Thursday, November 23, 2006

The Gayer the Better

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful."

-Annette Funicello

This Post might lead to: 1- continuous insult and comments
2- A total shock leading to a heart attack
3- A total absurdity to your nervous system so you might have to read the post twice or blink several times
4- Me being exiled

But I was honest when I said in my first post (Intro)…I will reveal nothing but the facts…NOBODY knows Saudi Arabia except Saudi themselves ( i.e Saudis that live in the country)…The country is a closed one (personally I like it this way) The people will not open their homes to other communities…even less to foreigners…Therefore you have people like me…That are less reserved…. and more down to earth to tell you things exactly how they are…to open a door so that you can take a glance inside…For you to know…to think and analyze by yourself… without brain washing…to learn…and stop talking nonsense and being ignorant…

Media can talk all they want…Books can be printed by dozens from western authors…Clichés can be invented by the minute…even a foreigner that lived here for 45 years will not know the deepest of the deep....the truest of the truth… The homes…The families...The friction…The thoughts…The traditions…The history…The education…The life style…The real thing…The Saudi thing…

I agree it is not a very flattering subject…But it exists and should be said…Saudi Arabia like many countries of the world have a homosexual community whether it is male or female…But Saudi Arabia NOT like many countries keep it behind closed doors…But you can easily notify some of them with the following details: They have a sparkling white "Thob"* that screams Ariel Ultra intensive…Their moustache or gotties are perfect not a hair surpasses the other…They are usually extremely handsome…Their hands are soft…Their lips are pink and full…Their walk is posed, classy…Their voice is a low toned one…every week they have a day where they meet each other in a chosen place to do some harmless flirtation that might lead later on to a less harmless flirtation…How do I know? I was caught up in one of those places….In a Mall to be exact…I was surprised to find so many men…so many handsome men that is in one place…after a long long long looooong while I understood…( I could've walked around naked they wouldn't notice)…

* The traditional dress for men

The women on the other hand tend to have short boyish hair…several piercings…beautiful girlfriends…a lot of guy friends…Masculine walk…grave voice since a lot of them tend to be smokers…. sun or eye glasses on the tip of their noses…baggy jeans, bandanas with funky wide designer "Abbayas"** These are the obvious ones of course there are the less obvious…

** The traditional dress for women

How did it come to this…well it is NOT genetics…might be out of boredom or being extremely spoiled…might be a pshycological shock when a child...might be contacts are more with the same sex..(But that is not really an excuse since abroad you have contact with the opposite sex ALL the time…and they have as much homosexuals than here if not more…hmmmm…maybe that is why they turn gay…It is too easy and nothing is taboo anymore) anyway back to what I was saying…the other option is they were maybe raped in bathrooms and schools…it is horrid but it is true…Boys are much more vulnerable to this than girls…
Anyway the end result is they are gay…some families might not know about it…Some families do and have a terrible response to it…and some families (which is the majority) pretend they didn't notice and are happy as long as they obey by the rules, are respectful of society and culture***…i.e they get married, have children and live normally keeping their "other" life in the secrecy of the nights…

*** Of course as you all know homosexuality is forbidden in the Islamic religion (like in most religions) and if get caught might lead to death penalty…if get caught! (which happens very rarely)

My post isn't about gays but the response to people or specifically women to gay men (Cause the response of men to gay women isn't really an example since all they can think about is she and her girlfriends!!!! ) Like I said earlier a lot of homosexuals get married…and get married young (when they still can :p) 90% of the time the brides to be know and do not mind…Actually they have become in fashion…you will see why shortly…

Just the other day I was at a friend's wedding and her husband was as gay as it gets….."Jawad Ali"**** gay …I was in a state of shock....It was like the bride and the……..bride……..:p She on the other hand looked like she hadn't a care in the world…

****a famous singer in our country that looks and sounds completely gay…even George Michael appears manlier in front of him!

Gay men in Saudi Arabia (and other Middle Eastern countries) have a strong feeling of guilt…when they get married they feel very obliged to their wives for accepting them as they are…and when I say very obliged…I mean very veeeeeeeeeery obliged….They are generous to her needs and her wishes…She can be free to do whatever she wants with whomever she wants……They can help her out if she is a career woman in this man oriented country…They advise her and make great friends…They love her to death since she is and will be the ONLY woman in his life…They are so amazed in bringing children to the world that they are like a mother hen with her chicks……and THAT is why they are extremely in fashion…..Personally I have another wedding of that sort next week!!!!

