FREE ESSAY ON A LETTER FROM SAUDI ARABIA

A LETTER FROM SAUDI ARABIA

Dear Mr. LMN,
Hope you are doing well. How are things at the Academy? I am doing just fine here in Al
Arabiyah as Saudiyah1, ever heard that name before? It is just the local short name for
Saudi Arabia. It is already a year since I left US and now I am almost half way through
the two years that I am spending here. There's a lot that I want to tell you about my
experience so far.
I always wanted to leave Westford for good, but had never imagined that I would someday
be doing a job in Saudi Arabia! It all started when I got this new job with the Saudi
Arabian Specifications and Standard Organization (SASSO)2. My Uncle has a close friend in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. So one night my uncle asked me if I would like to live for two
years in Saudi Arabia, and then he told me about this job opportunity for which they
required a qualified engineer in structural architecture. It wasn't exactly something
that I had planned in life, but I always wanted to experience life in a different
atmosphere, and this was the perfect opportunity for me to do so... so here I am! 
I work in a Water conservation-desalination1 plant in a town called Khumrah which is 30
miles south from Jeddah3. It is a small town with a population a little less than
Westford3. Where I live is very close to my work, barely a 5-minute walk from the plant.
Since there aren't many trees around the place I live, it is usually very hot in that
area. The average temperature here in Summer is really killing!! Sometimes it gets as
high as 94 degrees Fahrenheit in summer, it's an extreme climate here4! It certainly is a
big change from Westford! It makes me sweat a lot, but I have gotten used to that. Even
now I still calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit, whereas this country follows the
metric system, which is sometimes confusing, but that's just part of the experience. 
But I am really thankful to my uncle, he did give me a lot of tips about staying here.
For instance the kind of clothes that I should pack, what vaccinations I should take
before leaving other than those required by the Saudi consulate such as the ones for
cholera5. So I guess, I was pretty much packed up when I left America. 
I live in a small 2 story building, in a 2-bedroom apartment- 
building6 with Umar, the son of my Uncle's friend. The apartment building has no parking
lot, there is no reason to have one because not many people in this town own cars for
themselves. At first, that really surprised me! 
I and Umar have become really close friends now. He too works in the same plant with me.
He can speak some English, although he can understand everything I say in English, which
is something that I am really thankful for- It's one of the best things to happen to me.
You will not find many English-speaking people here. In only 60% of the population of
people 15 years and older can read and write1. 
Anways.. so we live on the 2nd floor and there is an Arab family that lives downstairs.
The first day, when I arrived at the Jeddah airport, I was amazed by the way the airport
is designed, it looks more like the ancient Islamic architecture that I had seen much of
in the travel brochures on the flight. It took a while to clear the customs, especially
since the import laws here are very strict7. After clearing the customs as soon as I was
at the arrival terminal Umar was there to receive me. He recognized me with the help of a
photograph that my uncle had mailed to him. 
Since I am a Muslim, I had some knowledge of Arabic, from what Iittle I had learnt in
Islamic school, but that was twenty years ago!! Anyway, so I greeted Umar, in what I
though was an ancient Arabic greeting- "As salaam O Alaiqum"8, he replied by saying "Wa
Alaiqum As Salaam". But later, I discovered that there was nothing ancient about it! It's
the formal way of saying hello to someone, technically speaking, in English it translates
to 'peace be upon you' and it's part of my Arabic vocabulary now. 
There are several forms of greeting in Saudi Arabia. The most common one is a handshake,
called the salaam with the right hand and the phrase "As salaam O Alaiqum" Frequently,
males follow the greeting by extending the left hand to each other's right shoulder and
kissing the other's right and left cheeks. The form of greeting changes depending upon
the person being addressed. When accompanied by a woman wearing a veil, a man would not
normally introduce her, and one does not expect to shake hands with her. The term for
"Good morning" is Sabah al-khair, and for "Good evening" it is Masah al-khair. A casual
hello is Marhaba.3 It's always a good thing to know these phrases, if sometime you get in
trouble, they act somewhat similar to the phrase "I come in peace" in English!!!
