IamA 14 year old boy from Saudi Arabia, AMA!

So here comes this kid from another culture. Some fourteen year old trying to share some things about his country which he loves.

And we trash him for it. We're calling him out, questioning his believes and making ourselves look like assholes in the process.

Can't we just ask him the questions he wants to answer? Like what is your favorite movie? Who is your idol? Do you have any posters and if so, why? What's your most embarrassing moment? Do you ever want to travel around Europe and where do you want to go?

Come on, people. He's fourteen years old. Give him a break and ask him what his favorite dish is and if he could send us a recipe. I want to taste some Saudi food.

Thank you, Thank you so damn much!

your reward is Kabsa recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/al-kabsa-traditional-saudi-rice-chicken-dish-289878

just dont put the seeds cause we dont do that also need lots more rice and dont make it group up together

What's your opinion of the ban on religions other than Islam in Saudi Arabia?

Other religions are not banned in Saudi Arabia, but practicing them publicly is, I think it's pointless, as people will act on their beliefs doesn't matter if at home or outside of it, I think other religions should only be banned in Mecca because of its religious value.

Don't you think that would be the same as banning other religions in St. Peters Square in Rome? Does it make sense? Isn't supposedly the same God?

It's people doing different prayers together in the same place, one guy is bound to go "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG" and start a huge fight.

Thinking that someone else doesn't have a right to practice their religion in an area just because of geographic location is proving the stereotype instead of helping show that saudis are somehow all open-minded and peaceful.

Imagine a muslim going to your church and doing Islam prayer there,

What would you think of that ?

What do you and your friends do for fun typically?

Probably race Bugatti Veyrons

Gold , Gold Bugatti Veyrons.

also camel racing. (I'm joking we don't do this kind of thing Saudi Arabia is not full on desert it's actually more modern than you think it's almost as developed as UAE)

When I was in the UAE, camel racing was actually a very popular spectator sport.

It is a popular sport in the arabian gulf countries :)

I'm just trying to kill the stereotype which says saudi has no roads and is a desert with no cars or anything.

I play League with some of my friends, and others I just chat with. Football is a really big thing here but I'm not really good at it :D

I know it sounds lame but it's a pretty good life.

What server do you play on?

EU Nordic & East, it's right in my name!

summoner name is butter

What div are you in? Would you like to play league some time?

silv 3 right now, was gold 5

am scrub

I'm 35 what is this?

its about league of legends an online game

This is so cool! I have a few questions if you don't mind answering them.

What are the biggest differences you percieve in the actual culture and people of Saudi Arabia vs. how the American media portrays it? What about the biggest similarities?

How much of a divide is there between the older and younger generations? I saw you mention something about that in an earlier post.

I like to cook, but have unfortunately not gotten into middle eastern food. What are some Saudi dishes I should try out? (and if you have recipes you know are good that helps out even more considering I have no experience with this)

What do you typically spend free time doing?

What kind of future do you imagine for yourself and your friends?

Thanks for taking the time to answer any of these if you do. I always find it incredibly interesting to see the perspective of people so far away from myself.

Of course I'll do my best to answer, ask away!

1. It percieves the woman as sad and tortured but they are not, most are really happy with their lives, however some men are rude to their wives but it rarely goes to domestic violence (some more in answer 2)

2. The older generation are more extreme with their religious beliefs but they don't do anything crazy, the terrorists are psychos with a Saudi nationality , they blame it on Islam but the media sees it as Saudi trains people to do that.

3. I can't really help you with recipes since the only things I can cook are things which you can fry and instant noodles, But some things you should try are Kabsa and Bukhari , they are made with rice, also Shawarma and Falafel.

4. I play League or Dishonored or Skyrim or some bad eggs if im on one of my two android devices, so basically video games and watching youtube.

5. I don't know, really.

I have a couple of linked questions and I hope that you can answer.

Does it bother you when Westerners, given the opportunity to ask you questions, jump at the chance to ask you things that you clearly have no control over; such as political questions, where they are clearly judging you for what they consider the unjust laws and practices of your country and/or religion?

How do you feel knowing your country is, internationally, considered to be one of the most oppressive countries in the world due to it's treatment of women, homosexuals, and non-muslims?

Knowing how your laws are currently, what is your relationship with your mother like? Legally, she has less rights than you do, and is considered by your laws to be less important than you, something most westerners would consider offensive as most western countries have traditions where it is expected that parents are treated with respect and honoured.

Thanks for giving me the chance to ask, and I hope the responses you get are not too harsh.

