Today I went to get an ID card.
I was not prepared for what I experienced.
I thought that by going at 7:30 in the morning I'd avoid the crowds and the long lines.
I hate it when I act all smart.
So I'm standing in line for 15 minutes, and then the largest old lady you can imagine comes up and tries to push me out of line!
I am being 100% serious.
"Excuse me, Ma'am! You need to stand at the end of the line! Ma'am! Please stop pushing me!"
"Oh, but I am an elderly lady," lady, indeed!
"and I have been here for a long time, just get out of my way!"
Please note that she and I were basically wrestling all through our pleasant little conversation.
"I said NO. I have to get to class after this! I will NOT be late because of you! Please, go away!"
Ahem.
Yeah. I said that to an old lady (while trying to pin her down. She is one strong mama.)
Don't give me that look! She was fucking asking for it.
And it worked, she went away.
Only to be followed by another (less violent) old lady.
What is it with the elderly and lines!? Why don't they just respect and follow rules!?
Here is a message to all old people:
No. I will not pity you.
Just because you're older, it does not mean you are all of a sudden above the rules that we common mortals must live by.
And no. I don't enjoy being mean to old people.
It was just this one time, I swear!
ubergirl
P.S: I know I promised you a "What I like about Saudi Arabia! Yaay!" rainbows and butterlies post, so sorry if anyone's disappointed. I'll do it next post! (Or... I'll try real hard to!)
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25 comments:
I know exactly how you feel but my problem is not with old ladies, it's with women, no matter how long the line I'm in is no matter how long i have been waitting if a woman comes in then to the front of the line she goes and even if it's you turn and you have the horrible luck of a woman coming in then you papers or whatever get side tracked and the woman's things get finished.
I agree woman have it bad in alot of things in saudi, but standing in line aint one of them :P
I didnt know u get much rainbows in Saudi :p
Talal: That never happens! A9lan where (except the airport) do men and women stand in line together?
Shy: We don't get any :p
Hardly no one here stands in a line.(unless they are forced, maybe) Moo bs old ladies. lol. At least old people sort of have an "excuse". Some one could try to look over the rudeness and think, "Well, she is old."
Old people annoy me in general though. I hope I dont become annoying when I get old.
Reminds me of the old Chinese women here. None of them have bothered to learn a single word of English or French in the 50 years they been here. Try getting on the bus with one of them. They'll give you the ninja moves. Elbows in the groin/face/wherever. All while shrieking in Chinese. And not just her, all 20 of her friends too. No Im not racist against the Chinese here. Just dont mess with that 1.3m tall 85yo Chinese woman. She'll knock you flat on your ass
Talal u stole my comment :P
uber..it happened to me too in the following places:
-in "Saudia airlines" office
-in a resturant called "albaik"
-in "jareer bookstore" (i was pushed by a woman!)
-in an ATM machine!
-once, i was waiting for the elevator in the Jeddah hilton. when the elevator came, two ladies stepped in without even looking at me!!
really i can go on and on with that list :P
Are you as spicy as your writing?
This blog just sizzles.
You must write a book!
Question: What do Saudi girls get to do for fun in the KSA?
i am sorry talal, ahmed and abdulla, but what you guys mentioned is called "courtesy" (u know ..."ladies first").
another thing is that (in the majority of such cases) its by the guys own consent, so its not considered "cutting", hence its not rude.
gotta say, chivlary is not dead (i hope)
PS: u guys r of the few who still have manners and oblige to such traditions, last week i was at the hospital and not a single guy stepped aside to allow me to reach the receptionist, whats a girl in my case to do ?? aza7im alrjal??......
You made my day girl :D
At least you have a special line for women there ... here .. guys push, elderly push, everyone seems to push .. LOL
But good for you that you did not just swallow it .. way to go girl!
Our office is located on the 2nd floor and thus most of the people opt to use the stairs instead of waiting for the elevators. We have a very old sudanese man who works with us and he has a problem with his legs. I've never asked him what is wrong with him but basically he can't walk for too long and he always waits for the elevator to take him down. When you look at him, you can't tell anything is wrong.
A little while ago, the owner of our organization, a very rich person, came to our office. He is a very nice guy, I really look up to him as a role model, HE IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE GUY OR SAUDI!!!
When he saw this guy waiting for the elevator, he tapped him on his knees lightly and smiled at him and said "What's the matter you can't walk?". Both of them laughed and they went about their ways.
5 minutes later, he saw the old man being put into a wheel chair.
That night, I got a phone call from my editor who asked me if I knew where this old man lived. He lives in a very bad area and I knew where he lived because I had dropped him off a couple of times (it is super far away). I was told to get my ass over to the office ASAP!!!
