Invitations

You may have noticed that we have not been to a lot of Saudi homes. In fact, the only time we went was once last year when one of Josh's older students invited us over to eat with his wife and family. We have heard and read that the Saudi culture is very private, and it takes a lot of time to enter into their inner circle of friends. This has proven true in our experience (but this is not to say that they are unfriendly). So, when one of my students from the first semester asked if I would like to come to her house for her older sister's celebration of her newborn baby, I jumped at the chance.

My student Nouf has a Saudi father and an Egyptian mother. Egyptian tradition calls for a celebration when the newborn is seven days old, which happened to fall most conveniently on the weekend – a Thursday night. So, while Josh was out paint-balling with his students, Misha, Sebby, and I got to hang out with my student's family. Since this is Saudi Arabia, the celebration was women-only. My student is one of 10 children – so that meant that I was ushered in to a room full of her sisters, her brothers' wives, the sisters of her brothers' wives, her mother, her mother's sisters, and her cousins, nieces, and young nephews.

Since I knew I wouldn't be taking any photos of the women, I left my camera with Josh for his paint-balling excursion. However, I did take a few photos of the evening with my iphone – all showing the children only, of course. My student said that she personally doesn't mind people taking her picture, but as her father is Saudi, he wouldn't allow it!


To start off, they brought the sleepy newborn to the middle of the floor, where the grandmother stepped carefully over her seven times to the rhythmic ringing of something that looked like a mortar and pestle made of metal. The other women watched and clapped, the smell of incense filling the room. Then came the children's candle parade. Each child received a lit candle and marched around the house in a grand circle to the musical clanging. Misha was thrilled to join the parade with his candle, and Sebastian was fascinated by the flame's bright glow.


A young cousin lights Misha's candle.


Two cute girls with their candles.


Sebby with his briefly-lit candle.


Then came the feast, which, as far as I could tell, consisted entirely of sweets. The long blanket spread out on the floor was filled to the brim with huge boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, platefuls of sweet laban bread, cinnamon rolls, baklava, chocolate cake, honey-soaked balls, custards, powdered-sugar doughnuts, dates, and cups full of Arabic coffee and sweet tea. Everyone ate to her heart's content and then some. It was a bit odd to watch mothers serving spoonful after spoonful of chocolate cake into their young children's mouths!

I loved this cute little guy with his Saudi shumagh!

Afterwards, Misha and Sebby ran around outside within the walled courtyard, playing on bikes and scooters with the other children. When they got cold, they came inside to another room, where my student and her sisters showed me the difference between Egyptian and Saudi dancing to the tunes of their favorite Arabic singers. It was a nice evening, and I am very glad I got to join in. I got an affectionate hug and kiss from my student's mother before I left, and Misha and Sebby came away with bags full of little toys and treats.

Meanwhile, Josh enjoyed paint-balling with his fun-loving students. He had high-level students this past semester, many of whom have even lived in the US for a number of years. They have taken Josh out to eat on more than one occasion, and they decided to do a class paintball trip before the semester ended.


Josh and his class, in paint-ball gear.


Josh after being shot in the eye.

Another new contact we have made here is Misha's kindergarten teacher. Misha has nothing but praise for his wonderful Teacher Noura, and I'm happy that he's so excited to go to school every morning. He has even told me that he wishes she were his mom! (How can I compete with someone who gives him toys, chips, and chocolate every day?) Up until a few weeks ago, we had only communicated through Misha or through cryptic text messages that appeared to get lost in translation. But then, she surprised us and invited us out to eat with her family. We all met at a Chinese restaurant and enjoyed an opulent meal together - and they paid for everything before we even realized it.

Misha and his teacher's one-year-old daughter, Haifa.


And Misha with his teacher's husband, Mosa. Glaringly absent, of course, is the picture of Misha with his teacher herself, ... but c'est la vie in Saudi Arabia!


Only increasing his teacher's status in Misha's eyes is this pet turtle that came home from school with him one day in a tupperware bowl. I was a bit surprised to say the least! Who sends home a turtle as a gift with a kindergartner?? But we have adopted him and he now lives in a slightly larger pot on the counter!


Sebby is excited about our new pet too.



Misha's drawing of Alfie, the turtle. (Named for the tortoise in the book Essio Trot by Roald Dahl.)

Alfie up close.