Tag: middle-east

Arabia, Aunt AliceLeave a comment

19 – Cultural Souvenirs from Arabia

Alice Delaney Walker, aka Dana Walker

Leaving a country is traumatic. What’s worse is being back home and thinking, “I should have bought that when I was there!”  What stops me? I have this silly feeling that anything that costs more than 100 of any denomination is too expensive.  Before I left Saudi Arabia, I went on a jewelry binge. This is not healthy shopping. It’s less painful to take a few weeks and buy a souvenir (French for “to remember”) here and there, carefully and selectively.       I love rugs, however, I’m not a doctor or an oil executive.  I’ll invest in fake Chinese rugs … Continue reading 19 – Cultural Souvenirs from Arabia

Aunt AliceLeave a comment

Cultural Reflections: Life in the Gulf vs. America

Alice Delaney Walker, aka Dana Walker

So there I was in college last summer, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Everything was normal.  No separation of the sexes, easily availability for any and all shopping.  No problem communicating in English. No foreign-currency conversion although I found myself doing it backwards a few times to compare American and Gulf prices. I even got used to everyone wearing shorts, although I didn’t wear them. I also realized American men wear baseball hats for the same reason Arabian men and women cover their heads:  protection from the sun. It was a relief to sit in the student desk and not at the … Continue reading Cultural Reflections: Life in the Gulf vs. America