Before reading this post I honestly had little knowledge of Saudi Arabia other than their oil supply and that it is a Muslim country. I’m glad Afnan could come to visit the blog to add more insight!
So Your Character is … series is where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I’m hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven’t checked out last time’s So Your Character is from Iraq … be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!
Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally or politically shocking to some. Each of these posts is as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.
(None of the Images are Mine)
Hi! My name is Afnan Alobaidli. I’m 32 years old and I’m a wife and a mother. I live in Makkah that is in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia. I’m a stay-at-home mom and my hobbies include reading and crocheting.
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What do you feel is unique to your country? Landmarks? Celebrations?
One of the unique qualities is hospitality and generosity. Saudi people are known for their generosity to their guests. If you are invited to someone’s home, you will be warmly greeted. You will be offered Arabic coffee that is flavored mainly with cardamom and saffron. You will be offered the best quality dates. Some people are more extravagant and offer a variety of chocolate or sweets. Every home is a little bit different. You won’t leave the house without a sumptuous dinner. Many people prepare rice with mutton. Generosity shows itself most strongly during Ramadan and Eid. Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims and it is followed by the Eid celebrations. During Ramadan, many people offer Iftar (breakfast) meals for those who are in need. These breakfasts may be hosted in mosques. Others are prepared in small boxes and distributed to people in the streets.
The second quality I love about Saudis is their strong family ties. From their early years, children are encouraged at home, school, and the mosque to respect and honor their elders. They are taught the importance of caring not only for their parents but also their extended family of aunts, uncles and grandparents.
Tell me about your country’s environment. What are some of your favorite places?
I grew up in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Most of the year, the weather was hot and humid. When I moved to Makkah, I noticed that the weather is hot and dry most of the year. It rains only a handful of days during the year and when that happens, it puts everyone in a good mood. But there are some fortunate regions in the country where the weather is more forgiving, like the Southern regions, the Northern regions, and the mountainous regions like Taif.
It’s hard to say which places I love most in my country. But on the top of my list is Jeddah. Jeddah is about an hour’s drive from Makkah. Many people go there to enjoy the sea. There is a scenic walk on the shore and many high-end restaurants. You could take a ride on a boat or a ski-jet. You can rent a small cabin by the sea and spend a few days enjoying seafood and other beach activities.
My other favorite place is Taif. I mentioned before that it is a mountainous region. So the weather is mostly cool year-round. They have the best fruit produce especially mulberries.
Tell me about your country’s food. What are some of your favorite dishes?
I love Farmoza and I make it for my kids all the time. It is a kind of pastry stuffed with minced mutton that is mixed with chopped onion, tomato, and grated carrots with some salt and pepper.
Another famous dish is Saleeg. It is short-grain rice cooked with milk. It can be served with chicken or mutton and a splash of ghee on the top. It is a warm and wholesome dish.
I also love ma’amoul. This is a type of cookie that is filled with dates. It is very crumbly and sweet. Many women in the Western region make it a short time before Hajj (the yearly pilgrimage of Muslims). It is said that, in the past, this yearly habit served those going on the pilgrimage as it would most likely be the only food they will eat during Hajj.
Tell me about any different speech patterns in your country. Slang? Idioms? Words for things such as “biscuits” instead of “cookies”?
Saudi Arabia is a vast country and every region in it sounds different. The most unique differences are between those I will broadly term the “Bedouin” and the “Hijazi” dialect. For example, Bedouin’s call their children “Eyal” while the Hijazi call them “Buzoora.” The Bedouin’s call a conversation a “Salfa” while the Hijazi call it a “Harja.” The Bedouin’s way of saying “How are you?” is “Wishloonuk?” while the Hijazi would say, “Kayf Halak?” It’s fun to know that you can determine which region a person is from just by the words they choose and the way they pronounce certain letters.
Describe briefly a regular day in your country.
