This picture by the Associated Press caught my eye recently. These are women from Saudi Arabia and they are looking at cars. They can own a car in their homeland, but they are not allowed to drive. Apparently, there are recent uprisings by the women, who feel that the clerics should take another look at the Koran. Since women in a few other Islamic countries are allowed to drive, they feel they should be allowed, too. This picture and the article picqued my curiosity because of the women I teach. One has obtained her license, bought a Lexus, and is driving all over Houston! The other one is in the process...she begins her driving instructions soon, and she can't wait.
I find their lifestyle intriguing. I'm learning that I don't like their coffee (it's more of an herbal drink - no coffee beans used). I just learned this the other day...Islamic men can not wear gold - only the women. The men wear silver. I knew that they prayed five times a day, but I didn't know that the times change a little bit everyday. The times are based on the position of the sun. One of the prayer times comes around 1:30, right in the middle of one of my classes. My student feels comfortable enough to pray while I am in the house with her. We simply stop the class, pray, and begin again. I've decided to pray at the same time. While she is praying to Allah and kneeling on the floor, I am sitting at the dining room table praying to God. They have a special clock in their home that calls them to prayer at the correct times. You would think that I would be used to the sound by now, but it always sort of startles me!
Another thing I'm learning is the importance of a woman's hair. It really is their crowning glory - so much so, that other men are not allowed to see it. This fact caused a little dilemma for me last week. My student wanted to go to the salon for a haicut and color. She hadn't been to a salon for three years, so this was a big deal! I had no idea how to find a salon where I could guarantee it would be a "man-free" environment. I did a "google" search, but came up empty handed. Then I called an Islamic bookstore and asked if they could help me. Cha-ching! They were able to point me in the right direction!
We went yesterday. What fun! We were escorted to a little room that had a door they could lock and blinds they could close. In the privacy of the room, my friend could "unwrap". After two hours, she looked like a new woman! She wanted her bangs to be cut like mine (I thought that was so cute!), but her husband would allow only a little cut off the ends. Her hair is waist-length and so very lovely! I wanted to take a picture, but she said, "No! Thank you!" I guess they have to be covered up in the pictures.
Once she was correctly wrapped up (which seemed like such a shame to me, because it looked so nice after it was blown dry and flat ironed!), we got back into the car and drove home. We had the baby, Abdullah, with us. When she got out of the car, she thanked me and then said, in very broken English, "Baby go home with you! Bye, Abdullah!" I'm glad we can have so much fun together, despite the fact that most of the time we don't understand each other!
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