In the end, these women can do whatever they want….BUT this girl right here is sticking to real men for now….!!!!!! x x x x

Friday, November 10, 2006

A jewish mother

London, Hakkasan a Chinese restaurant on 8 Hanway place ……At first impression when walking through the dark alley it looked as if you are entering "dealerville" But once inside it is a whole different story…It was my first time in this place and my friend insisted on taking me for a treat…p.s : the food was amazing!!!!!

Since the restaurant was maxi packed and we didn't have reservations thinking why bother! It's a Thursday night…We found ourselves waiting in the waiting area…in other words: the bar…

The design was funky, very modern , dark lightings but always hated those bar stools especially when I am wearing heels…I never knew how to adjust my body and my legs for that matter in a comfortable sitting position…Therefore I always had a foot on the ground and my… hmmmm… "behind" on the edge…not very sexy....anyway after exactly 15 min of waiting my friend thought it was ridiculous to wait that long for food and decided to take action by going to plan B…tipping for sitting…

Personally I am not very good with these things…I don't know when to do it and how discreetly I should do it…How much its too much...and if it’s the right person to "do" it to…But I have noticed in a lot of places if the "host" in question is a she and you are with a male companion than you would have a place easily…If it is a bunch of guys it is very very "easily"…But if you are just girls than they make you wait a bit longer and if you are just girls with gifted appearances than forget it….you would be waiting at the "waiting area" for ever or at least an hour….
Anyway as my friend pushed her way through to the entrance… I looked around…Just for the sake of looking around…You know when you are looking but not really looking…As if you were searching for a way to keep yourself busy…yes that!....

So like I was saying…as I looked around…my eyes locked with a young man standing next to me…He smiled….I smiled back….I didn't see it at first but an older woman was sitting next to him in one of those stools as well….Must have been his mother…I turned my head and looked the other way….
She must have paid attention cause the next thing I know she was talking to me..
"Such a lovely girl.. isn't she David?"
"Yes… very…"
She had a strange accent…couldn't figure it out really…I got a bit embarrassed and murmured a quick thank you…
"Are you from here?" The lady was talking to me again
"Oh God no!.... I am Saudi" I love it when I say that…with a cheeky smile and one eye brow way high ( I know I am typical najdiya..lol)…and I love the effect it has on people…whether it is surprise…interest…admiration or even fear…Like and old American friend used to say " you Osama ben Laden girl!"..lol

The lady looked at me with interest…as if I was a lab rat with a new mutation…
"Very Interesting…" she smiled and said with her weird accent…
"Where are you from?" I asked
"Israel…." I backed up and starred at her nose from a natural reflex…It is not that I have never seen Jews in my life before or talked to some of them…Actually there are always around or in Arab crowds… Some of them you might know about and some of them not…Some of them that look like one and some not…But it was the first time I talked to one from the "I" word…

"Oh how nice….!" I never worked so hard on giving an answer or smiling in my whole life…This time I really looked around in search of my friend who has literally disappeared….

"You live here?" I can't believe it she is still talking…
"Actually No… I am just here for visiting…."
"My son lives here…He went to Imperial and now he works in the family business…I came to see him…Maybe he can show you around?"

I couldn't believe it this woman was matchmaking me with her SON!!!!!… She must be schizophrenic…or was so bored and decided to make a joke….or she is the smartest most intelligent woman I have ever met….

"No thank you…I am here with family and friends…and besides I am not staying very long…"
"Can I still have your number…I might give you a call and invite you to dinner or a drink somewhere…" This time the son spoke…

I was speechless…

That’s when my friend decided to pop in and say " Yalla (meaning : come on) Mashael..we have our table!" I never was so pleased too see her in my whole life…and never ever has she had a most perfect timing…I grabbed my bag…and looked at the pair "It was very nice meeting you…Have a lovely evening!" Being my mother's daughter I HAD to be polite…
And I rushed behind my friend never looking back….