A Foreign Planet

            In my life I have visited many places, from Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to the Temple of Athena at the Parthenon. These places have the same cultural roots and similar beliefs as the United States does, but when I visited Saudi Arabia in February 2010, it felt like stepping onto a foreign planet.

     In February 2010, my dad received a phone call from the Saudi Arabian government, saying that they would like him to give a lecture in Jeddah. My father said “yes” but under one condition... if he could take me along. The Saudi government said that I would have to get a special visa to enter, but I could come along. Ten days rolled by and my dad and I hopped on a plane to Jeddah. There, everyone has a strong belief of their culture, so I was required to wear a hijab (A scarf that goes around the head), and an abaya (a long flowing black dress with long sleeves). These garments are worn in Saudi Arabia by women. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to show any skin, except on the face, the hands, and the hair. These women are not even allowed to wear flip-flops, they had to wear sneakers. In Saudi Arabia, during the day it can get up to 120˚ F, so these black garments were very hot to wear around.

     When my dad and I landed in Jeddah, we stepped off the plane and onto a bus. Women were not allowed to stand, so there were certain seats that said “For Women Only." As the airport was flying by, I looked around the bus, and noticed that some of the women had these scarfs around their nose and mouth further covering their face, which showed how religiously devoted they are. Most of the women in the bus had two or three children, and the whole bus ride the women did not utter one single word to anyone. In the lobby of our hotel, there were a whole bunch of Saudi Arabians and their children. The Saudi men were caressing the boys’ heads, and treating them like royalty, and the girls seemed to be ignored, and sent to a far corner of the lobby to play by themselves. I wanted to go over and play with the small girls, so they wouldn’t be so lonely, but my dad held me back, saying that it was not correct for a teenager to play with small children in Saudi Arabia.

     Next on our agenda, my dad had to give a lecture to the Prince of Saudi Arabia. When we walked into the beautiful lecture hall, an usher came up to me, pointed to a partition along the wall and said, “Men are to sit on the left side of the wall, and women on the other."
Of course I couldn’t object, so I went to the far right side, and sat alone at a small table, while the men sat at huge round tables, joking and laughing. I sat through the whole lecture, trying to entertain myself with this business card I managed to obtain. Then suddenly the Prince arrived. Everyone stood up from both sides, and became quiet; we had to wait until the Prince was seated, until we could sit. (Princes in real life are not like the princes you find in movies, the real life prince was old, wrinkled, chubby, with a huge dark beard.) He spoke for a few minutes, and after that my dad gave his lecture. Then we were all excused for a break, but not until the Prince gave my dad a gift… a fancy Swiss watch!

     My dad made arrangements on the other side of the partition for me to go with a lady named Mrs. Edrees, and have a tour around the city.

     As I climbed into the huge Range Rover with a lady I have never met, she told me some of the customs of Saudi Arabia. First of all, women are not allowed to drive, so they have a personal chauffer, like this lady had. Women are not allowed to cook, so they have professional chef's, live in their huge two story houses. Women are only allowed to speak when spoken to by a male but can speak freely, when speaking to a female. When a girl turns thirteen, she has to wear the garments that I had to wear. Everyone had to pray five times a day, at dawn, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dusk (when everyone pray's they go on their knees, put their nose to the ground, and then go back up again and repeat). Mrs. Edrees has a son who went to a British/Arabic school in Saudi Arabia, so he spoke fluent English, but had difficulties speaking his own language. There was so much to see, but my dad and I had to leave at 4:00 to come back to Tucson. So Mrs. Edrees gave me a quick tour of Jeddah, as we were driving around, I noticed that all of the houses were made of an adobe type substance, and they were painted peach, and orange, to match the surrounding sand dunes during sunset. Some of these homes even had grass in their backyards, and . When the tour was over at 3:00, it was time to hop on a plane and go back to the states.

     As I was flying back to the United States, I couldn’t stop thinking of how much Saudi Arabia is different from America, and how much people believe in their religion, and abide by the laws and rules. The laws are so strict there, that if you do not follow them you could suffer serious consequences. This trip to Jeddah was fun, but quite unnerving, because of all the laws and the segregation. I realized that stepping into Saudi Arabia was like stepping into a foreign planet. One tiny thing that doesn’t change I suspect, is a dad’s love for his daughter… my dad gave me the Prince’s watch!