1. Yes , it does bother me so very much , however I do not blame them, I tried avoiding that by putting "14 year old" on the title but that didn't seem to do it.

2. I really don't like that, Saudi Arabia is a beautiful country, It doesn't have bad women rights but a loud minority of the women say its horrible because they compare theirselves to other countries, women here are not restrained they are simply protected from having sex before marriage and things like that, but I do believe that the means used to protect them are a bit extreme.

3. I love my mother and she loves me aswell, our relationship is as good as it can be, I don't think of her as less important and I don't think women are less than men , or men are less than women, both are equally important, because if one was gone, how could we reproduce ? I would like to say that I really hate how some people actually do think they're more important than their parents so they avoid them or fight them, I'm pretty sure almost no man or woman wants less than the best for their children.

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Yes they do, and they don't see their country in that way.

I am part of them so I don't believe that our country is full of evil assholes.

this is complicated my brain hurts

Hello. I don't know much about the culture in Saudi Arabia. Can you name one thing that you like about being born and raised in KSA?

People thinking i'm rich.

Having golden camels (jk)

People are not very varied here, so you can relate to a lot of other people with a lot of things.

Arabs are very trustworthy, that is a trait that i'm willing to pick up.

Saudi here. Your answers are really mature for your age. Your English is very impressive as well. I'm in my mid 20s and have been to several countries in the east and west, yet your English is way better than mine, اهنيك!

How do you compare yourself to your peers in school and family, in terms of intelligence and maturity? Do many of them share the interests you have?

I'm really curious, there's a gap between me and your generation. When I was your age, I spent most of my time playing soccer and watching pokemon, and you're here answering questions on wahhabism. استمر

Edit: لا يهمونك العنصريين اللي هنا، تراهم ازلب و اغبى ناس.

I think I'm a little smarter than them (not bragging) , and I'm definetely not mature although not inappropriately immature, I try to be mature :D , they rarely share the same interests, everyone's all about fifa and ps4 football and i'm like League and computers

I played pokemon fire red :D

الله يعطيك العافية

احرجتني :x

Any advice for someone who would like to visit your country with a girlfriend?

I don't know I just think you shouldn't visit, go to UAE instead.

people are just gonna be rude to you and religious police and laws are just gonna make this a bad visit .

Free access to the internet? By free, mean unhindered.

Some sites are blocked, most are porn (sadface)

But It's pretty much the same everywhere else.

Although I do hate some stuff like spotify and things not being available in Saudi, and I hate having to use proxies.

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I KNOW ,RIGHT?

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They can, it's pretty easy to actually.

^{hola vpn}

Hey now, the govt's only trying to protect you! :)

no one can stop me

I have a few in depth questions I hope you can answer. I have always wanted to ask these questions to a citizen of Saudi Arabia.

What are your opinions of democracy?

I like how you said questions then only asked me one :D

I think democracy has it's pros and cons, but my personal opinion is that It's not as good as the system in Saudi (monarchy I think?) where there is one representative of the country (like King Abdullah, may he rest in peace) and the ones who control everything are sort of behind the scenes, but we know who they are (prime minister and others).

I don't like democracy because the people are indecisive, and stuff like what happened at Egypt , where they pick the wrong guy then start riots and shit protesting to get him removed then get another guy and want the guy they had before back (what happened with Egyptians and Mubarak , Sisi and Morsi) could happen again.

How many wives does your father have? Assuming it is more than one, is your mother responsible for raising, teaching, and disciplining you or is it a group effort by all the wives? Or something else entirely?

Some have more than 1, like my uncle.

But my father is only married to one very lovely woman.

What is something you've alwats wanted to do but were never able to because of the place you live/the religion where you live?

see and touch snow

i have never seen snow before in my life

Do men need to be "protected" from having sex before marriage?

What exactly are women being "protected" from by not being allowed to have sex before marriage?

If men don't need to be "protected" from having sex before marriage, why do women?

What do you personally think about feminism and feminist ideologies?

1. yes they do if a man finds out his son is having sex before marriage son gets rekt, really really hard.

2. doing something they will regret later

3. I haven't read anything about feminism.

What is your daily routine?

Wake up go to school have fun schools easy exams 360 ezpz then go home play video games pray then eat sleep

What sort of video games do you play?

I really like the Ace Attorney series, I pretty much like every game that's funny and has references or is pretty awesome like dishonored I also like to play online games with my friends, mostly League of Legends.

If you like ace attorney, and don't mind that the references are to an obscure American parody cartoon, I highly recommend Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. I know I played it on PS2 but I think they had it for Wii as well. It plays similarly and is hilarious, as is the show it is based on.

