Danya Alhamrani and Dania Nassief are the founders of Eggdancer Productions, the first production company in Saudi Arabia owned and managed by women. They established the company in 2006 to tell stories about Saudi life and culture that are rarely seen. As women, they had to petition the government for the right to own and manage their own production company, as regulations normally require the general manager to be male. After two years, they were granted a license, making them trailblazers as the first women to own and run their own production company in Saudi Arabia.

1. back cover
This magasine was printed on recycled paper.
“Quote” ... MORE SMALL TALK
MALCOLM
PRYCE
INTERVIEW WITH
No. 01
OCT. 2009
INSPIRATION
for the C U R I O U S M I N D
‘A glimpse into her world’

2. October 2009
FEATURED THEME
FORWARD
THE ART & SCIENCE of STORYTELLING
HOME TRUTHS
SMALL-TALK
LAUNDRY WISDOM
FROM THE PLANNERS CORNER
A GLIMPSE INTO HER WORLD
REMARKABLE ‘QUOTES’
CURIOUS TID-BITS
02
05
07
09
13
17
THE TOOLBOX
THE STORY FACTOR
DANYA & DANIA, the Trailblazing Storytellers
Interview with MALCOLM PRYCE
37
39
INSIDETHIS ISSUE OF SCOOP
No. 01

3. Welcome to the first issue of SCOOP, your portal into the lives of women in our region.
From Russia to Nigeria, from Turkey to Saudi, SCOOP will bring you, every four
months, a collection of Xploring Stories, anecdotes, insights and all kinds of tidbits
to keep you in touch with the everyday lives of women. Think of it as an ongoing
source of stories and inspiration.
Every issue will have a featured theme. A topic we may find inspiring, relevant to
the moment or simply eye-opening. This issue is dedicated to the Art and Science of
Storytelling - a powerful tool that has continued to entertain people, influence their
behaviors and make a difference in their lives since prehistoric times. We picked up
tips from English Novelist, Malcolm Pryce, inspiration from Saudi film-producer,
Danya Alhamrani, and a Toolbox to brush up our storytelling basics.
Other goodies that you will find in this and forthcoming issues of SCOOP include
snippets from women’s lives in ‘Home Truths’ and ‘Small Talk’, as well as tips,
observations and curiosities that we’ve picked up along the way in ‘Laundry Wisdom’.
Enjoy and see you in January! Coco, Hadi & Dominika.
PLANNERS’
CORNER
FROM THE
IF YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT ‘SCOOP’, GET READY TO BE INSPIRED.
Regional Strategy Director, Ariel CEEMEA
COCO VIDELA
Senior Strategic Planner, Ariel CEEMEA
HADI ZABAD
Senior Strategic Planner, Ariel CEEMEA
DOMINIKA BLACHNICKA
FROM THE PLANNERS’ CORNERFORWARD 02

4. MOROCCO
EGYPT
TURKEY
HUNGARY
SAUDI
RUSSIA
POLAND
COLLECTING STORIES FROM DIFFERENT CORNERS OF OUR REGION
03 OCTOBER 2009SAATCHI & SAATCHI 04

