Home – May 2015

Salaam.

As the temperature gradually creeps up from the current low 30’s to the mid 40’s and beyond, it makes me wonder what has happened to spring as we know it in Canada. Yes, I am sitting in hot and humid Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Yes, I am also close to the Yemen border and the home of the Saudi coalition military action. These are all realities of daily life in our part of Saudi Arabia.

I have been fortunate in my College career to work in some fantastic parts of Canada and also contribute to adult education in some intriguing parts of the world. I continue to marvel at how different our cultures are and at the same time how similar we are. We all want the best for our loved ones, healthy food, friendship and the basics of a good life.

It is the people who make living and working in Saudi Arabia so interesting. Abaya and hijab covered women proudly maneuver their way through the crowded alleys of the souks admiring the displays of gold and sorting through dazzling colorful bolts of material. Men attired in their brightly starched thobes and keffiyehs bargain over the price of fresh produce. Dark skinned children pull and tug and want to move everyone along.

The aromas continue to intrigue me. The fish market’s pungent odours waft through the stifling open air stalls as animated bargaining occurs between vendor and consumer. Men and women sift through bulky bags and barrels of sharp tasting and aromatic spices. Walk on further and hundreds of perfume bottles are stacked wall to wall and the stimulating scent of indigenous oud fills the air.

Sounds are unique with the common core being the call to prayer. This starts the day at sunrise and ends the end day at sunset. The loudspeakers broadcasting these prayer times can be heard throughout all areas where people live or congregate. It soon becomes a part of one’s normal daily routine and one expects to hear these evocative sounds punctuating the air.

Yes, this is a little taste of spring in the Middle East.

Doug McLachlan, Managing Director
Jazan Campus, Algonquin College