Art teachers veer toward the adventurous, but the world travels of James Anderson, Ph.D, go beyond the typical.
"Dr. J", as he is known to Dolores students, taught English in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2007 to 2013. He was a teacher at a private K-12 school, and also at the private Al-Yamamah University where he became the dean of continuing education.
"It was a dizzying experience," he said during a recent presentation at the Cortez Cultural Center. "I taught princes and was on Saudi TV."
Anderson has an art education degree, and a Ph.D in language literacy and socio-cultural studies from the University of New Mexico.
Saudi Arabia is a conservative Muslim country and ally of the U.S. It is a complex society that is a world away from the American experience, Anderson said.
"Over there, it's an established class hierarchy," he said. "Non-Saudis are very poor. The Pakistanis, Afghans, and Malaysians do the hard labor. Young Saudi men don't grow up doing chores like American boys."
Women and men are separated at an early age, and have predetermined futures, although that is beginning to change.
"They walk on separate sides of the street, and go to different schools," Anderson said. "In class, the students apologized for (Osama) bin Laden," the banished Saudi who helped orchestrate the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.
Saudis identify themselves by tribe, and are a very reserved, stoic people, he said. Much of the society is governed by Sharia law, a religious code based on the Quran.
"It's a male-dominated, closed society," Anderson said. "The people are not allowed to protest."
Anderson believes the country's reliance on the oil economy breeds uncertainty.
"They rely a lot on imports," Anderson said. "I predict as the oil supply runs out, people will vacate the cities, and the new high rises will empty."
Saudis are concerned about the recent military surge by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The "Levant" wording is especially troubling because it can imply that the militants want to take over the Middle East.
Saudis avoid weighing in on foreign policy, Anderson said, adding that they didn't have much of a reaction to the Arab Spring uprising in 2010-11.
But they're not afraid to use their substantial air force to defend their southern border against terrorists from Yemen, which they recently did.
Anderson lived in Riyadh's diplomatic quarter, and would drive through a "slalom course of bunkers armed with AK-47s" to get home.
He pointed out aspects of the culture that might surprise people.
On Al-Jazeera, programing consistently presents political views from the left, center, and right. The television channels provide more world perspective than those in America, he said, and the country is one of the top for bloggers.
Saudis seem to like Boston, he said, and often visit or go to school there. The country generally bans alcohol and doesn't like dogs, but allows cats to run freely.
Anderson especially enjoyed visiting Jeddah, on the Red Sea.
"The city is very international because people from all over come to Mecca, then have no money to go home so they settle there," he said.
Anderson loves to travel, and favors the Third World. He said he has visited 65 different countries and writes short stories under the title "Where Tour Buses Won't Go."
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com
