(The below write up is not against the culture, it is just
my experience since the environment and culture is a whole new experience for
me. A new experience has an obvious reaction. I respect their culture and
sentiments. I am only here to pen down my opinions, experiences and learning’s.
Positive and Negative both.)
I have been meaning to find a subject to write down for a long time. Like they say you need to experience certain things to be more certain about your subject. So I could have chosen to write the usual stuff things on pre and post wedding like the routine we follow, don’t we?
But the most interesting thing would be to pen down on my
life in Saudi. The life here is surely different then back home, the plus point
is I don’t have to work, which I was ok to do so. Everyone needs a break in
life so when I had the chance I said why not? To use the time to try and
explore myself in a life that is so different then what I had all these
years. Anything new always teaches me
something new about me every day, so there was no way I was going to let this
chance go.
Staying in Saudi can be worst case scenario to begin with,
especially when you come from a democratic country where you are open to do
your own thing. When I say “worst case
scenario” I don’t mean it’s a place not worth living in. The social life is
completely different here and most importantly women have to be in their
limits. In fact they have to be dependent on their husband and family out here.
In short, their freedom is restrictive.Its but obvious that the local ladies here are very used to this life, that's how they are raised.I appreciate them for their well being, no hard feelings. Like I said being a foreigner some things do have an obvious reaction. They even need to wear an Abaya while moving out
of the house. Even the expat women have to follow wearing an abaya here. Women have a completely different section for themselves even at work. They believe in protecting their women, that’s their philosophy. However that can be a bit more cliche if you add too many thoughts behind it.
If you ask me being an outsider wearing an abaya didn't really bother me, in
fact it really reduced my burden to go somewhere locally just put it on a like
a coat and head where you feel like.
Like human beings every place in the world has its pros and
cons too. Saudi may not have a liberal view in terms of women having their
freedom, but it is a good place to have a family life, earn big bucks and save
even more. Best part of being here is no Taxes!!! Now who wouldn't like that? For one thing I know I get to spend all my
time with my husband and that was the biggest motivation factor for me to move
here. To be honest something like this becomes a bit difficult in a place like
Mumbai these days where you are just running and there is no time to breathe.
When I had decided my move here I knew that the life here wouldn't
be as fancy as I had back in Mumbai. I had read well about the place and it
turned out as expected so nothing came out as a shocker for me in terms of
lifestyle and living here. I was lucky enough that within the first week itself
I actually met other couples and families through my husband and we bonded
instantly. So for one good thing the weekends here are more socially active for
me then there were for me when I was in Mumbai. My newly found friends here are
as good as having a family here.
In my first week I was invited to a social gathering called
“daawat” for a kid’s birthday. It was a family and friends affair. The family
who hosted are originally from India but have been settled here for a long time
and were very welcoming. I was very excited since it was something very typical
that happened here. When we entered the gathering, I soon realized that there
was partition made for Men and Women. It means women had to be one part of the
room and men in the other. Even though women were accompanied by their own
families they still believed in doing this. Women and men do not mingle even in
a social gathering here even if with family around. I had known about this but
didn't expect it to happen here since people actually knew each other. Since it
was my first social gathering I was a bit taken aback how these things work
here. May be next time I would be more comfortable with it. This was something
that I had not seen before so the reaction was very obvious. But then that’s
what they do here protecting their women and giving them their space to enjoy
if you look at that way.
I was just few days old and I actually didn't know anyone
there, and the person who I was dependent upon was on the other side of the
room. However the host was kind enough to keep me accompanied, and introduced
me to her other female friends who were mainly all from Pakistan. All pretty
looking ladies in their gorgeous attire that was hidden under their abaya till
they reached the venue. Their clear skin, sense of fashion and style actually
really surprised me. All pretty and so decked up. They were well covered with
flowing grace from tip to top. Now this is what you get to explore when you are
in a different country. You interact, observe, learn and carry experiences with
you.
That’s exactly what My "Abaya stories" will do here,to pen down my learning’s every now and then. My life is
interesting. So keep reading!
