Photo Credit:  Nada Hakeem Photography

No, there's not a version of the "Top Model" television show here in Saudi Arabia, but if there were, I wouldn't be surprised if this young lady won. I had the pleasure of meetingDaryna Tkachenkoin January at the“Evening at Il Villaggio” event I wrote about on this blog.She is a strikingly beautiful young woman who really stands out in a crowd here in Saudi Arabia.

Daryna is a 22-year-old model/banquet coordinator who was transplanted from the Ukraine to Saudi Arabia when she was four years old. Her father, Vladmir Tkachenko, was an Olympic swimmer who was lured to Saudi Arabia by a lucrative job offer in 1993. Daryna’s mother was also a swimmer as well as a model, and both her parents have been working in KSA as personal fitness trainers for the past ten years. Daryna, who has a sister who also lives in Saudi Arabia, says she comes from a traditional Russian Christian family with lots of cats. She is single but hopes to marry one day soon and start her own family. This talented young lady is fluent in English, Russian, Ukranian, Arabic, and French.

Daryna was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions for me.

Salmon Turban by Sotra.

How and when did you get your start in modeling?
WHEN I WAS FOUR YEARS OLD, MY PARENTS’ FRIENDS NEEDED SOMEONE TO ADVERTISE FOR SAUDIA AIRLINES. I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY NON-ARAB KIDS TO PASS THE CASTING! EVER SINCE, FRIENDS OF FRIENDS HAVE INVITED ME TO HELP PROMOTE THEIR BRANDS AND I AM ALWAYS THERE TO HELP OUT!

Did you take any modeling, makeup, or fashion courses or have special training to be a model?
NO SPECIAL TRAINING – NOTHING BUT LEARNED BEHAVIOR. MOM WAS A PROFESSIONAL MODEL BACK IN THE 1990’S.

Have you ever modeled outside KSA?
NO, I HAVE NEVER HAVE MODELED OUTSIDE OF KSA.

Have you ever thought about acting?
YES, ACTING ALWAYS SOUNDED LIKE AN INTERESTING OPTION.

Photo credit:  Mokhtar Chahine

Do you have to exercise regularly to keep fit for modeling?
NOT AT ALL – I ONLY RECENTLY JOINED THE GYM. THE MAIN REASON FOR THAT WAS MY BLUE-BLOODED STATE – AFTER A 10 HOUR DAY OF ZERO MOVEMENT, ONE LOSES FEELING IN HER LEGS.

Do you watch what you eat or are you one of those lucky people who can eat whatever she wants and not have to worry about gaining weight?
I AM ONE OF THOSE KIDS OF ATHELETES WHO INHERITED GOOD GENES. I EAT NON-STOP :D

Tell me about your education.
FROM KINDERGARDEN TO HIGH SCHOOL I STUDIED IN KSA. I FINISHED UNIVERSITY AND BUSINESS SCHOOL IN UKRAINE.

Photo credit:  The Passionates

How often do you get to visit the Ukraine?
NOW THAT I WORK, I BARELY VISIT. I USED TO TRAVEL THERE EVERY SUMMER WITH FAMILY WHEN I WAS GROWING UP.

What other countries have you visited?
UNFORTUNATELY I HAVEN’T TRAVELED ALL THAT MUCH HONESTLY. I HAVE BEEN TO UKRAINE, RUSSIA, PARIS, TURKEY, AND MOROCCO.

Photo credit:  The Passionates

What countries would you like to visit that you haven’t yet been to?
ENGLAND - EVERYONE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN& SEEN IT ALREADY.

Tell me about your job at the Movenpick Resort.
I WORK FULL TIME AND AM NOW A COMMUNICATION AND BANQUET COORDINATOR, SO I HANDLE TWO DEPARTMENTS. MY DUTIES INCLUDE MAINLY COORDINATING AND COMMUNICATING THE GUESTS’ REQUESTS TO THE CHEF AND THE BANQUET STAFF FOR MEETINGS AND OUTSIDE CATERING EVENTS, PLUS MEDIA AND PR FOR PRESS RELEASES, ETC.

What are your favorite foods?
UKRAINIAN DISHES ARE MY FAVORITE. WHEN I AM IN SAUDI, I ENJOY ARABIAN DISHES (RICE WITH CHICKEN OR LAMB, HOMMOS.

