I love Anthony Bourdain's show, No Reservations. It's quirky, amusing, and sometimes even thought-provoking. Anthony has an interesting and tricky way with language, along with a love for food and a taste for adventure.

His gift for language led me to his blog, where he has additional and sometimes bawdy commentary on his experiences (caution - language). Tonight his latest episode took him to Saudi Arabia, apparently as much a surprise to him as to his fans.

In his entry about tonight's episode, he also referenced his crew's blog, where producer Amy Teuteberg muses on the experience of three women producing a show in a strict Muslim country. For a western woman, I would expect that it would be a frustrating and even angering experience. I was quite surprised to read this:

Although everyone wears an abbaya in public, it comes off at home. When you are hanging out with friends or family, no abbaya necessary. Underneath, many women dress just like they do in New York: skirts, heels, low cut tops, you name it. One particularly scorching day, after Danya, Nari and I had spent hours scouting locations in the desert sun, we had a meeting in my hotel room. The second the door shut behind us, we tossed our sweat-drenched abbayas and head-scarves to the floor. Danya was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. For the first time, I could see her hair, her arms, her legs. I noticed immediately how different this felt. In some ways, it was like I was seeing her for the first time. Like a layer that was new and more intimate had been revealed. I realized in that moment that that was likely the point of the abbaya, or at least part of it. It’s saving that kind of intimacy for those that are close to you, your friends and family, who have earned the privilege. For the first time, I saw that the abbaya may have a role in protecting women, and not as something simply designed to control them.

What a revelatory view of modesty! It even took me by surprise - me, a moderately modest, conservative Christian. Suddenly, my one-size-fits-all view of modesty seems myopic. Is the clothing that is appropriate for my husband and children really appropriate for strangers in the grocery store? This is going to provide impetus to some serious thought and prayer over the next few weeks.

Watching this episode while still mulling over these thoughts, Anthony's guide to the country, Danya, comments on how her American friends once asked her how she feels about being singled out and separated from the mainstream in her culture. She and Anthony and sitting in a family section of a fast food restaurant, where husbands, sons, and fathers can join their families. Single men have a separate section.

Danya waves her hand towards the singles section and proclaims that she's always felt that it was the men who were being separated and singled out in this scenario, and it is probably in their best interests, since single men tend to act badly. I think poor Anthony was quite startled by this, but I instantly understood it; probably not in the way Danya does. It all comes down to the most basic understanding of this fallen world - our sinful natures.

Anthony and Danya, it was right in front of you, and I think you missed it.