It amazes me how quickly time passes. Maybe it is because the weekend begins on a Thursday night and my week starts on a Sunday that before I know it another week has flown by.
This week it seems has had a few more challenges. To jump through the hurdles to get our visas, we have a medical test to pass which includes a chest x-ray and a blood sample all given only at one clinic. I knew it was going to be challenging, but it was much more time consuming than I anticipated. I went to the clinic at 8:30 am. As I was waiting in line at this governmental office, I could hear the high-pitched squeal of dot-matrix printers. I knew then that this process was going to take an inordinate amount of time. I was waiting in line with women mostly from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines probably for maid work. Many people from these countries don't keep a line very organized, so you had to stand your ground to be seen. I tried to be as patient as I could to let the people in front of me go first out of politeness. Well, after a few dozen local women bringing their maids to the front of the line, I knew patience wasn't going to cut it. I finally got my turn to go back to the changing room when the power went out and the computer system went down. I waited until 12:30 pm when I decided I had waited long enough for one day. I went back later in the week to complete the process in another hour and a half. As I was talking to the women in line, they told me about their working conditions. One woman takes care of five young children from 4:45 am and doesn't sleep until 1:00 am. Hearing about the poor working conditions from some of these women makes me so sad, but at the same time it must be better than where they came from, or they wouldn't be here in the first place. I'm just trying to resolve my role in regards to the injustices of the world.
We took Isaak in for a check up and met the pediatrician that was recommended to us. She is a very nice lady from Pakistan who was trained in the US. Isaak started with his immunizations. Christoph also had pink eye (or meem eye as he calls it) so we got drops for him. She also reviewed all the shot records and gave Christoph and Charlotte even more shots. Our kids sure are getting a lot of treats out of these shots!
I also had to go to a special office to give my fingerprints for my visa. It was segregated because Muslim men cannot touch women who are not their wives. The girls who were doing my fingerprints were giggling to themselves. One translated and said that one of the girls thought I had a baby face. I felt like saying, "I'd like to see your face," because they were veiled. I asked her, "If this is women only, why do you wear a veil?" She did say that some men come into the office sometimes. I have been having a hard time understanding the rules regarding the veil and covering for women. What I am coming to determine is I think it is mostly custom why the women veil, not out of religious obligation. It is sometimes so awkward to see the women work around the veil, e.g. one worker in the medical office was lifting her veil to drink her coffee. My neighbor, Huda, told me about going to a wedding where the men and women are segregated. The men eat the food while the women dance in these beautiful evening gowns in a separate room. The male members of the live band are behind a screen so the women can be uncovered and dance together. In one part of the wedding, the groom comes to collect his bride. All the women scramble to put their abayas back on when the man entered the room.
I went to another luncheon with the ladies of the compound. It is so interesting hearing their stories. My neighbor, Michelle, had a huge antique door fall on her foot in the old city souq. Thankfully nothing is broken. Huda described to me her home in Saudi. She says she grows wheat on her farm there close to the mountains. I have never thought of Saudi as mountainous, but she describes it as idyllic. Her husband calls the bread she makes holy bread because it is from The Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia). The best part about going to these lunches is how candid everyone is. Huda described the time she spends with women unveiled this way: "It's the only time I feel like I can be a girl."
It only occurred to me after the fact, but I realized I had driven to the fingerprint agency with Karl's legal assistant, a Muslim man, by myself. It may have made him feel uncomfortable even being in the car for 30 minutes alone together. Contrast that with last evening when we entertained a Christian Lebanese man who works with Karl. As he entered the house he kissed me three times on the cheek. I am having a difficult time keeping the customs of everyone we meet. Don't even touch this man, but kiss this man three times. I am finding I have to be quite careful.
Charlotte's prayer tonight: "Thank you for the prophet, the wolves, the polar bears and us. Thank you for me and my two little brothers."