5. The most powerful, most underutilized
tool for competitive advantage.
The road to Lovemarks is paved with stories. Stories that
educate and entertain us. Stories that shake our beliefs
and move us to action. Stories that become embedded
in our unconscious without us even realizing it. Our favorite
brands have mastered the art, and the most successful
ones have embraced it consistently.
Ariel is also full of stories. Some we have started to tell, some
remain to be told. But the million-dollar question is, which
stories are truly engaging and exciting to our audience?
Which have what it takes to be heard, remembered and
acted on?
That’s where the Story Factor comes in: knowing the right
story to tell and telling it right.
We can’t make people listen. We can only entice, inspire,
cajole, stimulate and fascinate. Stories do that. Some better
than others.
Stories that
ELIMINATE COMPETITION
Iconic brands embody the myths that created them Ironically,
these stories are more often than not ordinary tales turned
into extraordinary legends. They are made so by the brand
itself and this will always give them a significant advantage
over those with weak or forgettable stories. In fact, some
brand stories are so ingrained in our culture that they are
easily recognized with just a few details.
See if you can name this brand:
Brand X got its start when the founder made innovative changes
to the soles of his athlete’s shoes to help them run faster. The
brand was named for an ancient god and over the next two
decades was adopted by many internationally known athletes.
In it’s more detailed version, it’s a story of seeking a competitive
advantage, working hard, and achieving a goal. So what brand
is it?
Would you believe Reebok? In the 1890s, Joseph William Foster
added spikes to the soles of his shoes to help athletes run faster.
Stories that
UNLOCK SECRET MOTIVATIONS
Dostoyevsky could not have been more right when he wrote
this brilliant truth in Notes from the Underground, “Every man
has reminiscences which he would not tell to everyone but
only his friends. He has other matters in his mind, which he
would not reveal even to his friends, but only to himself, and
that in secret. But there are other things which a man is afraid
to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number
of such things stored away in his mind.”
Most of the reasons why we believe and act the way we do
are unconscious, yet we tend to base our messages exclusively
on what people explicitly say. The reality is that many times we
can’t articulate what we want because it is uncomfortable,
intangible, or simply because we have no idea. If we want to
connect with people in bigger and less obvious ways we need
to pay attention to the unconscious, then figure out how to
make the implicit explicit. By understanding the unconscious
associations people make we can determine the ‘right’ story
for the ‘right’ audiences.
The renowned research consultant Howard Moskowvitz,
famously reinvented spaghetti sauce under this principle.
PREGO hired Moskovitz to help them come up with the perfect
tomato sauce. Convinced there was no “one” perfect sauce,
Howard created 45 different varieties for the tasting test. Then
something interesting happened. The results showed that most
people fall into one of three groups: there are people that like
their spaghetti sauce plain, there are people that like it spicy,
and there are people that like it extra chunky. This last fact
was the most significant, because at the time, if you went
to a supermarket, you couldn’t find extra chunky spaghetti
sauce. Of course, PREGO went on to create the first line
of extra chunky spaghetti sauce for one third of Americans
who were craving it, and it changed the spaghetti sauce
category forever.
Howard fundamentally changed the way the food industry
thinks about making people happy. For years PREGO
conducted focus groups and asked people, “Tell us what
you want in a spaghetti sauce.” In all those years no one
ever said they wanted extra chunky. As Howard puts it,
“the mind knows not what the tongue wants.”
Stories that
OVERCOME THE POWER STRUGGLE
People don’t usually like to be told what to do, but when those
“wishes” are sugar coated in story, they are much more likely
to listen. Story has a magical way to turn demands into requests
and avoid the power struggle. Here’s a nice little anecdote
by Shawn Callahan to illustrate this point.
Last week I returned from my morning walk to find my 11–year
-old daughter filling the blender with ice cream to make a
banana smoothie. My first reaction was to say, “What are you
doing eating ice cream for breakfast? That’s a bad habit to
get into. It’s unhealthy. You should stop having ice cream for
breakfast.” The response was a dismissive grunt in my general
direction. Hmmm, that didn’t go well.
After we sat down to eat breakfast I started to tell my daughter
a story. “When I was in high school my parents really had no idea
about healthy eating and we used to drink soft drinks all the time,
ate lots of bread and hardly touched fruit.” Then the phone rang
and I answered. When I returned to the table my daughter said,
“go on, you were talking about when you were in high school.”
I continued the story, which conveyed the message that the
habits you form now will be with you for the rest of your life.
I made no mention of the smoothie.
A week has gone by and ice cream hasn’t featured on our
breakfast table.
Stories that
GIVE MEANING TO FACTS
A subtle yet powerful shift occurs when we seek to influence
people to make wise decisions rather than the “right” decision
based on a fact. Contrary to popular belief, bad decisions
are rarely made because people don’t have all the facts.
Bad decisions are made because people ignore the facts,
do not understand the facts, or do not give the facts enough
importance. Why? Because basic human emotions like anxiety,
greed, exasperation, intolerance, apathy or fear have hijacked
our brains and directed us to the easy way out. At this point,
more facts will not help to regain perspective. A story will. A
story will help them figure out what all these facts mean.
Take Smirnoff, for instance. For people who know little about
the distilling process in Vodka, a claim like “triple distilled”
means nothing, really. All it says is that it’s more expensive
because someone spent a lot more time doing something to it.
Nothing about the taste or the quality. But when they tell us the
story of a couple that gets progressively better the second and
third time it’s told, then we get it. Smirnoff has “edited out” all
the bad parts of the vodka, so what we’re getting is kind of like
a happy ending.
His company was originally called Mercury Sports. And the brand
has been worn enthusiastically by many of the world’s best known
athletes – most famously the runners of the 1924 Olympic Games
featured in the movie, Chariots of Fire. But if you’re like most
people, you didn’t guess Reebok.
You guessed Nike. With good reason. In the 1960s, Bill Bowerman
and Phil Knight added a special waffle pattern to his shoes to
help athletes run faster. Their company was named Nike (after
the Greek Goddess of Victory) and the brand has been worn
by many of the world’s best-known athletes.
Both companies share oddly similar beginnings. But only one
is known for this story. Why? Nike has embraced the story of
innovation and achievement, while Reebok has almost run away
from it (despite their 70- year head start). While both companies
began with passion for athletic achievement, today only Nike
can tell that story.
Stories that
MAKE THE UNFAMILIAR, FAMILIAR
We tell stories about other people and for other people.
Stories help us make sense of our world. And the characters that
populate these stories become so familiar to us we feel like we
‘know’ them. Never mind that we’ve never met anyone like them
or that they live in far off lands that exist only in our imagination.
We identify with these characters in ways that transcend reason,
in ways beyond words. Stories and characters resonate with us
for lots of reasons, some of which we don’t seem to understand
and certainly can’t articulate.
An example of this is an interesting phenomenon that happens
among Italian men in their 40s- they have a strange fascination
with the city of Maracaibo, a place they like to call “the city
of pirates.” When they talk about it you would think they were
describing their favorite childhood place. In fact, most have
never been. It turns out that Maracaibo was one of the cities
in Emilio Salgari’s famous pirate stories, particularly popular in
the early 70s. These stories took countless Italian kids to the far
corners of the earth with their exciting, action-filled dramas. To
this day, Maracaibo holds a special place in their imagination.
The point is, stories had the power to make the remote city of
Maracaibo “relevant” to Italian men, not because it’s a place
they know or are familiar with, but because it’s a place that
represents their childhood fantasies.
THE STORY FACTORTHE ART & SCIENCE of STORYTELLING 1.1105 OCT, 2009SAATCHI & SAATCHI 06
THE ART &SCIENCE
of S T O R Y T E L L I N G
THE S T O R Y F A C T O R

