Enjoying Hajj :)

We get two weeks off for Hajj, and I have been enjoying it tremendously.  We have been able to see many different parts of Jeddah, including the not so pretty parts.  Here are some pictures of what we have done so  far:

Jungle Land...a small amusement park we went to with one of the Arabic teachers.  We rode this ride that spun us around and upside down with our abayas flapping in the wind and our bare feet dangling in the air.

Me and the Canadian teachers outside Jungle Land.  I love these girls :)

One of the private Western beaches where we can wear normal bathing suits.

Another view of the beach.  When I'm at one of these beaches, I feel like I'm no longer in Saudi Arabia.

We took a driving tour of Jeddah one day.  There are so many sculptures throughout the city, at every roundabout.

Another roundabout sculpture...not one of the more exciting ones.

This is one of the larger and more unique roundabout sculptures.

Here is a better view of it...very Muslim looking design.

Two Saudi men in the traditional Saudi attire.  Almost all of the fathers of my students dress like this.

"Chop Chop Square" - the slab of marble in the middle of a parking lot where they execute people who break certain laws.  They shoot women and chop the heads of men...hence the nickname "Chop Chop Square".

The mosque right next to "Chop Chop Square".

A an old gate to "Old Jeddah" - the oldest part of town that used to be surrounded by a wall.  The gates are the only parts remaining of that wall.  They remind me of small castles.

An old building in "Old Jeddah".

I'm surprised some of these buildings are still standing...they look like they will collapse at any minute, but people still live in them.

Such interesting and old architecture.

Most of the streets in Old Jeddah are extremely narrow.  Our bus was an inch away from scraping the sides of one of these old buildings as we turned a corner.  We have an amazing driver!

This building was literally falling apart...it makes me thankful for the apartment the school has provided me.  There is quite an economic difference between Old Jeddah and the rest of Jeddah - extreme poverty and dilapidated buildings versus rich villas with elevators inside people's homes.  It seems like there's not much of a middle class.

This is the public school within Old Jeddah.

A man fell asleep on the sacks of grain or rice that he was selling.

Another gate in Old Jeddah.  There is now a roundabout surrounding the gate, so you can't actually drive through it.

Foreigners who cannot get an iqama are stuck in the country without a job - because you can't work or travel without an iqama - often sleep under the overpasses.  I thought the buildings in Old Jeddah were bad, until I saw people without even a dilapidated building to live in and not much hope for income.

Some bedouins run a camel farm just outside of Jeddah.

We stopped to see the camels.

And some people were brave enough to try the fresh camel milk (not me!).  This is our driver offering us the camel milk.

Some moms, whose sons go to our school, invited us

 to a nice restaurant with traditional Middle Eastern food.  It was delicious, but there was so much food I couldn't even try everything!  They let us take the leftovers home.  We also found out that there are charities that will come get leftover food from parties and distribute it to those in need.

We were seated outside on these couches, with a nice sea breeze keeping us from sweating too much.  There is always so much great food and great conversation at these dinners with the parents. They seem to live such extravagant lives - such a contrast between Old Jeddah.  Thankfully, the moms we have talked with seem very generous to us and to those less fortunate.