigger with lots of artisans making crafts. We sampled more dates and types of honey than I've ever had in my life. Because the dates are fresh, they taste like caramel and I've never liked dates before. They have camel and donkey cart rides for the kids, military museums, musical performers, art galleries and a ladies only section that is heavily guarded. (Sometimes men attempt to sneak in ). The Muttawa were thick that night making sure no single men were prowling the place. I don't know what they'd expect to see since all the women are covered from head to toe! I frequently got stopped by women asking if they could take our picture since we're light eyes. I told them "Only if I can take your picture too!!" They always agreed and would frequently say "Welcome to our country." It was my best birthday ever.

http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2013/03/expats-guide-janadriyah-cultural.html

If you have any other questions about anything, send me an email. I love hearing from you. Let me know if the short video works.

Love,

DeAnna

Seeing Is Believing! Our Cruise from Dubai

Isaac Undercover in Old Souk

Typical Arabic Architecture in Muscat, Oman

Scary Squatty Potty

Inside the Grand Mosque

Julia and CeCe Enjoying the Dhow

What Happened to the Trees? Swimming in the Strait of Hormuz

Grand Mosque

Is that a crab, Gale?

Gale and DeAnna and Costa Atlantica

Everything is glitzy in the Dubai Mall! Julia and CeCe

Stationary Flying on Top of Burj Khalifa. Julia, CeCe, Isaac, DeAnna, Gale in Dubai

All Things Adventurous

Dearest Family and Friends,

I hear Mom had a wonderful 90th birthday/Easter party at her home on Sunday. It really meant a lot to her to have friends and family come and celebrate her life. Thanks to everyone that made it possible.

I was a bit discouraged on my last letter. I'm sorry if it showed. Life here in outer space can be such an emotional roller-coaster. Speaking of roller-coasters, we got to ride the fastest one in the world in Abu Dhabi at 220 kilometers per hour. You had to wear goggles and keep your head against the rest because you shot out of the building like a bullet! It was a blast. We also got to go to the top of the tallest building in the world. It's called the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and was featured in the last "Mission Impossible" movie. It felt like being in a stationary airplane complete with an incredible view.

We also visited the biggest mall in the world in Dubai. It was pretty impressive with all it's glitzy stores, movie theaters, ice rink, and large aquarium. You can pay money to put on scuba gear and swim with the sharks but I wasn't too interested. I do that everyday at home with three teenagers! We did run to the movie theater and had to watch two movies in a row since theaters aren't allowed in Riyadh. We saw "Jack the Giant Slayer" and "Oz the Great and Powerful." It was fun. We go to Bahrain on the 25th and we're looking for movie recommendations again.

So, to recap our Spring Break, we took a cruise from Dubai that took us to Muscat, Oman. This is the land that scholars believe Nephi built and sailed his boat. There is an oasis in the Southeast portion of Oman that looks like you could be in Hawaii complete with abundant wildlife. While there we visited the beautiful Grand Mosque which was built of a lovely white stone with a large room in the interior for prayer. It was beautifully decorated and the people were kind and helpful, answering our questions. Here we discovered the typical bathroom from around this part of the world and we didn't quite know what to do with it. (See picture). It has a hole in the floor which I guess you're supposed to squat over. The hose in the picture is where water squirts out to clean you off, no toilet paper included. It seemed like quite a messy affair and I was glad we didn't run into that problem again.

It was nice to be in a land where trees and flowers appeared green instead of the dusty apricot color of Riyadh. We also went to the old souk complete with narrow covered cobblestone streets, aggressive vendors trying to talk you into their store,  and beautiful Arabic souvenirs that are hard to resist. Gale had to drag me by the arm to get me out!

We also visited Fujairah, and Khasab where we took a dhow on a boat ride. A dhow is a flat looking thing with two levels where they throw out Arabic pillows for lounging on. We had a school of dolphins who swam alongside our dhow complete with an arial show and friendly dolphin chatter. They sure are social critters. The dhow took us out to an island in the Strait of Hormuz where we abandoned ship and swam with colorful fish (hopefully none with sharp teeth). The older Scandinavian women all really enjoyed their dip in the cool waters and were the first to jump ship.

