Saubi Rules: Make a Fool of Yourself

Two weeks here in Saubi now and I have a list of foolish things I've done for your enjoyment and mine in two years when I look back.

-Getting in the wrong line.
There are separate lines for things here - going through security at the mall, ordering food, checking out at the grocery store. There's a line for 'family' and then a line for 'single men.' Anyone of, or accompanying someone of,  the female gender has to go through the family line. Sometimes, it's simply a male and female line and then I have to take myself and the girls through the female line.  I keep ending up in the 'single men' line and having to correct myself. I'm sure I look panicked when this happens, but I have to say, so do the Saudis around me.

-Forgetting to have my produce weighed
At the grocery store here, your produce is weighed and the price affixed in the produce department. Forgetting hasn't been a big deal yet, but I live in fear of doing it when there's a huge line behind me. So far it's just been a mild inconvenience. So far.

-Buying things I didn't mean to
(I am now realizing that a lot of my mishaps so far are purchase related. I don't spend all day every day shopping, I promise)
I wish I could blame this on everything being in Arabic but I really can't. I have yet to find or buy anything that doesn't have some labelling in English. I am sure that day will come, but for now my shopping experiences have made me feel like I'm cheating. Isn't this too easy? And then you realize that you've come home with a liter of laban and not milk. On the plus side of this, I subbed it in for buttermilk in pancakes one night, then blended it with mango the next night for a dessert, so not all was lost. Still, I think it was a bit of a shock to Adam when he poured himself a tall glass to go with his evening cookies.

-Not having every inch of Baby M covered/slathered in sunscreen
I live in great fear of the baby getting a sunburn. I remember having horrible sunburn as a kid when we visited Oman. On my bum no less. I couldn't sit down it hurt so badly. And then (maybe on a different trip?) another time when my forearms were so burnt I had huge blisters that burst when I jumped in the pool. Owwwwwww. As a consequence, I try to make sure the kids are covered or wearing ALL the sunscreen. Applying sunscreen while outside in 110 degrees is not my favorite. Mum fail.

Luckily I haven't forgotten my abaya yet. There's plenty of time for that though. Plenty of time.