ITS ON PS2?

IM ALREADY DOWNLOADING IT

My man, Dishonored is the shit, dude. Have you tried to play it through without killing or getting caught? It's really fun experience and once you get the hang on how to do it, it's not too hard and very rewarding!

I know

I managed to do it all correctly except the part in the beginning where you have to jump off the bridge how the hell do you not get seen? ?

Is it normal to go to clubs/pubs in Saudi Arabia? Is there even any?

I don't know, and it's not normal.

What is the music scene like there? What do kids listen to? What do kids with musical interests do to express themselves artistically? Do your schools teach anything about music/art/drawing etc?

Most of the time people see Saudis in media wearing very traditional looking dress. Do you guys wear jeans and T-shirts in private?

What are a few slang things young people say over there that adults might not understand? (Like the way Will Smith says, 'maxin') What are your favorite curse words in Arabic? What are some common ones?

What's the easiest way to make friends with a Saudi? What's the worst insult to give to a Saudi?

I hear Saudi families can get pretty big... Forgive my ignorance, but is polygamy really practiced over there? How big is your family? Are people having fewer kids nowadays like in other developing countries?

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLbY3BViYWI&index=2&list=PLcdAYxTbSnWxucN2WNhxVEkI09aA6CzSz This answers all of your questions in the first 2 lines.

2. You can wear whatever you want, however the Thobe (that traditional dress you talk about) is the formal wear of Saudi, and it's actually very nice.

3. I like using curse words mixed with compliments, I don't know how to describe it, but it brings pretty funny reactions with people, especially if they're angry. ex: I hope your mom never gets cancer and you go to heaven you son of a human. you can see the common curse words of arabic everywhere on the internet, they are pretty much the same across all arabic countries, however the most common right now is "Fe Tezak" which means "In your ass".

4. Talk about arabic music , If you want to insult him just say "ks omk" (pronounced : kiss oommak , with a short "a").

5. They can get really big, polygamy is practiced but it's very uncommon, rare I would say. I have a family of 6, 2 boys and 2 girls and father and wife. Yes they are having fewer kids.

What's ks Omk mean?

With my jeans question I was looking for how common it is. Which do people prefer and are there different setting where it's more common or less accepted?

BTW, I've heard that males holding hands is a very common thing in Arab culture. There's a famous picture of President Bush holding hands with your king.

Is this something you and other boys do as a sign of friendship?

1. Your mother's vagina, I know it makes no sense but it is offensive.

2. I can't really tell you what other people think, but most people wear a Thobe when on their jobs and other times, but when hanging out and having fun usually wear jeans and a shirt , stuff like that.

3. It's not holding hands per se, it's more like a long handshake, a handshake is the formal greeting of Islam and therefore the formal greeting of the Saudis, you put out your hand and shake the other guy's hand and say "Salam Alaykom".

Have you ever traveled to other countries? If so, what stands out to you as some th ING that makes Saudi Arabia unique?

I haven't gone to other countries, only Bahrain.

But Shawarma is something other countries need to take with them, and I heard a new Kabsa shop has opened in Canada, that's good.

You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a shawarma place in Toronto. It isn't a foreign thing here, it is a pretty normal and plentiful thing. We have a large population of middle eastern people here.

That's really nice, I like Shawarma.

But

Nothing tops fried chicken, It is too damn nice.

Do you feel safe in your country?

Yes.

Have you done much traveling? What do you think of the other gulf countries, particularly the UAE? Any places you want to visit in the future?

I plan to live in Sweden later.

I haven't been any other country than Bahrain.

I think UAE is like super developed arab country, what saudi should be like.

How's school there? How did you learn English? How's your English compared to an average Saudi kid your age?

My English is pretty nice compared to the average saudi English teacher I think.

I learned English from my father, video games , the internet (vocabulary) and I learned grammar from school.

School is pretty fun, although it's tiring having to wake up at 6 am until 1 pm

Thanks. So would it be easy for a foreigner to travel around the country knowing just English? Or is it just a certain part of society that can speak it? (Ps, your English is fantastic, good job)

Most arabic people speak very weak english, so it's not recommended to go there knowing just English.

Do you think you have as much depression there as we have in most western countries? I have always thought that growing up in Asia or there in Islamic countries is in many ways a healthier experience.

I don't know, I've never been depressed, I do get the occasional boo hoo parents don't let me do this or that, but it's really not depressing except if you delve too deep into religious problems.