6. No. 01 / No. 02 / No. 03
According to the British journalist and author Christopher Booker, there are only seven ‘storylines’ in the world. Although there
are a multitude of tales and endless variety in the telling, he believes all narratives are really variations of the basic seven plots.
TEST YOUR STORY IQ BY MATCHING THE PLOT TO THE STORY.
TOOL BOX
No.1 THE SEVEN BASIC PLOTS
1. Overcoming the Monster: The hero must overcome
a dark evil creature, person or entity that has exerted
destructive forces over a place, person or people.
2. Rags to Riches: The central character is seemingly
plucked from nothing to greatness where he is very
often rich and of immense status. The hero often gets
quick success, which is swiftly taken away and only
regained after defeating a foe of some kind.
3. The Quest: This story revolves around a central
protagonist striving to meet an all important and
often far off goal. The hero cannot rest until this task
has been completed. Along this journey the hero
will be met with obstacles and forces trying to stop
him from achieving his goal.
4. Voyage and Return: This story is based around a
journey. The hero is transported to another world
and back again. On this journey the protagonist
learns things that give him a deeper understanding
of himself and the world around him.
5. Comedy: Following a general chaos of
misunderstanding, the characters tie themselves and
each other into a knot that seems almost unbearable;
however, to universal relief, everyone and everything
gets sorted out, bringing about the happy ending.
6. Tragedy: A character through some flaw or lack of
self-understanding is increasingly drawn into a fatal
course of action, which leads inexorably to disaster.
7. Rebirth: In this story the protagonist’s imprisonment
is derived from something from within his own psyche.
The heroes liberation can only be achieved through
the actions of other good forces like the redemptive
power of love.
A. BONNIE AND CLYDE; B. LORD OF THE RINGS; C. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY; D. JACK AND THE BEANSTALK; E. ALADDIN; F. A CHRISTMAS CAROL; G. THE WIZARD OF OZ
(Correct answers: 1d, 2e, 3b, 4g, 5c, 6a, 7f)
Stories can enhance memory retention by 2 to 7 fold, according to research studies done back in the 70s. Because
remembering a story is easier than remembering sentences, and remembering sentences is easier than remembering
word lists, story-based learning is thought to be essential for people who have small auditory verbal working memories.
No.2 DID YOU KNOW
No.3 THE BOTTOMLINE
Aristotle may not have been a man of few words, but when it came to storytelling, he had it down in four:
EXORDIUM. NARRATIO. CONFIRMATIO. PERORATIO.
Lead them in, tell your story, let them out, leave them thinking.
THE TOOLBOX OCT, 2009SAATCHI & SAATCHITHE ART & SCIENCE of STORYTELLING 3.1107 08

