Rebecca's Point of  View: Yesterday we set out for the beach, but on our way the bus driver informed us it was a girl's only day.  The first Friday of each month has this rule, so we turned around and went to the pool instead. There was already a group meeting at the pool for lunch and swimming, but I am trying to turn over a new leaf and not participate in every invite we receive, but I am glad we participated in this event!  We spent 5 hours enjoying ourselves in the pool that is free for us to use.  I think we will be spending a lot of time here.  The pool is cooled instead of heated.  It felt so good to be there!  Today we are going to try the beach.  Our weekend is Friday and Saturday.  Friday is the Muslim Holy Day. The reason for the beach rule is to allow Muslim Women the opportunity to swim and uncover. 

I wanted to let you know that I do not have to wear an Abaya in our community.  For the most part I get to dress how I would at home.  I need to be aware of the length of my shorts and have sleeves on my shirts.  I can wear tank tops when at home, but I need to change before I leave.  Not everyone has to respect that rule, but since I am a professional worker of the community I need to dress professionally when I am in public.  I am a little nervous for some of my work clothes.  I think I will have to wear some of the short sleeve sweaters I bought because some of my tops have capped sleeves.  At the pool I can wear any type of swimsuit, but at the beach I should make sure it is a one piece. 

Bryan's Point of View:  2 nights ago I had the chance to jump in a car with a few people who have been here for a while and go to Jeddah to pick up a few things from Saco, the hardware store here in Saudi.  There was 4 of us who went along and it was a great trip.  It takes about 45 minutes to get there on the main highway along the Red Sea coast and the roads are very nice.  We got there at 9:15pm and it was still closed due to Ramadan, so we headed over to the Red Sea Mall.  This place was crazy huge (3 stories of shops) and all of the stores were very nice.  I am not a mall person at all and had shopping leg after 5 minutes, but the couple I was with needed to get a few clothes.  While they were picking up clothes, I walked around and looked at some of the sports stores, which were really nice.

At about 10:45 we headed out of the crazy mall, and now traffic and the community was starting to pick up.  During Ramadan, things don't really start rolling until 10-11pm.  We made our way back over to Saco which was a great store with lots of good things.  Reminded me of a Home Depot/Wal Mart combination, without the grocery part.  They have all the big name brands and you can find almost anything you might need to make life easier.  Managed to pick up a ton of good stuff for the house and spent way to much money. 

Headed back at about midnight and had a safe journey back to the confines of our community.  Was a great trip and I look forward to doing it on our own next time.