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Ali_The_Greatest
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 13
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 Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| cmp45 wrote: |
Today I was at the Tamimi supermarket. There was a young 30 something western (?)couple, (I assume were married) both were dressed in skimpy t-shirts and ratty old jeans. Not so suprising for a man to be dressed this way in Riyadh, but the woman looked like she just crawled out of bed; her hair was piled up in a wild looking mess on top her head and her shabby jeans were torn in gaps exposing her knees  ...they both didn't seem to care how they looked, nor did anyone around them seem to care. In any other country the scene would have been unremarkable, but here it was quite a contrast as every other woman was covered in black from head to toe!
..so much for adhering to the ultra conservative dress code in Riyadh  |
To my mind, when in Rome you do as the Romans do.....
Can't understand this peculiar arrogance of people who won't make an effort to blend in with the locals  |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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Dear Ali_the_Greatest,
Well, one doesn't really have to "blend in." in the sense of wearing exactly what the locals wear, thobes here rather than togas.
But using common sense and respecting the sensibilities of the locals are, unfortunately, sometimes sadly lacking.
Regards,
John |
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teechagimme
Joined: 29 Dec 2010
Posts: 56
Location: S. Korea
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| Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
To my mind, when in Rome you do as the Romans do.....
Can't understand this peculiar arrogance of people who won't make an effort to blend in with the locals |
I can certainly understand it. As a western woman who is accustomed to choosing how she presents herself to the world, wearing the black tent didn't come naturally. Common sense prevailed in my case and I learned to live with it. In Riyadh, I could go where I chose as long as I put on the tent. I learned to think of it like one thinks of a coat or a jacket in cool weather. However, the scarf and the veil are definitely not my cup of tea. In Riyadh, I would tie my hair back and throw the scarf around my shoulders. Then, I'd only put the scarf on my head if someone asked me to.
Now, I live in a more remote part of the country. Teachers here wear the hijab and the niqab. They want to blend in and be safe. I realized that I would have to wear the hijab. Then someone pushed the niqab on me buy giving me one and telling me to wear it. A man had followed us around the shops one day and she thought that it was because of my white face. Of course it was my fault, it couldn't possible be that the guy was a jerk!
I now wear the thing about half of the time and I really hate it. I can't imagine wearing it in the summer, my breath is trapped under it and it gets very hot. My face will soon look like a pizza with all of the pimples that I will have. |
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