Ribbons and Blooms: K.S.A.

When Mama and Papa invited us to visit them here in Riyadh, I was hesitant at first. I wasn’t sure if Aud’s skin would be amenable to the heat in the Arabian Desert. I figured it would be better if they visit us here again---this time Pop included. So being the makulit daughter that I am, tried to woo them into going to Belgium instead of us visiting them. But neither one of them said yes. My sis said it would really make them happy if we get to know their life here. That line was what made me really curious.

So here I am now after 2 weeks of living the Saudian lifestyle--eating A pint of Baskin Robbins while blogging away my boredom. Heheh. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the fact that I am here with my folks but I just don’t like the idea that hubby is in another country probably doing the same thing….not the blogging part ( he will never be a blog junkie) , but the eating thing. Before Aud and I went here, I made a pact with hubby that both of us should do whatever it takes to lose weight. Unfortunately, 2 weeks have passed and I have never done anything that would be considered as an exercise. I feel like a sloth here. Ma cooks these sumptuous meals that I just couldn’t help but pig out. Brrr. No morning activities for us except the mall which is very rare. Our mall hours usually start after 7pm after picking up Den from Kingdom Hospital. Good thing, Papa’s office is just across a big sosyal mall so sometimes he would come home during lunch to pick us up then he would leave us at the mall and come back for us around 6pm. We’d love to do that but we seldom do coz we feel guilty guilty na di kasama si Den. So wala talaga kaming day activity aside from reading books, surfin the net, watch tv and eat. What I do I eat na before going out para maburn ung calories. So the mall is my only source of exercise around here. But unfortunately, nakakpagod so pagdating sa house, ayun--gutom uli!

Speaking of Saudi lifestyle, I am just so happy to be here. Aside from being with my folks, I love the fact that here …shopping is like an everyday thing. Sale season here is really crazy! Malls are like until 2 in the morning! Back in Belgium, malls close at 7pm …some even earlier! Going to the serious stuff about being here…Saudi has been my Pop’s home since 1983. He would come home for like a month or two and he would always leave again. The longest time we were with him in the Philippines was for 2 years when I was in college. I guess its just noteworthy to mention that my Papa is an OFW who was able to send his three kids to good schools because of his hard work. Suffice to say, I am a proud OFW’s daughter.

Although Pop also worked in Malaysia and Singapore, his favorite was KSA-- specifically Riyadh. Here in KSA, he spent most of his career life mastering his craft. Pop is an architect, by the way….a great one at that. Visiting Riyadh is like going through my Papa’s portfolio. I get a chance to see some of the projects and designs he did. Actually, I still have a lot to see since Riyadh is quite a huge city. Nakakainis lang coz I can't take photos outside without feeling scared kasi mejo strict ang mga high priests dito. They're over rotective kasi sa women nila...hello, i'll take pics of buildings not their women...(wala naman interesting sa women nila except for their bags coz un lang nakikita because of their abayas) . Anyway, being here is like paying my respect to the country who provided a good job for my Papa to support us. Back in Belgium I told hubby , I would prolly dread the day I had to wear abaya and tarha….but after I realized what Saudi Arabia meant in my life….I now wear it with pride.

So allow me to share some pics of a great city called Riyadh. Unknown to some, Riyadh is a modern city filled with traditional people. KSA may be a rich and modernized country, thanks to their oil, but in so many ways they are still ancient....