7. D A N YA
& D A N I A
Meeting Danya Alhamrani forever changed my notions of Saudi women.
I first saw her on the food and travel TV show “No Reservations.” She filled
the screen with charisma and laughter as she introduced host Anthony
Bourdain to the culinary delights of the Kingdom. I was so taken by her
enthusiasm, I vowed to meet her if ever I went to Jeddah.
A couple of months and many google searches later I found myself in
the family section of an authentic Saudi restaurant chatting and feasting
away with Danya herself and her equally fascinating business partner,
Dania Nassief.
Together they created Eggdancer Productions, the first production
company in Saudi owned and managed by women.
TRAILBLAZING
STORYTELLERS.
BY COCO VIDELA
THE
This is their story.
10SPECIAL REPORTTHE ART & SCIENCE of STORYTELLING 5.11

8. In the summer of 2006, I partnered with my friend Dania
Nassief to establish our own production company in
Jeddah. We wanted to tell the world the stories hardly
ever told of Saudi life and culture. The paper chase was
long and drawn out. Currently, Saudi Arabian regulations
require the general manager of a production company
to be male. As women, we not only wanted to own the
production company ourselves, but we also wanted to
manage it. It took us some time to petition the government
for this right. But finally, two years later, Dania and I are
licensed and practicing.
Our goal at Eggdancer Productions is to produce inquiring
and moving programs that examine social, cultural and
religious issues. We believe in using the media to affect s
ocial change and are committed to fostering dialogue
and greater understanding amongst the people of this
region, and to bring their stories, concerns, values and
ideas to the rest of the world.
When I first met him in New York City as he was vetting the
contestants, Tony asked me repeatedly whether I thought
he would have fun in Saudi, reflecting a common bias in
Western media that Saudi Arabia does not value leisure
and recreation, and that local inhabitants are somber,
serious, or even evil.
When he arrived in Jeddah, we dined together at a local
fast food restaurant, went fishing for fresh fish in the desert,
and played air hockey at the local Red Sea Mall. His
answer to my frequent question:
“S O , A R E Y O U H A V I N G F U N ? ”
was a resounding “yes.” Although Tony never spoke to me
about his expectations of Saudi Arabia, in the narration of
his Jeddah episode he commented how he was surprised
to find that Saudis were people with a sense of humor and
who could laugh at themselves: “There’s a cheerful,
whimsical, good-humored and sophisticated atmosphere
Most people probably wouldn’t put Saudi Arabia on their
list of vacation destinations. Unless you’re coming for work
or pilgrimage, there is no easy way to get into Saudi as a
tourist. In general, people don’t get to see Saudi Arabia
unless it’s in the news where it is usually painted in a less
than flattering light.
Eggdancer Productions, serving as the field coordinator
for a program on the Travel Channel, recently had the
opportunity to show the world a little bit about Saudi
Arabia – that Saudi women can be strong in charge, that
we have malls similar to those in America, and that we like
to enjoy our time with family and friends, like everyone else.
I had won the first-ever “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
FAN-atic Special” casting call competition for a television
show on the Travel Channel. The contest required individuals
to send in videotapes explaining why the show’s host,
chef and author, Anthony Bourdain, should visit the
contestants’ hometowns.
very much at odds with the kinds of humorless fanaticism
I was led to expect”. I think Tony’s revelation helped a lot
of people see a different side of Saudis than that depicted
on television or in movies.
In other attempts to transform perceptions, we have filmed
people performing the Hajj for the documentary, “The
Straight Path: Pillars of Islam,” a teacher’s aid for high school
and university students in the West. Using interviews and
observational footage filmed in colorful locations in Mecca,
the documentary introduces a non-Muslim audience to
the basic tenants of a Muslim’s faith.
Most stories in or about Saudi Arabia are done from the
perspective of non-Arabs or non-Muslims, and are sensation-
alized versions of the same story being told over and over.
We want to tell different stories, from the perspective of the
people on this side of the world, tailored for a western
audience so that we might do our part to help build bridges
of understanding between these different parts of the world.
SPECIAL REPORT OCT, 2009SAATCHI & SAATCHITHE ART & SCIENCE of STORYTELLING 6.1111 12

