Abayas and Khobar

When we are in Abqaiq I can dress how I normally do. However, when we leave the compound (which is similar to a military base) I wear an abaya (covering my face and head isn't necessary).  On the first Saturday that we were here we went on an outing to Khobar, which is the closest big city.  Our first stop was at an abaya shop so all the new hires could be dressed appropriately for the rest of the day.  They had a pretty good selection and they weren't that pricey either.  I think I paid 75 SR for mine, which is twenty US dollars.   I've gotta say that hanging out in an abaya shop with about group of women that I had only known for a few days was totally a surreal experience.  Since then I've become great friends with these women and this picture makes me super happy!

After getting the abayas we headed to a grocery store.  We had limited time there so we rushed to grab whatever groceries we could.  The store is a Safeway called Tamimi.  Their selection is about a thousand times better than what we have at the commissary and the prices were pretty comparable to the grocery store I shopped at in Wyoming.   We also stopped at Saco World.  It's a big store that is like a Walmart without clothing or food or a Home Depot without lumber.  It's a huge store!!!  We had a good time here but again we were pretty rushed.  We also went to the Dhahran Mall and had lunch at Chilis.  We were commenting about how funny it was that we were in Khobar, Saudi Arabia but having lunch at Chilis.  It was actually really nice to go somewhere and order something that we were familiar with.  

While we were in Khobar we also went to IKEA and to a store similar to Best Buy.  By the time we got home it had been a 10 hour day and we were all super exhausted.  For most of the day I felt like I ha to remind myself that I was in Saudi Arabia.  It's amazing how quickly it just felt normal to be around people who are dressed so differently than me (especially the women all with their faces covered). 

 These are just a couple of random pictures I took from the bus while we were in Khobar.

 There are a lot of Baskin Robins Ice Cream shops here.  You can also buy it at the commissary.

There were about 40 of us on that bus to Khobar and we all bought a ton of stuff!  Unloading the bus and sorting through bags to figure out whose stuff was whose was pretty funny!