We had an awesome Mom's Night Out last night. My friend Danielle, invited her in-laws to come and speak to us and tell us about the nine years they spent living in Saudi Arabia working for the US government. It was really informative and interesting.
I've done a little bit of reading about Iran, so the Saudi culture wasn't shockingly new to me. But hearing again about they way their culture treats women, and how few rights women have over there, made me grateful all over again for the freedoms and opportunities I have in the United States.
While I was there, I got to try on the burka (a loose garment covering the entire body and having a veiled opening for the eyes, worn by Muslim women.) and a hijab (a traditional scarf worn by Muslim women to cover the hair and neck and sometimes the face.) If I were really a Saudi woman, only my eyes and the tips of my fingers would be allowed to show. I don't know how women do it. It was really hot with all that on, and my breath on the veil part made it really humid and muggy around my face. And I wasn't even trying to wear it in the sun or 120 degree heat. And it was really hard to move or do anything with only my finger tips showing. I can't imagine trying to cook of hold a baby that way.
It was an awesome MNO, I feel like I learned a lot. And it was interesting to hear the perspectives of LDS-Americans living in Saudi. We also got to eat really great Arabic food. And now I have about a dozen books I want to read about Saudi Arabia, beginning with In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom.
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