9. Malcolm Pryce is a natural-born storyteller mostly known for
his series of noir novels about Louie Knight, Aberystwyth’s only
private eye. Born in the UK, he studied beer drinking at Warwick
and Freiburg universities before setting sail to distant lands.
Conversation with Coco Videla.
MALCOLM
PRYCE
OXFORD. SEPTEMBER, 2009
INTERVIEW WITH
NATURAL-BORN STORYTELLER.
THE ART & SCIENCE of STORYTELLING 9.11INTERVIEW 14

10. After a varietyof jobs including BMW
assembly-line worker, hotel washer-up, the world’s worst aluminum
salesman, and deck hand on a yacht in Polynesia, Malcolm became
an advertising copywriter in London and Singapore. He now lives
in Oxford where he continues to chronicle the saucy tales of
Aberystwyth’s criminals. Malcolm’s next project will find him
teaching at his Skool of Midwifery for Writers,
“the only school of midwifery
in the country that specializes
in the birth pangs of writers.”
To jump-start his midwife career, we asked him to hook us
up with some storytelling tricks. Here he gives us a scoop.
GIVE IN TO
DELICIOUS AGONY
Lots of things are at the heart of a good story, one of them being
what you might call the ‘delicious agony’ of suspense. The chief
aim of the story-teller is to keep the reader hooked and one way
to do this is arouse her curiosity - ask questions but delay giving the
answers. It’s called teasing. For more in-depth analysis I suggest you
ask your grandmother about how ‘good’ girls in her day were taught
to get a man to the Church door without going via the bedroom.
WHEN IT COMES TO
DETAILS, IT’S
A BALANCING ACT. ..
Be careful not to trip
I suspect we don’t need half so much detail as some people imagine.
Detail is essential for supplying corroborating proofs of the fictional
lie, but often a few brush strokes can evoke a world. I remember
reading an account by George Orwell of a public execution in
Burma in which the condemned man walks to the gallows and
steps out of the way to avoid stepping in a puddle. An entire
volume of commentary is contained in that one detail.
TORMENT THE
ONES YOU LOVE
In addition to curiosity there is the curious power of empathy.
First the author makes you like a character and then he gives that
character a hard time. Torments him, puts him in jeopardy. If that
happens you are hooked: you can’t stop yourself worrying about
the fate of someone you care about. Writers know this and torment
you accordingly.
ENJOY THE COMPANY
OF YOUR CHARACTERS
Reader seem to enjoy spending time in the company of characters
in the same way we do with people we like in real life. The only
difference, I suppose, is in literature we can also enjoy the company
of loathsome people.
SOME THINGS ARE
ONLY HUMAN
I once read about a 19th century explorer who took the first camera
up-river in Borneo and arranged a photo shoot with one of the tribes.
The chiefs all turned up on time but they had to wait an hour while
the ladies got ready. He observed that this was a universal female
characteristic the world over. Fortunately he was allowed to make
such sexist remarks in those days, I wouldn’t dare. Love of gossip
also seems to be universal, particularly around a source of fluid like a
village well or a tea pot. This is why TV soaps are so popular and, no
doubt, literature too. This is a huge subject but I think you can distill
almost everything you need to know about human psychology into a
remark I heard a footballer say once in an interview. I can’t remember
who it was, maybe Johann Cruyff or Franz Beckenbauer. He said,
‘When you are on the substitute’s
bench you want your team
to lose.’ I think that is
quite brilliant.
15 16
IN ADDITION TO
CURIOSITY THERE IS
THE CURIOUS POWER
OF EMPATHY.
OCT, 2009SAATCHI & SAATCHIINTERVIEWTHE ART & SCIENCE of STORYTELLING 6.11

11. A glimpse into her life
(done)
GLIMPSEI N T O H E R W O R L D
The following pages are filled with short, little glimpses of
moments, thoughts and experiences from the women we have met.

