Visa is is Visa go!

After all these years of answering a childhood dream of traveling I can safely say that a little house with a white picket fence and a lawn to mow in the burbs of the USA would send me into a deep isolated depression.   I have learned that I am an unsettled soul and exploration and adventure is the only thing that I find satisfaction and true happiness.   It is true that I need to come back, from time to time, to be with my friends, catch my breath, re-energize and then off to another exotic corner of the world that challenges my world view.  I may find in my new adventure that I have bitten off more than I can chew.

South Korea in my last 8 months was isolative, unchallenging, extremely frustrating, disappointing and boring.  As I once boldly told a co Korean teacher last August as we were discussing the exclusion of foreigners from traditional Korean holiday festivities, there just doesn't seem to be much more for me to learn in South Korea. So, I began sending out my resume and filling out applications.  For Saudi Arabia.

One month ago I received an offer for a position at an all female university in Riyadh, and I accepted.  I was informed yesterday that the visa was approved and on its way back to me.  By the end of this week I will be flying off to Saudi Arabia for an entirely new adventure.

The first question that popped into the readers head was probably, 'Will you have to cover'?  Yes, I will. I ordered an abayya and a hijab online as soon as I learned the visa was approved.  The abayya, which covers the body from neck to ankle and arms, must be black and full.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to  wear a form fitting chador decorated with bling-bling as is the fashion in Jordan.  I will also need to cover my hair in most public places with a hijab.  The hijab can be black or pastel colors.  I like that they atleast allow variation with the hijab.  I can have winter hijab and summer hijab.  Yay.

I'm very excited about this opportunity to experience a part of the world so few have.  It is a world I have only read about in books such as T.E. Lawrences, "Seven Pillars" or the movie, Lawrence of Arabia (much of his time was spent in Jordan, however).  I also took many cultural anthropology classes regarding the Middle East.  Unfortunately, those books are in storage in Asheville, North Carolina.

Saudi Arabia, as many know is a world where women can not drive cars, ride bikes or go out in public without a male escort.  I will have to hire a driver when I need to go shopping or out to eat.  At restaurants I have to sit in the family designated section and there is not such a section, I must get my food to go.  My dress under the abayya will have to be long skirts (women can not wear pants) that go to the ankle and long sleeve shirts that cover the collarbone.  In otherwords, I have to change my entire wardrobe.

Truman will not make the initial trip with me, unfortunately.  After his rabies vaccination and a period of quarantine, once he passes the health certification, then I will begin the long, arduous process of having him imported to me.  I am lucky to have a good friend take care of him until he passes this process and put him on a plane to me.  I don't think I could live without him too long.  He was a comfort in the isolated country of South Korea and will be a great comfort in the challenges of culture shock and differences in Saudi Arabia.

I am not sure what the internet is like in Saudi Arabia.  I have been in communication with a few teachers there via blogs and forums and they all have assured me that Facebook, Gmail, Google+ and Skype are all in full access.  I'm sure there must be some level of censorship since it is such a closed culture.  I will find out soon.

If you read this and you are a female from the West who has lived in Saudi Arabia, any advice is appreciated.