Trip Outside of the Walls!

Rebecca's Point of View:  Last night was a restless sleep because of the nerves I was having about my first outing to Jeddah.  I guess I kept thinking about how everyone at home keeps telling me to be careful or just stay behind the walls, but it wasn't that bad! Everyone was friendly and I didn't feel like anyone was staring at me.   I am so proud of myself and I am now ready for the next adventure.  Below is a picture of me leaving the house! (I wore my pajamas underneath! I also wore my Chaco sandals to give it a northwest look!)

 The bus left from our grocery store parking lot at 8 a.m.  It took about 60 minutes and was a really comfortable ride.  The freeway is quite smooth, and Cameron was so happy to see camels on the side of the freeway.  He yelled, "They are one humpers dad!" 
The bus dropped us right in front of Ikea.

 This Ikea felt like I was at home.  All the same items, all the same prices, and all the crazy fun.  The only difference was all the women were wearing black Abayas and the men were wearing whatever they please!  Grrrrr.  We bought some basic items to make our home feel like ours.  It came with many items, but having white linens is just not a good idea for a family with boys. 

I am told that public restrooms for women are only found in the city.  Outside of the city you will only find restrooms for men.  I am not sure what women are supposed to do, maybe squat behind some tumbleweed in an abaya!  That should be interesting.  However, I haven't been in a public restroom that is equipped with toilet paper.  There is a little hose next to each toilet with a kitchen sprayer on the end.  I guess I am supposed to spray myself clean with it!  How am I supposed to dry?  I am unsure of the procedure, so I am now carrying my own toilet paper when we go out in public. It seems the men have toilet paper. 

Safety was a big part of our adventure.  We had to go thru 2 safety checks when coming back to our community.  Everyone's ID was checked and underneath the bus was also checked.  Security is taken very seriously here.  We didn't mind waiting while this was done.  It is nice to know we live in a very safe place.