“It was strange to see men and women sitting with each other, discussing economics, politics, sports.”

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Transcript for Getting Used to it

Yeah it’s hard to get into the social life of Saudi Arabia. It’s, it’s isolated, and some Saudi people they have never encountered with opposite sex outside of the family range. It’s hard to encounter with women. We have separate school. Women pray at home. Men pray at Mosque. The only chance you can encounter with women is in places like hospitals, malls. And this, this, is changing right now cause the minister of labor is creating jobs for women.

I was shocked last time I went to a car dealer. There was a lady telling me about car specifications and for us it’s a huge change in Saudi Arabia. Ten years ago you would have never had the chance to see women. It it could take you days to see women outside of your family. You can just go to the mosque, go to the school, go to the grocery stores and you don’t see women.

It was difficult in the beginning to encounter with the opposite sex cause I’m not used to it. It was strange to see men and women sitting with each other discussing politics, economy, sports. It took me awhile to get used to it.

I had, I had a friend come into my apartment. She was helping me with English. While we’re practicing we used to talk about our culture. She is talk about her family, and where she come from, and how she grew up.

I used to tell her about me. It wasn’t the first time I encounter with women. It was the first time I talk about myself and about my culture to a girl. Yes it’s a total different experience. It’s an, it’s a thing I’ve never done before. I know with women, uh girls, they have their own life on their own communication things that is different from boys.

In front of my friends, my men friends, I curse. In front of girls, no I don’t. I choose a more soft language. With women I’m not used to it. It’s uh kind of embarrassing cause when you talk that way they will have negative impressions about you especially if you are talking with them first or second time, or your relationship with them is formal.

With men we’re used to cursing most of the time even with persons you don’t know. You’ll start to chat and you’ll just express your hate to something or someone and you’ll start to curse and swear.