Well today I took my first mall trip with some ladies from the compound. We all headed out on our own, once we got to the mall of Arabia.... that was nice.... as I just wanted to sight see and most of the other ladies were out to really shop... :). I took pictures of sights in the mall. It is considered rude to take pictures of people and they do not like it.  I am told they have the same aversion to pictures that the Amish do back in Minnesota. The idea of no graven images is reflected in some of the store signs, their art, and the customs regulation. We were told not to bring stuffed animals into the Kingdom. These rules are not followed as much as they use to be. You can find tons of stuffed animals here, for instance. I went to the mall with seven other ladies, one of the ladies sons and a driver. We actually took two vehicles. I got to ride over with DJ, KUUM, Kim and her son Justin. Kim and Justin are fellow Minnesotans. Kim and her husband have just returned to Jeddah. They have been here on a previous tour. I can not remember where Kuum and Dj are from. Very nice ladies though.... and very serious shoppers. The other car had Kelly, Meridith and Elishia.... don't hold me to the spelling of any of their names. The driver of the car I was in was Mohamed. He was the same driver who drove me home from my Igama physical the other day. He dropped us off and reappeared when it was time to go back to the compound. I wandered around the circular 2 floor layout of the mall, snapped a few photos, bought an Arabic primer for 3 riyal, found a Starbucks where I enjoyed a tall black coffee, and then bought a couple of needed items from the huge Panda Grocery store also located in the mall. By then it was time to head back. Very enjoyable. I have explored the compound and met some people here that work at various services on compound. Tim has found a house pet for us, unexpectedly, which you can read about on his blog. :) Still enjoying the "Great Adventure"! Stay tuned in!