12. I love dolls. I have them all over my home. In the foyer, the living room, some even in the
kitchen. Between my husband and two sons, there’s an overload of testosterone in the
house, so I need to create a balance with my feminine touch. My dolls are there to
remind them that I’m not one of the guys. I’m a woman and I want to be treated as one.
Letting yourself go is the first big mistake women make when they get married. I asked my
husband if he would still love me if I got fat and ragged, and he politely said, “of course.”
I almost slapped him. “Why would you do that?” I said. “If you really cared about me
you wouldn’t let me get fat and ragged.” I can’t hardly expect him to fancy me if I
look nothing like the girl he fell in love with. I know I wouldn’t.
RUSSIA
LIVING IN A DOLL’S HOUSE

13. I used to work in wine tasting events before I got married. I found them quite
fascinating. It wasn’t so much the wines that intrigued me as their ability to attract loyal
enthusiasts despite their faults. I guess wines are not so different from people that way.
As a single girl I got teased by my colleagues who thought I should go for Pinot
Noir fans. It’s often described as being a difficult grape to deal with, but those who
appreciate their qualities are passionate and devoted to this kind. They weren’t so wrong.
I may be difficult, but I think I’m worth it.
Like a Pinot Noir, I’m unique, but require attention. I’m full-bodied but at times too
spicy. Exquisitely complex but terribly moody. Perfectly strong but utterly delicate.
Luckily, I found a man who was attracted by my “pinot noirness.” When he complains
about my high maintenance, I like to remind him that he got the whole package.
RUSSIA
PINOT NOIR TO THE LAST DROP

14. In two weeks I’m going to meet my boyfriend’s parents. I’m a little nervous because
I really like my boyfriend and I want his parents to like me too. His father is also
in the military like mine, so I can imagine he has high expectations!
For the occasion I’m planning on wearing a black dress. It’s the one I wear for graduations.
It’s simple, classic and makes me look thin! I will keep the jewelry simple as well.
The make up natural. As for shoes, I’m wearing my converse.
They always make me feel right. I feel like myself.
TURKEY
ALL DRESSED UP IN CONVERSE

15. I am what I am. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to be my friend. That’s what I recently
told an ex-coworker who criticized me for having too much fun during a work party.
I don’t know why women feel like they can’t enjoy a little dance, a little music,
a little fun, only because there are men in the room. It’s normal to want to protect
your reputation, but shutting yourself down is not the answer.
Men with integrity and confidence do not feel threatened or speak badly of women
just because they are getting a little fun out of life. So why settle for boredom?
ZELILAH
TURKEY
A LITTLE F UN OU T OF LIFE

16. I talk. That’s what I do. Unless I’m talking and expressing myself with my body, I don’t feel
like I exist. My friends come by all the time because they know they are never going to be
bored with me. I’m happy when I can talk about my opinions, about my TV shows, about
my grand-son. We can talk about little things like what we made for dinner yesterday, or
big things, like what I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s all valid. Talking is healthy,
therapeutic and something no one can take away from me!
SONGUL
TURKEY
THE GIRL WITH THE SILVER TONGUE

17. ANDREAI got these tattoos when I was younger and still with the father of my child.
The marijuana leaf on my wrist was my way of rebelling against my parents I guess.
I am getting it removed by laser and it is already now just half gone as you can see.
The other tattoo is this wedding ring on my finger. I will remove that next. These tattoos
are part of a person who does not exist anymore. My past is over and so are the mistakes.
When I think of my future I want to start from a clean slate. And I have my
daughter Natalya to fill it with meaning.
HUNGARY
SOME THINGS ARE FOREVER, TATTOOS DON’T HAVE TO BE

18. YASMIN
I once got a really nice and quite expensive fur coat as a present. It was very shiny and
thick. I wore it a few times but it actually made me too warm and I got bored with it quite
soon. I made something else out of it so it wouldn’t just sit in my closet gathering dust.
Now, whenever anyone over they almost always compliment me on the rug I have
lying in the hallway. That always makes me laugh. If only they knew.
HUNGARY
BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO A F UR COAT

