In 1996 I was living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia when the Angels gave me reason to giggle and laugh, all because of a cup of coffee.

Doug had been away in Chile for 4 months, my friend Christine was in Lebanon visiting family and I was recovering from a chest infection. The infection was quite severe and was treated with a high dose of anti-biotics which caused female problems. You may know this, but in Saudi Arabia women are not allowed to drive, have to be covered in black from head to toe (and it is really hot there) and it is a completely different way of life. To see a gyneacologist, you can't just pick up the phone and make an appointment. You take a taxi to the hospital, pay in advance for the examination and they then allocate the next available doctor to you. From there you go to a waiting room, for woman only of course, and you wait. At this point I was miserable, very depressed and feeling so sorry for myself. All the woman in the waiting room were wearing veils over their faces and there was no chance of a chat. (You have no idea how disconcerting and distracting it is to have a conversation with someone, and you can't see their eyes or their face.)

After the examination, as I was leaving the hospital, I looked up and said I would love a cup of coffee. As they say, be careful what you wish for! Logically I knew that if I turned right and walked to the end of the road, I would find a place to have a drink. I forgot to mention that woman are not allowed to sit in the main restaurant/cafe, there is a seperate room/area allocated to woman, normally bare of decorations, windows and other facilities. The one down the road was particularly depressing. I felt "nudged" to go left and as I was walking down the road, I saw a sign on a building to the left that said "acupuncture". Well, this piqued my interest as, yes you guessed it, alternate healing is not allowed in Saudi Arabia. I went up to the 2nd floor and asked the receptionist if I could have more information on their treatments. She disappeared through a door and when she returned she said that the Doctor was waiting to see me. I protested, but she insisted I accompany her. When I entered his office he said he had been waiting for me and would I like a cup of coffee.

The doctor was an Egyptian Oncologist who had studied in the States and was now helping the overweight Arabic ladies. We spent an hour chatting about all kinds of interesting things and I went on my way with a very light heart. Giggled all the way back to the compound and it was a long time before I was that gloomy again. All I had to do was think about my request for a cup of coffee.