House and Ramadan

Greetings,

Some recent photos from the beach, Hayden by the Marriott pool, both boys in a local chocolate shop! Delicious.

I was able to go to Thuwal a few days ago. The houses are coming along. Some are done. Ours and all those on our street are almost done, but the road isn't, so we don't really have full and safe access right now. Even if it was done, we can't/don't want to move yet because we have meetings here, fresh food here, friends here, a pool here, everything we need really. Up on campus there is a mini-mart which has many household items, but no fresh fruits or vegetables yet because no one is really living there yet. There are three small restaurants, a wonderful cafeteria, a great deal of nearly finished construction, and a lot of garbage that has yet to be cleaned up. Though we are pretty upbeat about living in a hotel, it does feel like a never-ending situation at times. (I have actually used two full bars of hotel soap, which is rare for most hotel visitors.) I wonder if we will ever move and, if so, if our homes will have endless problems - water leakage, electricity, wireless ... Inshallah, we will move at the end of August and have a working home. I was able to see one of the two bedroom townhouses and, though ours will be a three-bedroom, it gave me a sense of what it looks like and what is there. We went to IKEA today to buy some items we will need for the house, things that can make it feel more like OUR house and less like a hotel: candles, baskets, throw pillows and blankets for the couch.

Benefit number one of needing an abaya: I went to breakfast and to IKEA in my pajamas today - under my abaya! Pretty comfy actually.

We are off to the beach tomorrow for more swimming and snorkeling. We have made some nice friends and are enjoying a lot of our time. We are getting ready for our own home, as you might imagine, and for school to start and our lives to settle a bit.

Ramadan starts tomorrow, assuming the moon is in view. We will have to be very discreet about eating between 4:45 a.m. and 7 p.m. The hotel is setting up a private place for non-Muslims to have breakfast from 6:30-8:00 a.m. and lunch for one hour starting at noon. It is very disrespectful for anyone to eat or drink in public until after sunset. Stores and offices will have limited hours, and there will be huge iftars from 7:00 p.m. on into late hours. Malls open at 8:00 p.m. and stay open until 2 a.m. Even IKEA has hours such as this starting tomorrow. Ramadan lasts for one full lunar month and ends with a huge festival of Eid thirty days after the start of Ramadan. It's a very popular and exciting time for people of Islamic faith. They fast all day, except for children or people for whom is it not healthy to fast, to practice discipline and inner focus. I would like to fast for a day. I will let you know if I can. Thanks for reading. Jennifer