The next day we visited Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emerites where Gale rented a van and we drove all around looking for the brand new church building in an Islamic country. When we finally found it, we jumped out and jumped for joy! It's very beautiful and isn't your typical church building. We hope someday it may be converted to one of those other beautiful edifices we cherish. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the amusement park, Ferrari World, riding roller-coasters and looking at Ferraris from their beginning. It made me miss Lagoon. Sometimes the "old familiar" just feels nicer.

On Friday we went to a nice villa in Dubai for church meetings and met some very friendly members. Their villa was set up well for meetings and classrooms and they seemed to have more freedom to worship. It was such a nice day. No matter how much freedom they enjoy in Islamic countries, the no-proselytizing rule is strictly enforced. On Saturday we enjoyed our visit to Dubai Mall but didn't have the time to visit the mall with the ski resort. I guess I'll have to come to Idaho to visit a ski resort. Yippeeeeee!!!

As much fun as we're having traveling and seeing these most interesting things, I can't wait to get home in August. I miss you all so much. Please write when you get the opportunity and keep me informed of all the happenings at home. Before we know it, our airplane will be pointed at Idaho.

Love,
DeAnna and Family

Visit to Dubai and the World's tallest building

33rd Wedding Anniversary 77th floor of the Kingdom Center

Julia's 16th Birthday

Our dear daughter celebrated her 16th birthday in Riyadh this week.
In the U.S. when you turn 16 you get to drive and date.
Not the case in Saudi Arabia.

So I took her to the Globe Restaurant for her first date.
(Jay accompanied us as the chaperone) 
This restaurant is located at the top of the Alfaisaliah Tower.
The bright light is from Julia when they brought our her birthday cake.

Memories of Yesterday

Sandboarding in Saudi

Saudi @ Nite

Isaac إساك has gone native.

Post Election Sunshine

I was feeling a little blue the day after the U.S. election.
However, all of my students were happy, so I gave them a pop quiz.

The College of Medicine here publishes a magazine.
I was looking through it and guess who was quoted?
Thomas S. Monson!

Along your pathways of life 
you will observe that you are not the only traveler.
There are others that need your help.
There are feet to steady, hands to grasp,
 minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.

Thank you President Monson for brightening my blue day.

I felt a little sunshine in the sunniest place on earth.
I also remembered that gas is only 40 cents a gallon and there are no taxes here.
Life is Beautiful no matter who wins or loses elections!

Pooleys Global Pool Tour Sri Lanka

Our goal is to visit a pool on every continent on the planet.
Mark off Asia.

Bahrain Flying Building

Went to Bahrain for Girls Camp
Cool Building.
Propellers provide power for one lightbulb.
Al Gore would be proud.

If your vehicle stops running in Saudi Arabia

Here's what happens in Saudi Arabia when your mode of transportation stops running.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or eat it for lunch.

Sri Lanka Shower

Elephants for Camels

We went to Sri Lanka this week. 

Tried a new means of transportation.

Rainbows in Riyadh

Today was amazing
It rained in Riyadh and then we saw a rainbow.
Two things I thought I would never see.

Work and the Glory in Arabic in Riyadh

The other night on the local Arabic NBC channel, they showed Work and the Gory with Arabic subtitles. Imagine that!

Thank Heaven for Small Miracles

We keep thinking about the beautiful fall weather in Idaho and missing sweet corn and beautiful sunsets. It makes us miss home and all the wonderful people we love.

I've been trying to make a mental note about things that are interesting here, so I thought I'd tell you about a few of them I've observed this week. There are so many differences and yet similarities that it's hard to believe we're actually in Saudi Arabia.

We saw a man one morning in the breakfast room of the hotel that was staring at us. That is not altogether uncommon since we are Americans and blondes. Come to find out, he is from Iran and had been educated in Arizona. Gale ran into him again at the University where he's a teacher too, and he asked Gale if he was a Mormon. He said a couple of his teachers in Arizona were Mormon and the best men he'd ever met, that he could always spot a Mormon. Many men here are quite short and he only stands about 5 feet 3 inches but this man has been an absolute lifesaver to us. His name is Hameed and since he speaks Arabic and English, has a car, and is a wheeler-dealer, he's been a valuable help to us. He keeps finding us places to rent so we've had a choice of a couple places. Otherwise, we would have been lost. It's funny that a city this size (5,000,000) has so few options. Unfortunately they don't have a craigslist or classifieds so everything is pretty much done by the "who you know" method or who will tell you.

