Family!
My Mum is here, in the Kingdom, and it’s lovely! She has been here a week and we have two weeks left with her. She is enjoying it and I hope it’s opened her eyes to the fact that life here, while different and challenging is not scary...if you’re sensible.
We took her to one of our favourite restaurants, Al Wazzan in Al Khobar. It’s a Lebanese shwarma / mezzah restaurant which produces yummy meals very cheaply. No money is wasted on decorating the restaurant and in the family section we sit in booths that are surrounded by wooden partitions and thin, old, red curtains. You can close the curtains for more privacy. It was nice to see Mum eating food she normally wouldn’t, in a place she or I wouldn’t go unless you knew what was there.
The restaurant is in downtown Khobar right near the Souq. Driving through there on a Friday night was an eye opener for Mum. The traffic, amount of people, shop fronts and the fact there were people everywhere as we drove through during prayer time when the shops were shut.
She has taken to wearing the abaya with ease. I think she follows my train of thought that it’s just so easy to throw it on over pyjamas, gym clothes etc for a night out. We wore the hijab going into the restaurant too. I am still yet to be asked to wear it by the Religious Police (touch wood) but find it’s easier to put it on especially on a Friday and while we are in the Souq.
We also took her to two famous Saudi institutions – the Mall and IKEA! She also had her first Appleby’s lunch. There are many American franchises here and although I’ve never been to America, from what I’ve heard and seen, they still adhere to the American ideal of massive meals...and drinks. I believe my mojito (mocktail of course!!) came in the size, 'Mucho'.
Having Mum here is not just fantastic for me but for A too. She loves her Nanna. The joy she has seeing that Nanna is real and sitting next to her at breakfast (lunch and tea) rather than smiling through the computer screen via Skype is priceless. The easiest way to say it is just that she loves her Nan.
A and I met Mum in Dubai after a busy 10 days travelling. The week before the husband, A and I had spent two nights in Dubai catching up with family. My husband’s brother, our sister in law and their two kids are moving to Australia to ‘give it a go’ for 11 months. We spent a day or so with them and it was great to see the kids all remember each other and rekindle their friendship. They had only just met in June when we visited and holidayed with them in England and France.
After a couple of days with the family in Dubai we travelled to Oman annoyingly via Bahrain for four nights of sun, fun and relaxation with some Aussie friends who also live in the Kingdom. We went back to the same resort we had stayed at in May and it was just as wonderful.
We had four days off because it was the Saudi National Day on the Sunday. We arrived that afternoon and crazily decided to head to the Corniche (seafront/foreshore) to go to our favourite supermarket. It took us 45 minutes to get home, a drive that normally takes 15 minutes. The streets were full of cars decorated in green with men and kids hanging out of or sitting on top of the car celebrating their national day. People were dressed up and families were having picnics. It was great to see!
After a day at home and a visit to the hospital for my latest doctor’s appointment and another scan of the next baby, A and I were off again, back to Dubai. We spent a day and a bit with a friend who was making her way back from a couple of months in Europe. It was the first time I had spent some time looking around Dubai and I would like to go back to there and spend even more time checking it out properly. After two nights, A and I were up early headed to the airport to meet Mum as she got off her flight from Australia.
That’s where we are up to now. A is asleep, hubby is watching soccer and Mum is sitting in my lounge room in Saudi Arabia. If I had read that sentence a few years ago I would have thought I’d gone loopy.
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