“I’m taking up a job in Riyadh”, he said. “Of all the places in the world?” I exclaimed louder than I intended. A few minutes into the call and I found myself saying, “Why not?”
A year later, I was on a 4.5 hour-long flight from Hyderabad (India) to Riyadh (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The sweet smell of Arabian oud floating in the aircraft, an inflight Arabic prayer before takeoff and off we were on a new life adventure.
Five months have passed to that day and I vividly remember the unique terrain of Riyadh – all sand with no sight of civilization. As we descended further, symmetric clusters of mono-colored houses appeared that almost resembled microchips.
As we landed, I dug out my black Abaya from the handbag and anxiously put it on; looking around to spot fellow female passengers for comfort and noticed only a handful of them in the entire flight.
In transition: I later learned that I don’t need to wear the Abaya to and fro the airport. It now saves me the trouble of carrying it in my handbag every time I take a flight out and in to Riyadh.
Going back to my first impressions, to my relief, the Riyadh airport gave a familiar vibe, with Arab immigration officers and staff that reminded me of my Dubai days. One foot out of the air-conditioned airport, and I was hit by the afternoon heat wave.
Culture shock: The dry desert heat in summers (May-September) is at a whole new level and I fail to describe the intensity in words. You step out of the house at even 10 PM and it’s no different than stepping out at noon.
A Careem ride (Saudi’s Uber) to our apartment was a great way to get a glimpse of the city. The Indian in me who’s used to vibrant colors couldn’t help but notice the monochrome of sandy brown as a dominant color of streets, sidewalks, buildings, and stores. The smooth, wide roads and the noise free ride was quite a contrast to the Indian organized chaos.
Having said that, the ‘compound’ premises that we live in are fairly green and I like calling it our little oasis. So what is a ‘compound’, really?
Well, it’s a gated community exclusively catering to expatriate accommodation that comprises of villas/apartments with common amenities like a swimming pool, gym, restaurant, etc. Now, I’ve always been an advocate of integrating into the local culture and making local friends but moving to Riyadh, I learnt that you cannot make friends the same way in each culture – some require going out of your way to build formal connections and eventually finding a ‘close friend’ among them. I’ve made many other friends from diverse nationalities in the compound – my ultimate motivation to strive in a foreign culture while my quest for a Saudi friend continues…
Living in a ‘compound’ means not needing to wear my Abaya every time I step outside my apartment and I need not be conscious of holding my husband’s hand!
Cultural surprise: ‘Segregation’ of the genders is strongly practiced in public places like cafes, restaurants, movie theaters and even some stores. There are separate ‘singles section’ (for men only) and ‘family section’ (for families and single women) in every restaurant. Needless to say, the family section is always the more bustling one and gets better service 😉 However, the following image is an exception.
In transition: However, there are new arrangements developing whereby the segregation of men and women is less marked than before and it is not uncommon to see a group of young (unmarried) men and women sharing a table in cafes.
I’ll be honest; the sloth in me never enjoyed cooking until I moved to Riyadh. I’m happy cooking up my limited Indian curry recipes which demand two visits to the grocery store every week. And believe it or not, two hours just fly by when you’re lost in the aisles and spoilt for choice in the hypermarkets.
Cultural surprise: What’s interesting is that the stores in Riyadh are open until late hours (1 AM) and are most crowded at 11 PM! Majority of the billing counters are operated by Saudi women who are efficient and greet you with a warm smile.
And no, not all Saudi women wear a Niqab to cover their faces although they all do wear the Hijab (the head scarf). An Abaya (the flowy black national attire) is however, a mandate (or at least was until a few weeks ago) for all expat women.
I personally have enjoyed wearing the Abaya as it has its advantages.
- I literally get ready to step out in two minutes – wear whatever I like inside and no one would judge
- It’s super comfortable, except for the couple times in my initial days when I almost tripped over it
- It covers all flab (but again, I’m not sure if that’s really an advantage)
- It’s a great way to ‘fit in’ into the local surroundings
It’s safe to say that I’ve come a long way from “of all the places in the world?” to “hey, this feels like home” 🙂 After all, home is where you are, isn’t it?
Coming up next is a post with some more cultural observations as part of my everyday life in Riyadh with an attempt to demystify this fast transforming Arabian culture.
Kulture Kaleidoscope 