Many of you have asked us about the local dress code and what we've been wearing, so here are some quick thoughts on it. The Saudi men and women both wear full length gowns (white gowns called thobes for the men, solid black abayas for the women) and head coverings (white or red/white checkered for the men, black for the women). What makes it feel more oppressing for us women however is that for foreigners, its totally acceptable for the men to wear business casual with no head covering. But for women, everyone regardless of whether you're a local or not, is expected to wear an abaya and have her head covered at all times in public. So its been quite an adjustment. Here are some thoughts/reactions to the abayas from the past few days:
Day 1: Shopping for abayas was fun - we each got to pick what kind of "bling" we wanted on the sleeves/hems - although most of us went for conservative black embroidery. Props to EB for picking an amazing disco abaya though! General consensus: these are actually quite comfy - the material is so light weight, its actually not too hot. Besides, wearing these things all week means we can eat care free at the hotel buffet - nice!
Day 2: Its kind of nice not having to worry about what to wear each morning - the choices are wear the abaya or stay inside our hotel rooms all day. So come on abaya! Although why is it that walking around sometimes, I have to fight the urge to rip off the abaya and run down the mall corrider yelling 'Freedom!!!'?
Day 3: Getting dressed this morning the reality of really having no choice but to wear the abaya hit me full on, and I must admit I couldn't help but feel sad and oppressed putting it on
Day 4: Am getting more and more used to it, although this morning i did think: does it really only come in black? Maybe I need to get one with more bling on the sleeves, would that cheer me up?
Day 5: Proud to report that we've become pretty good at managing the head scarf. Meaning it comes off immediately once we're in the hotel or on our bus, and goes on almost instantly right before we hit a checkpoint on the road or arrive at a meeting site. We gotta get in a bit of freedom here and there :)
On a semi-related note: one of the highlights of the trip has been visiting the women's college in Riyadh, where it was only girls, so we got to tear off our abayas once inside and walk around freely. Plus we had time for girl chat with the students and giggled over yummy cupcakes with them - it was pretty awesome knowing that some aspects of being a girl are the same, no matter where you are. :)
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