Photo credit:  Ala'a Kutbi

What do you like to do in your spare time here in Jeddah?
IN MY SPARE TIME I LIKE TO VISIT FRIENDS. OUR GATHERINGS MAINLY TAKE PLACE IN COMPOUNDS, WHERE WE FEEL FREE TO WATCH MOVIES OR SIT& CHAT IN A LIVING ROOM WITH SNACKS, PLAYSTATION, AND NICE MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you like to live?
I WOULD LIKE TO LIVE IN JEDDAH, MY HOME IN THE DESERT . I DON’T SEE MYSELF BEING AS COMFORTABLE ANYWHERE ELSE.

Do you think that living in KSA has affected the person that you are today? If so, in what ways?
ABSOLUTELY! I WOULD SAY I AM ONLY UKRAINIAN ON THE OUTSIDE. FROM HOW I ACT TO HOW I DRESS TO HOW I SPEAK AT TIMES, GROWING UP IN SAUDI SHAPED ME, AND I AM BLESSED TO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP HERE.

Photo credit:  Reem Bajabaa

Women's status in KSA is a frequent topic of news reports - what are your feelings about this and are there changes you would like to see happen in this country?
BEING FEATURED IN THE NEWS MYSELF, I SEE FREEDOM EVOLVE – BUT THE MENTALITY OF MOST WILL ONLY BE PASSED ON TO THE NEXT GENERATIONS. I THEREFORE DON’T FORECAST MUCH CHANGE FOR FEMALES IN KSA.

One of the most ridiculous and unfair “rules” of most retail businesses here in Saudi Arabia is their “return policies.” Some businesses have absolutely NO return policy whatsoever! You buy a product - and if it doesn’t work, or if it doesn’t fit, or if you just changed your mind – well, TOO BAD! There are some businesses that have a return/exchange policy. However, most of the companies that DO have a return policy have a measly three day time frame in which to return or exchange the product.
Now let me put this in the proper perspective for you so you don’t think that I’m on one of my unreasonable rants again. First of all, women in Saudi Arabia are NOT allowed to drive. Let me stress to you how difficult it is for many women in Saudi Arabia to get around due to the transportation issue. This means that she has to get her husband or father to take her shopping in the first place. Or if she’s lucky enough to have a driver, the driver must take her, or she can pay to take a taxi to and from shopping. So she gets the product home and for whatever reason she needs to return it - she has only THREE days maximum to get back to the store (if that is their policy) to return the item, again involving her husband or father or the driver or a taxi. On top of that, the traffic is horrendous, plus store hours aren’t anything like what you might be used to in other parts of the world. Businesses have odd and limited operating hours because they are required to close for the five daily prayer times.

But that’s not all!

There are virtually no female dressing rooms in which to try on women’s clothing inside shops that cater to women. The religious police have banned female changing rooms for a variety of ridiculous reasons, including that it’s sinful for women to be in a state of undress outside the home, or that lecherous, perverted male sale clerks might sexually assault women in the dressing rooms, etc.

At some malls, women purchase the item, and then go into the ladies restroom to try on the clothing. If it doesn’t fit and she wants to try a different size, she must go back to the store, go through an exchange process for a different size and repeat the scenario in the mall’s restrooms, trying on the clothing again. But of course, when you go back to the shop, it may be closed for prayer times, in which case you would have to wait around to make the exchange. But some women are not able to try on the clothing in the restroom before they leave the mall, so these women have to wait until they return home to try on the clothing. If the item doesn’t fit, she must make another trip back to the store to exchange or return it, bothering hubby again or taking another taxi ride and timing the trip so the shop will not be closed for prayers.

I guess I’ve just been spoiled all my life by clothing stores in America that have changing rooms where I can take items that strike my fancy and try them on without any hassle. I’ve also been spoiled by being able to drive myself to and from the malls when the urge strikes me and not have to bother my husband - who hates to shop and hates to drive - to take me. I’ve also been accustomed to stores in the US which are generally open from 9am til 9pm or longer. And I’ve also been spoiled by the liberal return policies of most businesses in America that normally allow at least a 30 to 60 day grace period in which to return an item that I was able to try on there at the store before I bought it, but then later decided I wasn’t really that crazy about in the first place.

Businesses in Saudi Arabia are ripping off their customers, especially their female customers, by their lack of a reasonable return or exchange policy. I, for one, dislike shopping for clothing in Saudi Arabia specifically because of these reasons.
As a side note, however, I must express my delight and approval of the new Saudi law requiring lingerie shops to employ female salesclerks, so no longer are Saudi women forced to purchase their undergarments and sexy lingerie from male salesclerks. That is definitely a step in the right direction!

Now if we could just get these stores to change their unfair business practices of unreasonable return policies…