When I went there, the owner was waiting in his Rolls Royce (this was the first time I had ever seen one, let alone sit in one). About to shit my pants, he briefed me on what happened and told me that he had a flight to Geneva in a couple of hours but before he went, he wanted to personally apologize to the old man.
It took us a little while, and we got there, he met the old man and told him that he was sorry. He also handed him an envelope and told him that this was just something he wanted him to keep. I learned later that there was SR15,000 in that envelope.
The next day, the old man told us "I hope he taps my knees everyday". Loooooooooool
Now ubergirl when that old woman pushed you... there could have been a million reasons. She was old, haven't you ever heard of giving senior citizens priority? Maybe she can't stand for too long? Or maybe she is an educated bedioun who doesn't understand the concept of lines. Or maybe her old age has just gotten to her head... and she thinks pushing is the best way to go. But no matter what the reason is, you can't change her. Would it have killed you to let her cut?
You know what is right and wrong, but in this case, I think that you forgot to apply what you have been taught.
Taqua: Usually lines are not even formed in Saudi Arabia, but this is the first time that I have seen anyone try to forcible cut a line that has been formed.
Ahmed and Abdullah: Najoly took the words right out of my mouth :p
Daniel: Thank you! I am indeed as hot as my blog. Yeah. :p
Froggie: We go out to restaurants, malls, and we go over to each other's houses mostly.
Dotsson: No one is above the rules. Not even the elderly.
She could have asked someone to stand in line for her, many of the staff members would have helped, but instead she chose to wrestle with an 18 year old.
".. maybe she is an educated bedioun who doesn't understand the concept of lines.."
Do you know how offensive that is? You live in a COUNTRY FULL OF BEDOUINS. If you don't like them then get the fuck out of their country.
Bedouins are very good people, and whoever thinks otherwise needs to brush up on a little bit of Bedouin history.
Where did I say that I didn't like them? Please don't make up stuff just so you can attack me :)
This isn't about rules... bottom line is that you fought with an old woman for 50 freaking centimeters of space!!! Congratulation!!! Bravo!!! You fought with an old woman!!! How does that make you feel???
Ladies and gentlemen, Dotsson here feels like arguing, and I am ignoring him on the messenger, so he has to come on my blog to be an asshole.
That comment he made about Bedouins was very clearly an attack on them and on me.
Dotsson just get a life.
Your comments are no longer welcome on my blog.
LOOOL sakkateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh
i applaud u!
looooooooooooool that was funny uber :P good for him
uber & najooly, let me tell you how chivalry works, first a woman waits quietly and patiently until a man kindly and graciously offers her his place and his place alone.
Chivalry does not apply to a woman cutting in line without being invited. Another point that should be stated is if woman want equality they should take the good and the bad , standing in line is one of the bad.
on a much lighter note from this heating debate, how did ur ID piture turn out?! God.. those are some bad pictuers ,i dont know anybody who looks remotly like their picture let alone like them including me!
I agree with Talal and Abdulla, although there's some really rude elderly type out there. There are people who just take advantage of the young. If the woman was just trying to cut and was just acting rude... i wouldn't let her either. You know those signs in buses telling you to give your seat to elderly people? should there be a similar rule to people waiting in lines??? i don't think so.
Generally, and I stress only generally, speaking, queuing culture in Saudi Arabia isn't one of the most (I hate using that word but I'll still use it) 'civilized' on this planet. I'm a male and still have experiences of idiots jumping in front of because they think they've the right to be served first. Stay where you are, guys! I wouldn't jump in front of you either, no matter what your sex or age or nationality or anything is.
This might be a bit biased seen as I live in Ireland but when it comes to general politness i.e forming a queue, holding the door open for someone and saying thank u. I find Irish people are the most polite in the world compared to the countries I've visited.
I'm against rudeness at every age but the young and fit here must understand that old people have in average only 25% of their former energy and endurance. Standing for a long time can be agony for them.
One question, ubergirl: Had that old woman asked you politely to allow her into the queue because she was tiring easily, would you have let her in?
Eva: No I would not have let her cut.
If the woman has trouble standing for a long time then she should have asked someone to stand in for her.
And by the way, the woman was FAR stronger than I was.
Plastic Smile: My pcture turned out okay, lol
Thanks for your comments everyone! I'll reply to the rest later.
Good points. I always hate it when they think they are in a hurry. To what? A bingo game?
I am married with children for God's sake. I am REALLY crunched for time, so they need to spare me their "I need to get home to clean my false teeth" stories.
salamz ppl,
unfortch, although i never thought otherwise, i failed to mention in my previous comment that being courteous includes young ladies to older ones.
my dear talal, i do not disagree, that is exactly the situation i am speaking of.
thanks guys for letting us go first ;)
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