Holding up our lights...

Arabian Lights - Girls Camp 2009
...therefore hold up your light that it may shine unto the world..."

This is what I have been working on for the past few weeks. We had our camp in Dhahran over the weekend and it was great! We had some amazing experiences during this camp and I am so glad we did it. It took me a week to mentally recover (as for the physical recovery - I still have the remnants of my sunburn), but after looking at the slide show and the pictures I have, I just feel such a great love for these girls - who they are and what they stand for. The light they have shines in their eyes and through their countenances. What a blessing to be able to lead them...especially because my two lovely daughters are part of the group. I just love them to pieces! I wish there were more opportunities to get the girls all together.

My wonderful husband and sons joined us in this camping adventure, too... I can't say how grateful I am for a family that supports all my hair-brained ideas. You guys are awesome. Notice the tshirts - thanks to Emma and Linda for spending hours ironing and peeling the iron-on labels. They were just amazing. I am so grateful that girls camp only comes once a year. I don't have the energy I used to!

Arabian Lights - April 2009 - Dhahran

SHUKRAN, Kristy, for putting this slide show together!

INSHALLAH

Insha'Allah (in sha' luh) - Arabic. 1) God willing; 2) hopefully; 3) I have no idea; 4) if God really wants this to happen, He will possess my body to make me do it...otherwise there's a snowball's chance in Riyadh it's going to happen.


This is an important word in the Arab world. It follows any sentence...any promise of goods to be delivered, fixed, or services to be given and must be said. Some examples:

(of definition #1 or 2)

Obstetrician: "The baby will come in the next week, inshallah."

(of definition #3)
Customer: "Do you know when you will have chocolate chips in stock?
I can't find them in any stores right now."

Vendor: "Inshallah, they will be here next week."

OR (definition #4)

Friend #1: "Will you be able to help with the PTSA fundraiser on Thursday?"

Friend #2: "I will come, inshallah."

Another word that accompanies "inshallah" is "bukra" (boo' kara) which means tomorrow in Arabic. Many times, the answer to an inquiry is "Bukra inshallah..." or "Hopefully, tomorrow." Now this means that your chances of having whatever done tomorrow are slim to none. More often, if you hear this it means you're in for a long wait. An example of this:

Tenant: "So when will the chair from my villa be fixed?"

Maintenance: "Bukra, inshallah."

Note: I still have yet to see the chair that left my villa to be fixed in December 2008...

The Saudi Boot

My sister calls it the Saudi boot ~ we'll be chatting online and then suddenly, I'm not online anymore...booted off...just to come back on in another 30 seconds...and then repeat the process over and over again. Can we say frustrating?! Due to the dreaded boot, I missed my sisters this morning... just want you to know I would have joined your chat if I could have! :) Love you both!!!

Internet service here in my compound leaves much to be desired...I never know if it will be up and working. Today I had the tech guy come and fix it though, so *inshallah* it will work better from now on. I have friends who use the service from their cable companies, but our sponsor has just switched to compound internet service. It's better than satellite though...the dust here is crazy this time of year and sometimes it interferes with the signal. That can mean days without internet...I don't know that I could have survived being this far away from home without it. I LOVE technology, especially when it works correctly!

Turning over a new leaf...

So today while I was in a book club meeting, it occurred to me that I need to chronicle my time here in Saudi a little better. I've gotten so used to life here that it seems very common, but I think that sharing my perspective with family and friends could possibly be of value to someone, somewhere...maybe.

Today there is news about the shakeup in the government regarding a woman put in the position of Deputy Minister of Education - specifically over woman's education. That is huge...first woman in a ministry position. I know several people that think the Saudis are behind the times, but for a country that is still under 100 years old, this is progress. Good for you, King Abdullah! The King also let the head of the Muttawa go - in favor of someone who might be a little less "iron-fisted." Maybe next year red roses will be allowed during February. :)

Life here is both interesting - I can sit down to a luncheon with 10 women all of different nationalities and different points of view, as well as tedious...I hate having to hire a driver to go to the neighboring compound just around the corner. I also have to ride a bus to do the grocery shopping (or any shopping) and everything closes several times a day for prayer...ugh! Last Wednesday, I had to run all over between two neighboring malls trying to get what I needed in the 2 hours we were at the mall. What a workout! The only positive part of this is that it forces me to organize myself and plan out my shopping for the month when the bus schedule comes out. Monday - IKEA, Tuesday - Tamimi (Safeway), etc.

While it's not illegal to BE a Christian here, it is illegal to go to church. I miss that... a lot. We have friends who we visit with though who are also Christian and we keep each other company. I guess that will have to do for now. There's something about sharing a culture and religion here that causes us to become a tighter knit community. I went to the quilt guild for the first time last night and I knew almost half the women there from one place or another.

Well, Elijah has run out of patience with me on the computer but at least I got something written. My goal is to write every few days about something different...the weather (DUSTY), golf, compound life, trips...just life in general here in the Saudi Sandbox. Living here has given me patience and perspective and I am very grateful for that. I hope it comes across as I continue to write, although I know some days I may share more of my frustrations than my growth.