Good News for the Ladies in KSA!

Hi everyone,

On a short note, since an issue was raised about men handling women’s lingerie in Saudi Arabia, that’s all about to change! According to the Labor Ministry, a timetable will be set up to allow for women to work in shops selling women’s lingerie. Women in Saudi Arabia, rejoice! No more embarassments or humiliation! =)

Mansur

Left Jeddah!

Hey friends,

I left Jeddah today. My holiday break is up. I am now in Dubai and I not liking it the least bit right now. I know I shall be all-right within a few days, but when I leave my home, Jeddah, I always feel sad. Heck, I was feeling sad when I left my home to go to the airport.

I left home at 1pm and my flight left at 4pm. It was a great flight on Saudia, with only half the people on board. I was stuck next to this really fat man, so I was all squeezed up. I could have moved, but all the window seats were taken! Well, anyways, that is not what I wanted to say.

I guess what I wanted to say is, if no one else has said it before, that “once you are away from home, you only then realize how much you miss it.” I had such an awesome time in Jeddah, and even though I may have complained about the policies and going-ons there, I love Jeddah. I miss Jarir Bookstore and Tahliyah Street (Jeddah’s own Oxford Street!!) I guess no one can appreciate Jeddah if one has not lived there. I am in Dubai now, the height of artificiality and superficiality. Dubai Summer Surprises. Dubai Millionaire. Dubai: Shopping Paradise. Spend Spend Spend! Win Win Win! Money Money Money!

I miss Jeddah, so much so, I want to see women in the black abayas, all covered, as opposed to some women here who wear shorts and sleeveless in Dubai! I am sick of Dubai now! I am seriously contemplating of living somewhere else, if not Jeddah.

I was so infuriated to read about Oprah misusing Rania al-Baz’s interview to depict the life of a Saudi woman. I now wonder why Oprah did something like what she did. She should know better than that. Wife-beating is not limited to Saudi, but every country in the world. The fact that Oprah chose to use Rania al-Baz as an example of a typical Saudi woman goes to show how much she doesn’t know about Saudi. Miss Oprah, come live in Jeddah and you will see how much different it is in reality than the fantasy world you have conjured up in your mind!

Jeddah is a real city. There is nothing fake about it. Ok, so the restaurants are segregated and women cannot drive and no cinemas are there, but that does not make Jeddah boring. Jeddah is miles better than Dubai. Jeddah is real, warm (as in hospitality-wise) and one of the coolest place to be. Dubai is a place where you have to flaunt money to have a good time, otherwise, forget it!

Jeddah. I am so emotional now. What else can I say? I miss Jeddah!

Mansur

Tagged!

Hi,

There is some sort of new game around where bloggers are tagged. It is something like the playground game kids play, where one runs after a group of people and tag them. The tagged person becomes “it” and runs after the other people, the “untagged” ones. So, I have been tagged by “Jowhara’s Chamber” and answer these questions.

So, now, I have tagged Xena’s World! So, now Xena, take the blue questions and post them on your blog!

* Number of books I own
I have about 100 books or so. Sometimes I give away my books, as in charity, and sometimes I lend my books to people who should have returned my books ages ago!

* Five Books that mean a lot to me
In no particular order:

1. Veronika Decides to Die— Paulo Coelho
I read this book at the time when I needed to read it the most. It will turn away people from even thinking along the lines of suicide, and in turn appreciate life!

2. Tuesdays With Morrie— Mitch Albom
Some great life lessons!

3. The Kite Runner— Khalid Hosseini
I love this book because of the issues dealt between friendships and between son-father. Lots of sub-contexts make it more meaningful to me.

4. Life of Pi— Yann Martel
The way the protagonist of this book narrates his story, I feel like its my story too (hence my blog title Life of Mansur!)

5. Sophie’s World— Jostein Gaardier
Great book about philosophy, religion and all sorts of -isms and -ologies, all seen through the eyes of a child!

*The book that I am reading for so long but cant finish
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I read this way back in school. A friend of mine revived my interest in this book again. Sometimes when you read a book you read a long time ago, it takes on a completely new meaning on a second or third reading!

Dentist

Hey,

I had my dentist appointment today. It may sound funny to you all, but I absolutely love going to the dentist. You see, before I pursued my educational career in architecture, I was in love with dentistry, so much so, I spent one year doing pre-dentistry in the US. Circumstances and destiny led me elsewhere, and I guess God thought I would be a better architect than a dentist.

When people first heard I was going to study dentistry, they would always ask me, “why do you want to spend your lifetime looking into people’s mouth?” I had no clear answer then, but I would always tell them that it something I love. Where did my interest in dentistry come from? From years of experience at the dentist. I am the only in my family to have had all four my wisdom teeth removed. I had braces on for four years. I have had two teeth extracted long time ago. Thankfully, my teeth are all aligned now.

When I had my braces removed back in 1993, the dentist back then did not a super job of removing the square piece of glue that was left on of my tooth. The dentist who worked on me today saw that and asked me why I was walking around with a piece of glue on my teeth. I told him I thought it was plaque and I over-dosed on chocolates. He finally removed the piece of glue, and now I feel so cool, because what I thought was plaque is not there anymore. My white teeth is shining now.

Oh, by the way, the whitening toothpaste do not really work. It’s a scam that the makers of these toothpastes are cashing in on to offer an alternative to those who cannot afford the more expensive whitening process at the dentist.

Oh, also, remember to floss and mouthwash daily. That’s the lesson I learned today!

Mansur

Saudi Personality #3 and #4

Hey friends,

Today I nominate two Saudi women, who are sisters. They are known as Donia and Wa’ad (Hanan) Bakr Yunis . Why do I nominate them? Because they are two Saudi women on the different end of the spectrum and are leading successful lives. One is a media presenter and the other is a singer.

Donia “has been working as a media reporter for more than 30 years. She is known for her TV morning show in which children love her so much they call her Mama Donia. She has also grown more successful in the recent years after her work for MBC FM, and is now developing a new show on Al-Waha, in the United Arab Emirates. She also is respected for her in-depth interviews of leading Arab women.”

Wa’ad, “born Hanan Bakr Yonis, is an immensely popular pop singer with several hit singles, including her most recent, song, Ala Meen. She appeared on the wildly popular Star Academy, the Arab version of a televised talent show also called in some conservative circles as Satan’s Academy. She s twice divorced from her Lebanese husbands.”

I am not here to criticize what these women are doing, but rather to say that I am pleased to hear of these two women. They have had the freedom to do what they want with their lives. The two of them are making a difference in their own ways. Wa’ad, the singer, has broken the conception of what a Saudi women is supposed to be like. She must have had a harder struggle than her elder sister. Sometimes society and the world have certain perceptions of what people from a certain country should look like. Society wants to dictate what men and women should look like. I can imagine the furor from the people when they see someone like Wa’ad. I don’t know these two women very well, so I cannot speak for them, but I admire them for doing what they did with their lives, moreso Wa’ad who has had to face severe criticism from people around her who have labelled her as a “rebel,” “disgrace” and a “show off.” Having said that, there are those who say that “she still has class and (is) great.”

Mansur