19. NEGU
I loved being a teacher, but after my second child my husband’s family was pressuring
me to spend more time at home with the children so I gave up teaching altogether. I really
struggled with this. I hated the thought of being completely dependent on my husband
and being stuck at home day in and day out. I was very unhappy.
One day, while visiting my mother in her home town, I bought a couple of beautiful
dresses as an investment. I sold them among my friends very quickly. Seeing that there was
an interest in these kinds of dresses I went back for more. Now I sell them on a regular basis.
My husband is happy because I bring home a little extra money and I’m happy
because I have something of my own. My dream is to open the first shop in Tanta with only
baby clothes! Over time I learned that as long as we manage our family’s expectations and
fulfill our duties we can do whatever we dream of. It just take persistence and creativity.
EGYPT
SOMETHING OF MY OWN

20. KASI
Every morning I feel like I’m opening a little sandwich shop in our kitchen.
With 3 boys and a growing daughter we go through as many as 20 rolls every morning.
Each has their favorite. My oldest son loves it when I put extra butter. My daughter hates
it when I mix ham with cheese. My husband likes it spicy. And the youngest cannot go
without his nutella sandwich. You can imagine how long it takes!
But I really love this moment. It feels like I’m sending a personal message to each of them.
No roll is the same. It’s not a factory. It’s a bit special every time. I imagine that when they
take out their sandwich they feel that I’m with them somehow. My heart grows. Once my
daughter came home excited because she had shared her sandwich with a girl she had
always admired. She said she felt happy to offer her a good bite.
I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but I loved this moment.
POLAND
MESSAGE IN A SANDWICH

21. mighty mouth quotes
I FEEL MY CHILDREN HAVE
INHERITED MY FORTUNATE GENES.
SMALL TALK
AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT’S NOT
A CRIME TO LEAVE DIRTY DISHES IN
THE SINK EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
I MAY NOT BE A GREAT
BEAUTY, BUT I AM A
GREAT MAGICIAN.
I’m in a fight with time but I still enjoy
my cup of tea every morning.
THE LAW MAY PREVENT US FROM
TAKING THE DRIVER’S SEAT, BUT
NOT FROM TAKING CHARGE.
SONGUL _ TURKEY
LISA _ RUSSIA
DANYA _ SAUDI ARABIA KRISTINA _ HUNGARY
VIVIEN _ HUNGARY
OLGA _ RUSSIA
ANDREA _ HUNGARY
If I was logical all the
time, I would never bring
anything home.
Last year I had cancer. I lost my hair,
lost my composure but I never lost hope.
REMARKABLE QUOTES OCT, 2009SAATCHI & SAATCHISMALL TALK37 38

22. LAUNDRY DAY SMELLS GOOD
In Hungary, where most apartments don’t
have balconies, clothes are hung dry indoors.
They are placed on racks that are pulled up
on a pulley system towards the ceiling, filling
the whole room with the lovely scent of
fresh laundry.
CATCH 22
Ironically, one of the biggest sources of
rust stains in Egypt is the wooden clothes
peg with the metal spring that they use
to hang their clothes dry. The metal spring
starts rusting due to the wet clothes and then
inevitably starts to seep over time - especially
evident on white clothes of course.
LAUNDRY WISDOM – Curious Tidbits.
SCISSORS DIPPED IN VINEGAR
If a Hungarian woman suddenly blurts out something like this, don’t panic.
She’s not out to get you, she’s out to get a toughie stain. This cheeky idiom
refers to those unfortunate stains that are practically impossible to remove.
Note of caution, if she’s holding a pair of scissors, run.
ZIPLOC IT
To keep your embroidered valuables intact
(and preserve their pristine whiteness),
a woman in Morocco taught us this very
clever and easy trick...just put it in the
bag and ziiiiiip it close.
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
In Egypt and Morocco women inadvertently give their clothes endearing
human qualities. For example, they refer to bright colors as “colors that
breathe” or muggy clothes as “clothes that need some sun.”
ISN’T IT IRONIC?
“When I'm looking my best, with my
lipstick and makeup on, that’s when I keep
a distance from my husband so I don't get
any stains on his shirt.”
CURIOUS TIDBITSLAUNDRY WISDOM39 OCT, 2009SAATCHI & SAATCHI 40