National Saudi Arabia Afternoon
Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 6:28 am
I have a connection to Saudi Arabian students here and this past Saturday I was invited to celebrate National Saudi Arabia Day which was held at our local waterfront park. The students spent the day before erecting a tent city where each tent reflected some aspect of their culture - welcome tent with tea, dates, cookies (flown in the morning of the event directly from Saudi Arabia) were served, Islam as a religion (gave me my own copy of The Message of Islam in a very nice book), photos of Mecca & Medina, photos generally of Saudi Arabia, the Kings of Saudi Arabia with a special emphasis on King Abdullah and his scholarships program for young peoples, achievements of Saudi women, culture (family structure and marriage explained), Henna tent (have lovely floral designs on my hand now), recreation of a typical Saudi livingroom with carpets and pillows on the floor and traditional furnishings that are used. Other tents were handing out souvenirs - national flag, bracelets, balloons, banners, key chains etc.
Locally we have 322 students here attending our University with a requirement to attend daily 8am to 4:30pm in exchange for approximately $6,000/month our of which they pay their own food, rent etc. Their semesters have been specifically designed for ONLY Saudi students and run in 7 week cycles. Their first 2 years are spent in ESL and from there they move into both Bachelor and Masters programs. Many take MBAs.
On arrival security was really visible which isn't a common sight here on the island but the sun was out, weather terrific and the event was more an 'invite only' so publicity wasn't apt to attract any of our locals who may have had some difficulty seeing the Middle Eastern garb.
The day started off with speeches from many different dignitaries - our cultural attaches flown in from Ottawa, the Saudi Embassy, the University etc. From there there was poetry readings, traditional dances and prayers. All the students wore their traditional long thobes and shumars.
Was extremely interesting and all there were very welcoming and so willing to share their culture and experiences.
The students lined up as per tribal affiliation to perform traditional dances. The differences in clothing distinguished them as to southern or eastern Saudi Arabia
Two of the students at the Welcoming tent
Mistress of Ceremonies
Recreation of a typical Saudi living room
Common household objects - the mortal and pestle which is used to grind coffee beans was phenomenally heavy
And lastly the food was deee-licious! It was flown in directly via Fed Ex from Saudi Arabia that morning. Could have eaten all the dates myself
Locally we have 322 students here attending our University with a requirement to attend daily 8am to 4:30pm in exchange for approximately $6,000/month our of which they pay their own food, rent etc. Their semesters have been specifically designed for ONLY Saudi students and run in 7 week cycles. Their first 2 years are spent in ESL and from there they move into both Bachelor and Masters programs. Many take MBAs.
On arrival security was really visible which isn't a common sight here on the island but the sun was out, weather terrific and the event was more an 'invite only' so publicity wasn't apt to attract any of our locals who may have had some difficulty seeing the Middle Eastern garb.
The day started off with speeches from many different dignitaries - our cultural attaches flown in from Ottawa, the Saudi Embassy, the University etc. From there there was poetry readings, traditional dances and prayers. All the students wore their traditional long thobes and shumars.
Was extremely interesting and all there were very welcoming and so willing to share their culture and experiences.
The students lined up as per tribal affiliation to perform traditional dances. The differences in clothing distinguished them as to southern or eastern Saudi Arabia
Two of the students at the Welcoming tent
Mistress of Ceremonies
Recreation of a typical Saudi living room
Common household objects - the mortal and pestle which is used to grind coffee beans was phenomenally heavy
And lastly the food was deee-licious! It was flown in directly via Fed Ex from Saudi Arabia that morning. Could have eaten all the dates myself
we will have none of that on here