Gowns and Winter on the Desert

I wasn't prepared for the winter here in Riyadh. I thought Fred was just exaggerating when he told me before that he used two Korean blankets on winter nights. Now, I realized how true it is and how lonely it was not to have someone to hug on a cold weather like this.

The other night, the temperature fell to -1°C. I usually go home from work at 10 pm and that night, I had to walk briskly from the building to Fred's car because it was shiveringly cold. Brrrrr...I have to endure this cold weather until maybe first week of March.

I think I badly need knitted gloves. I browsed through the fashion magazines for winter fashion collections to check how Arab women here in Saudi dress during this time. Of course, they have their abayas over their clothes but I think that underneath those abayas are fashionable and signature dresses. Having met some Arab women here, I can say that the portrayal of them wearing Dior collections in the Sex and the City 2 movie has some truth in it. I was surprised to see these pages from Layalina Magazine issued on April last year. (April is neither hot or cold here, they say.) The models are donning fashion designers' bridal collection. There is something common with these pics. All models/celebrities seemed to be wearing inner clothes under their gowns and dresses. But they do not. The magazine's layout artist purposely put those inner wear because conservative dress codes of some Arab countries require that women don't expose too much skin, even if it's on print.

These are bridal collection from known fashion designers.

I like these gowns especially the brownish one.
Minus the "inner wear", of course.

Gowns as overalls. Despite the inner wear effect,
these Hollywood celebrities still look stunning wearing these.

Just like the models and celebrities above, layering clothes is a must for me now. It is kinda inconvenient but I need to do it to make myself warm. A combination of blouse and pants, an abaya and a coat or jacket is my dress code these days. Better warm than sorry (for the cold), right?

Ikea on New Year's Eve

We almost spent the New Year in Ikea! We went there past 8pm of December 31 and since it was our first time, we got lost on our way. It turned out to be a New Year's Eve adventure because the road we traversed is dark and ours was the only car passing that way. When we looked behind us, it was total darkness! That dark road led us to the highway going to Ikea and we promised ourselves to ask for directions before going to a place next time.

We went there to buy for our exchange gift activity with our friends here. We also bought some things for the house. I really like it there. There were so many designs for housewares, utensils or pieces of furniture. It was alright to take pictures but I wasn't able to take many out of courtesy to the shoppers.

Green bowls and plastic whatchamacallits ( are these plastic spatulas?) :P

multicolored shower curtains!

cute kitchen utensils!

A simulation of a kid's bedroom. I noticed I like green things for the house!

My kids on the play and activity showroom

Fred and the kids outside Ikea

After shopping for gifts, we went to buy ice cream in a cone worth SR1 (Php12)! The food and drinks on the snack area are unbelievably cheap! The drinks are also refillable. What a treat for their shoppers.

For more pics and home design inspirations, visit their website or view their catalogue here. Warning though, you might get addicted to browsing. :P

Camel Arabic and Carabao English

It's been a while since my last post here. I work on a broken shift so it's kinda difficult for me to still find time to blog. But since it's Hajj next week here, I hope I can post an article or two.

Hajj, by the way, is the largest pilgrimage in the world. It is a religious duty by Muslims who can afford to go to Makkah or Mecca. But for us non-Muslims here, Hajj means vacation from work and school.

It is also my short break from learning Arabic. Yes, I'm trying to learn a bit of this country's language. I learned to read Arabic numbers on my third week here. I had to learn because I need to layout a charge slip with code numbers written in Arabic. Though most of the materials here are also translated in English, I think knowing how to read numbers in Arabic will still benefit me someday.

My second week in Saudi Arabia, in one of the parks in Dammam.
I don't know a single Arabic word that time!
I mentioned break from learning Arabic because the two company drivers teach us Arabic whenever they have the time. Most often, when they're having tea in the afternoon, they would translate in Arabic whatever word we ask them. I only want to learn Arabic words that people use here everyday. Like "How are you?" or "Where are you going?" But as days go by, as I get to talk with other Arabic-speaking nationalities, I am learning the language more than I wanted to.

In return, those Sudanese drivers learn English from us. They speak Carabao English and sometimes, I find myself speaking that way, too! That's because they understand us more if we only use the important words. Instead of saying, "Don't pick me up today. I'm not feeling well, I won't go to work." I just say, "Don't pick up, ana ma iji. (I'm not coming.)" (No need to say you're not feeling well.)

I learned from Fred those ana ma iji words. Ana is I, ma is not, and iji is coming. But Fred said that what he teaches me is Camel Arabic. They're not complete sentences or grammatically correct. But I think no one cares. Since we are now in a place where people don't speak fluent English, speaking Camel Arabic doesn't matter. As long as people get the message across, it's enough. :)

My Job as a Graphic Designer in The Kingdom

It has been a month since we first came here in Saudi Arabia. I didn’t have time to think and rest and before I knew it, I am already working after just two weeks.

This is where I spend my eight hours of work.
I was hired as graphic designer by a well-known medical company. When I was interviewed, one of the things I was asked to do was to design the company’s website. At first I was adamant when I was assigned that task. I am not that adept in designing websites and that includes looking for a reliable web host.

For someone who maintains a blog and owns its domain, I was able to experience looking for best cheap hosting and purchasing one. But it’s another story when you talk about a company website. That’s why I’m glad to know later on that I would only have to coordinate with a website designer regarding the aesthetics and images needed for the company’s site. I was so relieved! Almost all websites here in Saudi Arabia has its Arabic version. So who will translate and upload all those information to the site? Thank God it wouldn’t be me.

Just tonight before I left the office, the Palestinian web designer came. We talked about what he still needs including the company’s website hosting. Although I can’t understand his English well, I think it’s still good to know I only have to worry about the aesthetics of the site, which I think I am knowledgeable at. I just wish I know more about website designing! Ah, you just can't have it all. :)