The last two days have been amazing. Thursday and Friday are considered the week-end. Thursday morning we arranged a 2 1/2 hour tour of Jeddah. The driver first took us to old Jeddah where he said some of the buildings were built before 1700. It is amazing that they are still standing. And more amazing that some of the buildings are still inhabited. A couple of places that we saw had marble sidewalks. He also showed us one of the first cemeteries in Jeddah that is over 700 years old. He told us that Adam's grave was moved to here. We weren't able to go in to the area because we were women, but we were able to see from the doorway after the driver talked to them. We drove through the open market area. They were really small stores that had a large variety of wares. We didn't do any shopping as we were paying the driver by the hour but we plan on going back. Plus we want to go back after the sun goes down, so it isn't so hot. We drove by some beautiful palaces, but we aren't allowed to take pictures of the palaces. We stopped by the Red Sea and were even able to put our feet in the sea. We saw some beautiful mosques. We drove by some technical schools that only boys are allowed to attend. It is overwhelming to see all of the beauty that is here. I can't even describe all that I saw, but I took over 200 pictures. It was also good to spend more time with my team mates.
Then in the evening we were invited to one of the neonatologists home. The home was out quite aways from Jeddah. But it was well worth it. The home was beautiful. The chandeliers absolutely gorgeous. The staircase was copper and the floors were marble. They had quite the feast for us. Very typical Saudi Arabia food. The evening started out with fresh squeezed juices then Arabian coffee and chocolatem after that there were dates and nuts. Once we went into the dining room there were several dishes that I don't even know what they were. I even tried a little goat. After the meal a huge cake was served to celebrate on of the daughter's graduation from dental school. Half the cake was chocolate and the other half was vanilla. It melted in your mouth. Then they offered tea. The neonatologist has 7 children and we got to meet 6 of them and their families. Their hospitality was awesome. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 1am. Even though it was very late there were still a lot of families in the parks having picnics and playing.
Today I went for an hour and a half walk. It was too long for the temperature. It was over 100 degrees. But I went walked by the Red Sea and got some beautiful pictures. After the walk, I had to take another shower. I am very lucky I didn't burn my face as that is all that was exposed to the elements with everything else having to be covered. Then for lunch we met as a team to review the past week and talk about what we have on the agenda for this upcoming week. Lunch was in the ballroom in the hotel. They had 5 different stations set up for entrees: India, Morocan, Italian, Saudi Arabian and Chinese. Plus they had salads, cheeses, shrimp, lox and too many other things for me to mention. Then they had a chocolate fountain and numerous desserts. After lunch I then spent some time in my room reviewing my notes for tomorrow. At 5 pm we went to one of the local malls. It was almost as big as the MOA with 3 levels. They also have a mall called the Mall of Arabia that I hope to check out before we leave. We couldn't go til after 5 pm because nothing is open prior to that. Fridays are like our Sundays. I didn't buy anything but it was fun to look around.
Tomorrow starts our work week. We will be teaching for the next 5 days.
Here are a couple of pictures that represent what happened over the week-end. Hard to believe that I only left Minnesota 6 days ago.
Then in the evening we were invited to one of the neonatologists home. The home was out quite aways from Jeddah. But it was well worth it. The home was beautiful. The chandeliers absolutely gorgeous. The staircase was copper and the floors were marble. They had quite the feast for us. Very typical Saudi Arabia food. The evening started out with fresh squeezed juices then Arabian coffee and chocolatem after that there were dates and nuts. Once we went into the dining room there were several dishes that I don't even know what they were. I even tried a little goat. After the meal a huge cake was served to celebrate on of the daughter's graduation from dental school. Half the cake was chocolate and the other half was vanilla. It melted in your mouth. Then they offered tea. The neonatologist has 7 children and we got to meet 6 of them and their families. Their hospitality was awesome. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 1am. Even though it was very late there were still a lot of families in the parks having picnics and playing.
Today I went for an hour and a half walk. It was too long for the temperature. It was over 100 degrees. But I went walked by the Red Sea and got some beautiful pictures. After the walk, I had to take another shower. I am very lucky I didn't burn my face as that is all that was exposed to the elements with everything else having to be covered. Then for lunch we met as a team to review the past week and talk about what we have on the agenda for this upcoming week. Lunch was in the ballroom in the hotel. They had 5 different stations set up for entrees: India, Morocan, Italian, Saudi Arabian and Chinese. Plus they had salads, cheeses, shrimp, lox and too many other things for me to mention. Then they had a chocolate fountain and numerous desserts. After lunch I then spent some time in my room reviewing my notes for tomorrow. At 5 pm we went to one of the local malls. It was almost as big as the MOA with 3 levels. They also have a mall called the Mall of Arabia that I hope to check out before we leave. We couldn't go til after 5 pm because nothing is open prior to that. Fridays are like our Sundays. I didn't buy anything but it was fun to look around.
Tomorrow starts our work week. We will be teaching for the next 5 days.
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