Here is a shot from Christoph this week showing his version of veiling. He came up to me unprovoked and on his own looking like this.
This week it seems has had a few more challenges. To jump through the hurdles to get our visas, we have a medical test to pass which includes a chest x-ray and a blood sample all given only at one clinic. I knew it was going to be challenging, but it was much more time consuming than I anticipated. I went to the clinic at 8:30 am. As I was waiting in line at this governmental office, I could hear the high-pitched squeal of dot-matrix printers. I knew then that this process was going to take an inordinate amount of time. I was waiting in line with women mostly from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines probably for maid work. Many people from these countries don't keep a line very organized, so you had to stand your ground to be seen. I tried to be as patient as I could to let the people in front of me go first out of politeness. Well, after a few dozen local women bringing their maids to the front of the line, I knew patience wasn't going to cut it. I finally got my turn to go back to the changing room when the power went out and the computer system went down. I waited until 12:30 pm when I decided I had waited long enough for one day. I went back later in the week to complete the process in another hour and a half. As I was talking to the women in line, they told me about their working conditions. One woman takes care of five young children from 4:45 am and doesn't sleep until 1:00 am. Hearing about the poor working conditions from some of these women makes me so sad, but at the same time it must be better than where they came from, or they wouldn't be here in the first place. I'm just trying to resolve my role in regards to the injustices of the world.
We took Isaak in for a check up and met the pediatrician that was recommended to us. She is a very nice lady from Pakistan who was trained in the US. Isaak started with his immunizations. Christoph also had pink eye (or meem eye as he calls it) so we got drops for him. She also reviewed all the shot records and gave Christoph and Charlotte even more shots. Our kids sure are getting a lot of treats out of these shots!
I also had to go to a special office to give my fingerprints for my visa. It was segregated because Muslim men cannot touch women who are not their wives. The girls who were doing my fingerprints were giggling to themselves. One translated and said that one of the girls thought I had a baby face. I felt like saying, "I'd like to see your face," because they were veiled. I asked her, "If this is women only, why do you wear a veil?" She did say that some men come into the office sometimes. I have been having a hard time understanding the rules regarding the veil and covering for women. What I am coming to determine is I think it is mostly custom why the women veil, not out of religious obligation. It is sometimes so awkward to see the women work around the veil, e.g. one worker in the medical office was lifting her veil to drink her coffee. My neighbor, Huda, told me about going to a wedding where the men and women are segregated. The men eat the food while the women dance in these beautiful evening gowns in a separate room. The male members of the live band are behind a screen so the women can be uncovered and dance together. In one part of the wedding, the groom comes to collect his bride. All the women scramble to put their abayas back on when the man entered the room.
I went to another luncheon with the ladies of the compound. It is so interesting hearing their stories. My neighbor, Michelle, had a huge antique door fall on her foot in the old city souq. Thankfully nothing is broken. Huda described to me her home in Saudi. She says she grows wheat on her farm there close to the mountains. I have never thought of Saudi as mountainous, but she describes it as idyllic. Her husband calls the bread she makes holy bread because it is from The Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia). The best part about going to these lunches is how candid everyone is. Huda described the time she spends with women unveiled this way: "It's the only time I feel like I can be a girl."
It only occurred to me after the fact, but I realized I had driven to the fingerprint agency with Karl's legal assistant, a Muslim man, by myself. It may have made him feel uncomfortable even being in the car for 30 minutes alone together. Contrast that with last evening when we entertained a Christian Lebanese man who works with Karl. As he entered the house he kissed me three times on the cheek. I am having a difficult time keeping the customs of everyone we meet. Don't even touch this man, but kiss this man three times. I am finding I have to be quite careful.
Charlotte's prayer tonight: "Thank you for the prophet, the wolves, the polar bears and us. Thank you for me and my two little brothers."
Here is a shot from Christoph this week showing his version of veiling. He came up to me unprovoked and on his own looking like this.
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