Thanks for everyone who has been writing comments! I really appreciate having some guidance on the things I am learning. Here are some personal responses:
YEG--Wow...those are some tough ones. I had an interesting conversation with a woman, Kholoud, who has visited the US. When asked about her positive and negative impressions of the US, she definately was down on the media. She witnessed herself how US media can be very one sided, or at least strongly slanted, and sensationalist. After being here myself, (and even before), I knew that it is not uncommon for media to stereotype other cultures by limiting their coverage. While I have witnessed that women in the Kingdom don't have the same freedoms we know in the US, there have certainly been strides made for women, albeit slow. As far as big differences...don't even get me started! I will say that, like any other country, Saudi Arabia has a lot of kind, generous people. I don't think that Americans are exposed to such positive images enough. (PS--Both have their moments...but I think I want to be JD...)
Bethany/Allison--I will try and bring back an Arabic pringles can for you to see. I hope that I can bring some shoes back! Men wear sandals frequently with their native dress, the thobe and ghutra (I'm buying them tomorrow!)
Priscilla--Saudi Arabia is great so far. The hosts have been especially generous and friendly. The weather here is great! It's been warm, but the air is comfortably dry. At night it cools down a bit, but it feels really great. Thanks for the questions.
Ashley--Thanks for the comments. Glad to hear you are liking Hotel Rwanda. Is there anything specific about Saudi Arabia you'd like to know?
AGAIN--THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS, KEEP 'EM COMING!
Mr. Senrick--Teacher/World Traveler
Educators to Saudi Arabia 2007
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3 comments:
Dear Mr. Senrick,
Rather than asking the basic, "How's the weather?" and "Are you having fun?" type questions, I decided to ask more obscure ones. How does Saudi Arabia treat tourists? (Especially Americans) At cia.gov, it says that Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, and Mecca is located here. Did you go there? How do you handle it when people stop and pray? Do you continue and walk around or do you feel awkward and stop until the people are done praying? These are probably a lot more questions then you wanted and probably longer too. But Saudi Arabia sounds like an impressive place and I want to learn more. Thanks.
-Nigel?!
How much do Sandals, a thobe and a ghutra cost? And do you accept paypal, because I want some?! You know I'm into currency, is the exchange rate favorable for Americans? Thanks for the great blog Sol.
Yes I do have a more specific question for you now that you mention it. I really don't know much about Saudi Arabia and I was wondering why they think that people in the US are terrorists. Also you said that The Arabian Gulf is a body of water seperating Saudi Arabia and Iran, has there been problems between the two? Like I said I'm not familiar with that region as far as how their connections are with other countries as well as anything else they have going on over there.
thanks
-Ashley S.
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