An Outing to the Oldest Jeddah Souk

Greetings!

Today we were fortunate to have a trip to the oldest souk (market) in Jeddah where we walked down covered alley ways lined with shops selling electronic equipment, shoes, women's clothing, toys, children's clothing, mobile phone repair service, freshly squeezed juices, watches, gold, abayas, jewelry ... It was very hot, particularly in a long flowing black abaya, but I think the men in the group were nearly as sweaty - perhaps it just showed more. We went into a shop, directed by Logan, that sold children's clothing, and we ended up buying Hayden and Logan each a soccer jersey and matching soccer warm-ups for two different soccer teams from the Kingdom. They look fantastic, and Logan ended up wearing his for the rest of the day. The men, who are in fact pretty much the only people we have any contact with, immediately warm up to the boys, especially Logan who is so friendly and outgoing. Men pat him gently on the head, greet him with a hello, or even kiss his head; they then reach out to greet and shake hands with Hayden. Hayden and Logan are each learning to say 'thank you' in Arabic. It is such a different experience living abroad with children because of the warmth we receive as a result. Since men cannot touch me or shake hands, they usually smile and nod their heads. Now, what continues to amaze me is that we have met or encountered few Saudis. In the shops, everyone seems to be Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Egyptian, or Syrian. We bought freshly made mango juice and strawberry juice from an Egyptian man today, who was so excited that he invited the boys to the rear of his shop to show them how he got the juice from the sugar cane in this huge machine. We love talking to the merchants, when possible, and taking photos, with permission. I must admit that I have a hard time approaching or talking to any women because they are so covered - often the entire face, including their eyes, are covered - and I guess I assume that it is partially to avoid being approached. I hope that when we move to campus we will have the opportunity to meet and get to know Saudi families. It is expected that 30-40% of our students will be Saudi.

Driving in Jeddah seems to be rather frightful. My dad and my brother would be particularly interested to watch the roads and driving 'techniques.' When a light turns red, cars simply continue to drive through the intersection until eventually they seem to agree to cease. Then the cars with the green light begin heading into the intersection, some going straight and some turning left across traffic. Regularly, I see people turn left from the furthest righthand lane, while the drivers intending to go straight simply veer around. Incredibly, honking while driving is not as common as one would expect. In VietNam, for example, people just generally drive while honking continuously. Here it seems people honk only when REALLY necessary, though under these conditions, I have not determined what constitutes really necessary.

Hayden and Logan are adapting so well. I have heard Hayden having conversations with other faculty members who engage with him in discussions about sports in the United States. I pretend not to notice, so that he does not feel that I am 'watching' him, and he converses so well. One day, a fellow faculty member introduced himself to Hayden who gave his name as well and then said, "It's nice to meet you." Wow. One issue for the boys may be that they are going to expect the kind of food every day that we are given here - which just isn't going to be possible! The hotel food, though varied and vast in its options, is getting old, so we are beginning to plan trips to various restaurants around Jeddah in the coming weeks. Don't tell Hayden, but we discovered a Mexican restaurant we are going to try soon!

By the way, if you are interested in seeing our campus or reading more about the King's goals and what KAUST is all about, please see the website: www.kaust.edu.sa. You can find a link to our school as well, since much of the website is about the graduate university, and the website is really thorough. You might enjoy it.

All for now. Thanks for reading. Jennifer