Anyways.. so once Umar found me he jokingly told me that he would have recognized me even
without the photo, because of the peculiar dress that I had worn, although I laughed that
off, but that was the first time that I felt weird being in a T-shirt and jeans. Most
people I had seen were dressed in long clothes that covered them fully. Males dress in a
white robe with a flat turban for the head, while women wear veils which cover them fully
from head to toe, except the face4.But it isn't like that in every part of Jeddah, or for
that matter even the whole country. Many men prefer wearing western outfits such as
shirts and trousers, while some women in cities also wear skirts which are about
knee-length. 6
For probably the first time I felt as if I was "the odd man out"! Anyways.. very soon I
and Umar were on our way to Khumrah on a hired taxi. It was a bumpy 2 hour drive, mostly
because of the bad road conditions, not all roads in Saudi Arabia are like that though1.
The hot weather made it even worse for us. We reached the house, and no sooner had we
started unloading the baggage than a gentleman came up and lend us to helping hand. After
we were done with the unloading, I thanked him and then Umar introduced us to each other,
his name is Khaled Bin Ahmad. He is the tenant of the apartment on the first floor and
lives with his wife Asma, a son Ashfaque and a daughter Fatima. Most people have more
than 2 children, usually the number of children in each family is 3-41. 
We are pretty good friends now, his family usually invites me to dinner at their home
with Umar. I love the food here. Saudi dishes are composed mainly of rice with lamb or
chicken and are mildly spicy. Kabsah, which is rice and lamb, is a favorite dish
throughout the country. Rice is also often served with vegetables and a green salad.
Fruit is frequently eaten for dessert, accompanied by Saudi coffee, which is brewed with
cardamom. Seafood is popular on the coast, and there are many varieties of fish. Coffee
or tea is served before all meals. Buttermilk is also a popular beverage. In general,
food is eaten with the fingers of the right hand only. Bread may be torn with the left
hand but is eaten with the right.3 I really had to get used to this habit, at first I was
very clumsy breaking the bread, and eating the rice, but now I think I have pretty much
learnt the proper way of eating.
Khumrah doesn't have many restaurants10. I had once been to one in Jeddah with Umar.
Hotel restaurants offer a variety of types of cuisine, including Chinese, Indian,
Italian, Japanese, and North American. Traditionally, the main meal of the day is in the
mid-afternoon (usually after 2 PM), when children are home from school and parents from
work. But those whose offices remain open in the afternoon now have their main meal in
the evening. 4
Conversation is often minimal during the main course of a meal; people prefer to talk
before and especially after the meal, while they drink tea or coffee. I generally am very
talkative at lunch, but Umar doesn't mind it, he is quite understanding. But when I am
Khaled Aqha's home it would be rude to talk while eating. 4
Although I am a Muslim, it is sometimes difficult for me to believe the diversity that
exists between an American-Muslim and an Arabic Muslim. When I say diversity, I basically
mean the traditions, the way of practicing religion. I have come to realize the fact that
Islam is practiced differently in all the different parts of the world, and the way I
practiced it when I was in the US, is certainly quite different from what I have seen and
practiced here. Then there are so many customs which actually have their root in the
beliefs of Islam, which I was totally unaware of. For example everybody removes their
shoes at the doorstep before entering the house, even when you are invited to someone's
home. Umar told me that it is a tradition that has been carried out for centuries now10.

Speaking of traditions, in Saudi Arabia there is a long tradition of hospitality, which
has its roots in the ancient custom that any traveler in the desert who ran into
difficulty could receive protection for three and one-third days3. In fact, just last
night I had dinner at Khaled Akha's house. I call him by adding a Akha8 to his name
because in Arabic it means brother, and I call his wife Ukht8, which means sister. In the
first few days I repeatedly used to make the mistake of calling Ukht by her name, which I
later realized is not considered decent for a non-relative man to do unless he is her
father3. Luckily Khaled Akha is an understanding man, otherwise one can end up in serious
legal trouble for doing something like that. You see, the constitution of this country is
actually the Sharia'- the Islamic law, which prescribes the role of men and women in
society1. 
The most amazing thing that I found out, in my first week here was that the citizens of
this country have no say in electing their government! Saudi Arabia is actually a
monarchy ruled by a king chosen from and by members of the Al-Saud family. The king rules
through royal decrees issued in conjunction with the Council of Ministers, and with
advice from the Consultative Council. Members of both councils are appointed by the
king7. But what amazed me even more that this system functions as well as the democratic
capitalist system in USA! Of course I have come across people who feel otherwise, they
demand a more flexible system. But since freedom of the press isn't as extensive here,
you never hear of such groups on television or newspapers. 
Some of the customs and social practices are very conservative7, and I would say the
sharia' is responsible for that. Islam pervades all aspects of life here more than
anything else. For the same reason, they also have a special police force - the religious
police called the Mutawwa'iin7. They are basically plainclothes policemen that patrol the
streets to enforce the conservative standards of the law. 