So Hameed is now our new best friend and I think the prayers from home and divine providence has helped us in our hour of need. I was seriously beginning to think we would have to come home since we couldn't find a place to live and hotel life was getting old fast, but it looks like we'll be moving into our apartment this week. We have to furnish everything but at least we don't have to furnish the appliances and air-conditioners like some places around here. We've been trying to buy things at IKEA but the store is so packed with black and white (abayas and thobes) that you can't hardly walk the isles. We may be sleeping on hard tile floors for a few weeks! Carpet is a luxury here.

One thing kind of funny I wanted to let you know about; men here hold hands as an expression of friendship. Odd. You know they're not gay because you can get your head removed for that. I'll try to take a picture when I get the courage and send it to you.

Please don't worry about us. There's a lot going on in the Middle East and we've been advised to be a bit cautious, but Saudi is relatively calm with none of the violence you're seeing on the news. It's happening in the countries around us and we're praying it doesn't happen here, but so far it's O.K. Saudis are very reliant on America for their wealth and well-being. We'll be on a plane home at the first sign of trouble. They actually treat Americans well here. It's the poor workers from other countries that are treated poorly and with suspicion. You don't want to be a Syrian right now.

Well, have a good week. We are thinking of home and good friends and family.

Hi Everyone,
Boy, I'm missing you. Most Saudis, Philippinos, Syrians, Yemenis, etc., speak a little English but it's very hard to communicate. It's especially frustrating when you get into a taxi and they take you to the wrong place. We wanted to go to Fuddruckers the other day and the driver never could find it, even though there's 10 of them in this city. They have just about every fast-food chain available here but the beef tastes different, more lean and chewy. Change is hard sometimes.

We are still in the hotel, but we're living day to day and working hard to find a place to live. We think we've found a place but the Saudis seem to move in slow motion and since there's a scarcity of housing options, everything is extremely expensive. They can also be dirty, but if they're new they want you to furnish the appliances, air-conditioners and the furniture, too. Most all villas are tile so I'll just have to wear my shoes all day and you know how much I care for shoes!

The best thing about being here is how different everything is. Most women are all covered, even their faces and some from head to toe with a veil. They look at it as a sign of modesty and tradition. There's an example for the young women! Men are in their white thobes with red and white checkered headdress and appear to be much cooler. The traffic is absolutely crazy with people driving all over the place at high speeds, but everyone seems to have a pattern that keeps them moderately safe. We witnessed a good crash in front of the hotel the other day and it took the police 4 hours to get there. The high-rise buildings are in the oddest shapes: one looks like a fish, one looks like a purse, one looks like a pyramid with a ball at the top, one looks like a space-ship. I want to send pictures as soon as I can get some decent ones. On almost every block, there are men in front of little Mom and Pop type stores where you can get just about anything. They might have a whole block of stores to buy dishes and the owners don't seem to mind the competition. We've ventured to a couple malls but not to the street stores.

The church members have been wonderful and they're about the only Americans we see around here. There's been lots of soccer players at the hotel since soccer is big in Riyadh. The Saudis love families and seem to spend a lot of time indoors with them in the heat of the summer. The climate is definitely a dry, arid desert with temperatures between 110 and 120 degrees in the summer. All you see are palm trees, scrubby bushes, and lots of orange, sandy dirt. Everything is different, that's the fun of it!

Saudi NASCAR

Well we are officially on Saudi soil, or I should say Saudi sand.
The cab driver was the Saudi NASCAR champion.
80MPH and using two lanes all the way from the airport to the motel.
I thought DeAnna was going to jump out half way.
Even Isaac was impressed, he said it was better than any driving video game he had ever played.

Bill and Becky will be here tonight so things should get settled.

Our New Transporation and Housing