So, before I turn my thoughts to things beyond this region, I thought I'd share some "minor" moments. There's a bit of a pun here, minor meaning both "small and insignificant" and "a more melancholy set of chords as opposed to 'major'!!"
It's taken some time to pass to be able to write about these without feeling some rising levels of angst. But here goes:
1. In a major hardware/home store, Jim was in need of a visit to a restroom ... "toilets" to the non-American world. So, he asked a worker if they had toilets. The guy directed him toward them and then said, "They are just for the public." Jim told me what the guy said and we both chuckled, thinking that it was an odd thing to say but that he must have gotten confused with his limited English and meant to say "they are for the public." So, we headed in the direction he pointed us, Jim disappeared behind the door with the guy-picture, and I wandered around in search of the girl-picture. (These photos are rather difficult to distinguish; I should take photos some time. The black sketches are outlines of head and shoulders, either male or female, with draped head coverings. The only difference is that on the women's drawing only the eyes are showing.) Couldn't find anything. Wandered some more. Looked high and low.
Yep ... nothing.
And now we know what "public" means. Woe be to any woman who needs a restroom. She should, clearly, know better than to leave her house, anyway! ;)
2. On a field trip to Hoffuf with about 70 of us in 3 buses and some cars, we stopped for lunch in a strip of fast food places. Not our idea of a lovely dining experience but we were all hungry enough to be able to have good attitudes.
Only one restaurant of the seven in the row had a "family" section -- KFC. With our group, it was packed in a moment's time. So we headed toward Door Number Two -- Pizza Hut. They said that women could stand there to order but couldn't sit to eat. No outdoor seating anywhere. Buses were locked. Soooooooo, we settled for Door Number Three -- Hardees (yuck!). The workers had already let another family sit there so were knew I was safe.
We were eating along as happily as one can eat in a Hardees and then ... we needed restrooms. Jim followed in the direction he'd seen some men go earlier. He came out with a report that they were rather clean, even. So, happily, I went toward the same direction, saw no door with that special picture on it, inquired at the counter, and was told that they didn't have any toilets for women.
Clearly, the problem is with us -- the women. Why would we need a restroom in a place that we aren't supposed to even sit, right? And why would we need to be out and about, anyway?!!
3. This kind of silliness is not always the case, though. In the major malls, here, there are ample women's restrooms. In fact, they're used for dressing rooms as well as restrooms. Why? Welllllllll ...
shops have dressing rooms for men, only. Women have to buy the clothes they are considering. Then, they usually take them home to try them on. Depending on the shop, they have one day to one week to return them. Consider this: no woman can drive. She has to hire a taxi (with varying stages of safety involved, depending on the vehicle and the driver), take a compound bus (if she lives in a compound and has access to such things) but usually the routes alternate so that a route to a particular shop is only weekly, or have her husband take her shopping.
You can see why some use the restrooms as dressing rooms. At least they can go back to the shop within a short amount of time and get the necessary refunds.
I've not tried either option. The idea of buying some clothing that I've not been able to try on? Well, it just doesn't fit me very well!
So, in our upcoming outing, in addition to looking forward to the typical, boring-ole Parisian pleasures, I'm really, really looking forward to:
open seating ... women and men ... together
restrooms (or should I say "les toilettes"?)
dressing rooms
I'm not planning on buying any clothes but I really should try some on just for fun, don't you think?!!
C'est la vie!
3 comments:
Wow. That's so much worse than driving the 4 hour trip from Glennallen to Anchorage in the winter and making the mistake of starting out with a nice coffee. No restrooms, but there it's more equal, since there aren't any for men either. Still, it's a bit less chilly for the guys to "write their names in the snow" alongside the highway. And I imagine going behind the building and pulling up your burka might be frowned upon?
Yeah, you'll enjoy Paris even more than usual, I imagine. France is becoming very Islamist-influenced, I have heard. Hope the ladies restrooms survive.
Zona, you make me laugh!
Yeah, there are no trees to hide behind in the desert and the buildings are too ... well ... civilized for burka-pulling up!
It's amazing, I've only seen ONE woman in an abaya since leaving Bahrain and that was on the plane!
We're loving this place!
Have a wonderful time in Paris! What a great city to retreat to. I hope you get to take in the sites, enjoy some of their fabulous coffee, and yes, do a little shopping! Please post some pictures when you can. I love to look at people's travel pictures. Regards to Jim!
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