Today we left Jeddah and flew to Riyadh where Moe's parents live. I had my first scary experience. When you go through security, the men go one place and the women go inside curtained rooms. Inside the curtained room was a woman sitting at a desk in a uniform. She waved Katie to go on through. As I was following Katie through the curtain, she said, "Excuse me, Maam, where are you going?" That was even hard to understand and then I didn't know if she meant through the curtain or to Riyadh. I didn't want to get into a conversation with her that I couldn't understand so I stuck my head through the curtain and said "Katie!!!" Katie came back and told her we were going to Riyadh and she asked to see our identification which Moe had with him in the men's line. Katie went out and got it. The lady looked really good and our pictures and then at us to make sure we were us. Then she waved us through. It doesn't sound so bad here but I was scared. I really just wanted to go to a room and cry. After we described it to Moe, he started singing, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...."
From Jeddah to Riyadh would have been a 5 hour drive. It was an hour and 20 minute flight. During that hour and 20 minutes, they served us dates, juice and lunch. There wasn't much time for reading or looking out the window. But when I did look out, it was just brown desert.
This is a beautiful fountain inside the Riyadh airport. Those little white things are filled with flowers. Driving to Moe's parents house we went to a drive in coffee place that was just as good as Star Bucks called Java Time. Then on to his house where we were greeted by his mother, Reema, and his sister, Jude. Later his sister, Sarah came. His father, Othman, was at a medical clinic somewhere else and his flight got delayed so we haven't seen him yet.
We drove to downtown Riyadh for Moe to get fitted for this robe like thing to wear for the ceremony here. It is black with gold trim so it looks like it could be for Purdue. Riyadh seems less crowded than Jeddah and the driving is better. It is hotter here than Jeddah but it is less humid so it seems cooler.
For dinner tonight, about 9:00, we ate outside by the pool. Moe's maternal grandparents came and it was so nice to meet them. His grandfather speaks more English than his grandmother. He sat by me at dinner and he is a character! All of the homes in Jeddah and also in Riyadh are surrounded by about 10 foot walls to prevent people from looking in and seeing the women in their yards. Moe's parent's house and his grandparents house are right next to each other and the same wall goes around them both. They share the yard and pool between them. After dinner, Moe's grandfather took pictures with us and walked around with us showing us his yard and then his house.
We have been made to feel so welcome every step of this journey by all of Moe's family and everyone we meet. They are all so kind! We feel better everyday about Katie living in Saudi Arabia with this family and know that they will be taking good care of her.
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