Something else I thought of: What is the general opinion of the Western world in your community? Forgive me for being disrespectful, but I sometimes get the impression that Arabian culture looks down upon Western culture - this may be a warped viewpoint, I'm aware that I don't get to see the "average" Arabian person. Often, all I see is the richer culture.

Edit: Haway man, this is a 14 year old kid trying to answer some pretty fucking hard questions. There wasn't anything wrong with that answer, stop mashing the downvote button because you can't handle some of his responses.

I don't look down to western culture, I look up to it, I think of western people as nice guys who are accepting, some of them could be rude to me, but the media portrays me (the average arab) as a terrorist.

I don't really blame them if they're rude.

What are some of the general views of other nations in Saudi arabia? What do you guys think about Americans? Brits? Aussies?

I think of every other country in a good way, I feel like they're all nice and I would really love to meet some people from there!

i know im wrong but hey

What do you think of your government? obviously don't say anything that can get you stoned to death!

Stable, for lack of a better word in my mind.

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its not recent, and im not gonna comment on that other part

What kinds of friendships do you have with girls your age? I hear there's a big text and flirt culture in arab countries.

Does your family have regular meal times where everyone sits and eats together or is the family schedule too fractured to coordinate that?

My grandparents once went to haj in the 60s and ate camel. They said it tasted okay. Any opinion?

My Dad went to haj in the 90s. He said he ate KFC, not camel. Is Saudi food culture changing a lot? Do older people mention food you don't see regularly anymore?

What's the culture of reading like over there? I once read that the middle east is the lowest ranked region for books published/literacy (going country by country). Being a writer, I'm curious about it. Is the Kindle making a difference for instance?

1. I talk to girls online, tho not in a relationship kind of way, it's the same way I talk to a guy.

2. We do have times like that, most saudi families do, I think.

3. I never ate camel, Although I imagine it tastes weird .

4. Yes they do! but it's not changing a lot, props to your dad for cool food choice, KFC is tasty!

5. I really don't know, but only a small amount of people I know like to read books, and none of them use Kindle, everyone reads normal paper books

1) Favorite type of food

2) Rank in League

3) Have you ever traveled to the U.S.? Do you plan to?

4) What traits are considered desirable for women?

1) Fried Chicken, like the KFC Bucket kind of thing.

2) Ended season 4 in Gold 5 , but I didn't have a laptop for some time so I didn't really play much, I'm silver 3 now, hopefully gonna climb!

3) I haven't been to any country other than Bahrain, I do plan to visit the US tho, not gonna stay there just a quick visit, like a tourist I think.

I'm 32, been in Saudi all my life (Dhahran). Sup my man?

Yooooooo

He is from the religious police, thus his nickname. Be careful, you are being watched.

dun dun dunn

What is school like in Saudi Arabia? How are the teachers, facilities etc? Do you have a girlfriend? :P

no girlfriends here, teachers are somewhat nice and the public bathrooms are so ewwwww

school is a little fun tbh

Haha! In my school the girls bathrooms are terrible!

If you play league, I think you may enjoy smite :) it's really fun!

I tried it , it's pretty fun :D

although none of my friends play it so it's pretty lame having to play alone.

Yeah I know, solo queuing can be a real drag. Add me if you want: bewbnugget

What time is it in Saudi?

5:30 pm :D

we're on different servers! D: i'm in eune

How influential are wahhabists in saudi arabia and is there an alternative there?

They are not influential, I have not heard of any Wahhabis or terrorists within Saudi and I have not met any of them or am related to any of them.

Alternative to what ?

what would you have typically for say breakfast and dinner?

I don't eat breakfast, I eat burgers or instant noodles for dinner

It's pretty varied tho.

Have you listened to the youtube song "Saudis in Audis"? If not then you definitely should.

I have and I do whistle the tune every now and then.

Just kidding I don't know how to whistle I just hum it.

What are the social/economic class divisions like in KSA and where do you fall in the spectrum?

I think they are

Child 13>

Teen 13-18

Adult 18-55

Elder 55<

We took it in Nationality (?) class but I forgot.

Ahlan akhi kaif halak ana min al djazair :) What are the stereotypes about Saudis that are completely false?

hayak allah :) ,

they think everyone is an extremist with 2 meter long beards and 9 million dollars in their wallet.

My aunt from Saudi a visited a few years back bringing the most delicious dates, Saudi noodles, and honey candies. Why in the hell can we not get those here?

You can, send your aunt back.

Do you ever visit Dubai? Is it as cool as it looks online ? (Extravagant hotels, Burj Kalhifa, etc)

I haven't been there :C

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I don't really know, I don't think about it.