Dates for Health & Longevity

After oil, dates are Saudi Arabia's most important export. There are many kinds of dates to choose from, and the small grocery store on campus has several packaged varieties and many others to buy in bulk. I've always liked dates, and with such an overwhelming selection I decided to start small with a beautifully packaged black box with gold lettering. Much like a gift box. As I opened the dates yesterday, I was surprised not only that each date was sealed in its own special foil pouch, but the inscription on the box also had a surprise: "The Messenger said, 'Whoever has seven Ajwa dates every morning he will not be harmed on that day by poison or magic.'" Elsewhere on the box, more good news about dates and the fact that science has confirmed a number of benefits of dates. I won't get into all of the benefits here, but I can feel good about eating dates. They really were good, but I think I will work up to 7 at a time.

Unlike many previous New Year's Eves, we actually have some pretty exciting plans for tonight. We're getting dressed up, have hired a car and driver and are going to the US Consulate New Year's Eve party in Jeddah with another couple. I still haven't really been to Jeddah, other than arriving at the airport. We were going to take the bus in to the city on Wednesday night but we had a huge thunderstorm and the buses were cancelled due to flooding. I didn't know it rained so hard in Saudi Arabia, but that is just one of the things I have already learned.

View outside our villa in rainstorm

We had dinner the night of the thunderstorm at the Golf Club Restaurant with another couple, their 3 kids, and another friend of Bill's who is awaiting the arrival of his wife and 2 daughters. Among the 8 of us, we ordered pizza, hamburgers, fish and chips (with the biggest fried prawn I've ever seen), fillet mignon and curry chicken and rice. There are many fruit drinks to choose from on all of the menus here. One person got a fresh-made lemonade with chopped mint. We have also tried pomegranate "beer" (in the style of ginger "ale") and a carbonated elderflower drink. The most interesting thing I have tried so far was a brownish-red drink with a very floral aroma that is served with pine nuts floating in it. I asked the name and was told more than once, but I may need to make notes of the unfamiliar things I am trying since their names are foreign and hard to remember at first. Anyway, I liked the drink with pine nuts even though I don't think I've ever had anything like it before.

After dinner at the Golf Club, we were invited to our friends' house to smoke hookah. Most of what I know about hookah pipes is from Alice in Wonderland and the groovy caterpillar who smokes one. I've seen hookah water pipes before, but it was the first time that I actually smoked a hookah. The tobacco is kept in the refrigerator and comes in many flavors: grape, strawberry, lemon, etc. You put the tobacco in the bowl, cover it with special foil and poke holes through the foil. Then you light small charcoal briquettes and set them on top of the foil lid, draw in through the pipe, and voila! You're smoking a hookah pipe! It's tobacco, so the effect of smoking is similar to other tobacco use. Bill calls it relaxing. I thought my lungs felt kind of weak the next morning so I'm not sure how much future smoking I'm going to do, but considering there aren't many vices readily available here, it was a welcome diversion. I should also add that the conversation was good too, and it is great getting to know some of the people who have come to KAUST.