Once I almost got caught by the police when I was trying to photograph a woman in a
public fair, I didn't know that there are rules for photography too6. In fact there are
religious laws against certain dressing codes. I feel the laws are too strict to adhere
to, which is a view I am sure most people here share with me. But there are also laws
that forbid non-Islamic religious articles such as crosses and bibles, and food such as
pork 7(which is unholy in Islam), these laws are relatively understandable. 
When I see women who are dressed so conservatively3, as opposed to the men who have more
freedom of choice in what they wear, I feel a certain kind of guilt for the freedom I
have! Moreover, the pattern of social roles I have seen is that women take care of the
household, the children by staying at home while men are the bread-winners.
Bread-earning reminds me, that tomorrow I don't have to go to work, because it is
Thursday. Did you know that the working week is from Saturday through Wednesday7. Not
only that, we have breaks between work, for Namaaz (prayers) when people go to the nearby
mosques for their prayers4. Friday (Jumma) and Thursday (Jumme-raat) night are considered
as important days of the week for prayers, everybody goes to the mosque on this day for
their prayers. Religion is a very prominent characteristic of the Saudi society4. It is
one of their first priorities. It is quite obvious because of the large concentration of
the Muslim population, a 99% majority1! It is also to a certain extent because of
Al-Ka'aaba, which is the center of pilgrimage for Muslims all around the world. It is
considered the holiest place on earth. I remember talking to you about this in Global
Insights class, when we were studying Islam. It is the Ka'aaba that attracts the major
tourist population to this country4. 
It is amazing the way, the government handles the enormous tourist population every year,
despite the problems that it has to deal with. One of the major problems here is the
scarcity of water. Which is also one reason I chose to take this job. A large amount of
the total land area is covered by desert. Desert storms lead to desertification of vast
areas of land. This poses a threat to agriculture. Agriculture engages about 15% of the
total labor force. The government is coming up with projects for development of more and
more desalination facilities, through which they can then use the sea water to their
benefit, for irrigation in agriculture and also for industry. So water is one of the very
important resource here. 
In Khumrah, the water facilities aren't as well-developed as they are in the cities1.
Sometimes I have to skip shower for the day, because at times when the water supply is
short, the tanks are not filled. But I don't mind that, as long as it doesn't last for
days together. 
When I first came, I was too conscious about my health, so the only water I used to drink
was mineral water, which cost me about half a dollar for each bottle11. By the way the
currency used here is the Riyal, which is then divided into 100 halalah1, just like
dollars and cents. An American dollar is approximately worth 3.75riyals1. So whenever I
used to buy something, I converted it into dollars, and it seemed so cheap to me, but
later I realized that sometimes I was paying a lot more than the actual price, just
because in American terms it was cheaper! In fact I gave up the mineral water, within a
month. That however wasn't the best of ideas. I suffered a mild viral fever for 2 days
because of that. 
But Khaled Aqha and his wife took good care of me, for both the days, Umar got me my
medicine, Khaled Aqha took care of me. Now whenever I go to the market, I get some
grocery for Khaled aqha, at first he never accepted anything from me, saying that I was
like his guest, but now we no more have a guest-host relationship, it's more of
friendship, I feel. I was fortunate that I did not need any hospital care, it saved me
some money. Usually hospitals demand cash payment, usually before treatment!
Anyways, so did you make finally make that trip to India that you always planned on?
There are some Indians1 at the plant where I work, actually there are people from many
different foreign nationalities where I work. The main ones being people afro-Asian
backgrounds1. 
I wish I could write more about my life here. But it's something that you really need to
have a first-hand experience to know what I am talking about. 
Hopefully I will see you in Westford next May. If there is any souvenir or anything that
I can get for you from here, please feel free to let me know. 
Khuda Hafiz (goodbye)8
XYZ
Bibliography:
1. The World Fact Book -
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/country-frame.html
2. Water Online- http://news.wateronline.com/industry-news/19980123-930.html
3. Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 99- Virtual Globe
4. Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 99- Encarta Encyclopedia
5. Arabic News. Com- http://www.arabicnews.com
6. National Geographic- October 1987
7. Saudi Arabia Consular Information Sheet- http://travel.state.gov/saudi.html
8. Speak Arabic- the easy way (Nadeem Publications)
9. Excite Travel- http://www.city.net
10. Culture website - www.cultures.com
11. Retail price of Mineral water in SA- http://www.excelholdings.com/saudicost.html