Ich liebe das Pullover von Bill Cosby

I didn't expect Saudi to get this cold, but it is flippin' freezing here in the Eastern province once the sun goes down or one gets close to the Arabian Sea shore. Brrr. Now that winter is finally here, the peoplescape has changed for the interesting. Men have started to adopt earth tone and dark colored thobes, children can be spotted in snow suits (although there is no snow to be had) along the Corniche in 18 Centigrade weather, non Gulf Arab expatriate laborers have started to wear heavy Carhart-like coats over their thin layers of clothes. The Saudi women continue to wear all black abayas with full face hijabs while I have started to layer up under my own abaya (pajamas under my work skirts, alternating short- and long-sleeved t-shirts outside of work), wrap my head a little cozier, and wear a zip-up hoodie over the whole ensemble. I've taken to bringing a fleece blanket and cuddling up with E on the back bench of the university bus on the drafty ride to work.

What I like best about the temperature change is the fact that taxi drivers have starting donning what I like to call "the Bill Cosby sweater." If you haven't watched The Cosby show recently, I recommend brushing up in order to get a complete understanding. A.m., our reliable driver, took E, A, L, and me to the Qatif Thursday souq market this morning. On our way there, we stopped at a small island just past Dammam and walked up the small lookout there. Over his light brown thobe, a.m. was sporting the Cosby look in a distinguished, grandfatherly way with his his salt and peper hair sneaking out of his white prayer cap. I asked him if I could take his picture and he joked, "How much? Don't you know I'm an undercover officer?" A's response was, "Yes, that's why we can find you in the phone book."

At the market, I picked up four pairing knives for ten Riyals. We tried to bargain for scarves, but found resistance from some of the hockers. We only had time to check out the garment and small kitchen section of the open souq. We hope to return a different Thursday so as to explore the food and other wares areas. The word on the street is that Dammam has a market on Fridays -- may check that out tomorrow...