In a regular day in my country, the father usually goes to work in the morning. The mother, if she has no work, stays at home with her children and prepares lunch or dinner. If the mother has work, she usually allocates preparing the meals to a domestic helper. After school and work, the family gathers around the table or sit on a mat on the floor around a communal plate. After the meal, when homework is done and tea is served, the family might go to visit relatives. If not, they usually gather around the TV or the children play on their tablets. Weekends are a little different. Families usually go to parks or the beach or the movies or restaurants.
How does your country compare to others, especially the States since my audience is primarily American? Environmentally? Politically? Culturally?
The Saudi people tend to be conservative and religious. They have a deep sense of pride and attachment to their motherland. Culturally, Saudis value family bonds greatly. Family is at the center of Saudi life and it is firmly guarded and protected. Another cultural difference is in the treatment of women. Women are given special treatment in public settings. For example, if she were to stand in a queue, other men will allow her to skip the queue and bring her to the front of the line. I wouldn’t call this an advantage as I don’t think people should be skipping queues, but it is a cultural phenomenon that reflects a certain mindset, that is, women should not mingle with men.
Of course, women here dress differently. The hijab is the most obvious cultural difference between Saudis and other countries. It is a religious requirement, one that girls are taught to wear in school. But not all women wear the hijab. Some only put on the abaya (the long garment covering the body from the shoulders down).
Briefly describe three of your country’s historical events that you feel are important.
- 1938- This is the year oil was discovered in large quantities in Saudi Arabia and The Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) started producing it.
- 2016- The Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman announces his 2030 Vision. The main aim of the Vision is to reduce the country’s dependance on oil as a main source of income for the country.
- 2017-The lifting of the driving ban on women. This decision ended a long discussion about women’s rights to having their own means of transportation.
What are some stereotypes about your country that irk you? What media portrays your country badly be it a movie, a book, or a TV show?
One of the main stereotypes is that Saudis (and Middle Eastern people in general) are terrorists. After 9/11, this image became perpetuated. This stereotype creates fear in people and hinders them from discovering the true nature of other peoples and cultures.
The other stereotype about Saudis is that they oppress women. This is a difficult charge to address, particularly because it took such a long time for women to be allowed to drive and work in places primarily held by men. However, even before these changes, many women ruled inside their own homes. Although it is a limited sphere, but the home is heart of the family from which springs society as a whole. Women raise and teach their children how to live in the world. This is not an easy task. And it is not a task for the oppressed. The way I see it is that Saudis have held for a long time—and still hold—the idea that different genders have different roles and that no one should take the part of the other.
What media portrays your country well be it a movie, a book, or a TV show?
So far, I haven’t seen a movie, a book, or TV show that portrays my country well in the Western media. We are so far removed from each other geographically and culturally that it is difficult to come up with something relevant and true of the Saudi people.
Who are your top three favorite fictional characters native to your country in books, movies, or shows?
Two of my favorite fictional characters come from a Saudi comedy show called Tash Ma Tash. One of them is called “Fouad” and he is a character from the Hijaz region. He is a sort of fool and finds himself in ridiculous circumstances that he tries to get out from in a comical way.
I also like the two brothers “Suaidan” and “Ulayan” from the same TV show Tash Ma Tash. These two brothers live in Riyadh sometime around the fifties. They like to skip school and buy ice-cream from their neighbor’s daughter whom they both have a crush on.
A third fictional character is Baba Farhan. This is a children’s show that used to air during Ramadan. He used to tell stories and he attracted the attention of both children and grown-ups. I don’t remember the stories very well because I was a child back then but I remember how the show was connected with Ramadan so there was a special atmosphere around it.
Are you interested in participating in this project? Check out the tips archive to see which countries have been filled and if you’re from a different country, shoot me an email at howellvictoriagrace(a)gmail(dot)com. I’m especially looking for Cuba, Belarus, Zimbabwe, and Croatia.
Learning more about Saudi Arabia was great!