Yes, you read it correctly. I did actually put the words Saudi Arabia, female and solo travel next to each other and I am just as excited about that possibility to occur as some of my readers may be confused. 🙂 For a blogger or a writer of any sorts, there is nothinng better than getting in touch with his or her readers. Since I started this blog, I have received many E- Mails from…
student blog
Cultural Pas Faux: Shaking Hands
Today, one of my western friends seemed to be very surprised about the fact that in Saudi Arabia men and women who are not related to each other do not shake hands, as it is, generally speaking, socially unacceptable. I can imagine that some of you may be very surprised as well when finding out about this, so I thought that a post about this cultural norm may end up being helpful…
Ahlan Wa Sahlan to Riyadh!
It was a chilly day in September and my alarm clock was ringing at quarter to nine. My spacious room in the basement was nearly empty. The one suitcase packed, my almost ancient backpack looking like it would explode from all the things in it and my long, black skirt, that my grandmother sewed for me just for this occasion in one day before I left Belarus, were all lined up along…
A Day in the Life of a Saudi Arabia Expat
A couple of months ago, I wrote a post on my peace. joy. pancake blog about what a day in my life in Kosova looked like. So, one day I thought to myself: Why not do the same thing for Saudi Arabia, too? As you can tell by the title of this post, I thought that was a great idea, so here you guys go! While other people around the world are still sleeping…
Two Different Worlds?
After being back home for almost one week, I have realized that the so called “culture shock” got me just now and not the moment I stepped on Saudi ground back in September of this year. Maybe it is not a culture SHOCK really but just the definite realization that I am living in an entirely different culture now, or just different world. First of all, here in Germany I am obviously…
The Story of How the Watch Got Diabetes
One morning in Saudi Arabia, I woke up and decided that it is time for a new watch. To be more specific that was today. So, I got on the compound bus with several other ladies that have nothing to do all day, except for household stuff and for whom the highlight of the day, as far as for activities, is a trip to one of Riyadh’s shopping malls that make German…
The Case of the Saudi Matryoshkas
Riyadh, the city that never sleeps. Somehow I feel like this statement would suit the capital pretty well. There is not much going on here during the day, but once the sun sets, everyone gets out of their fancy or not fancy houses, gets into their fancy or not so fancy cars and turns the streets of Riyadh into a real challenge and hell for most European drivers. But once the highway…
No Woman, No Cab (Unless You’re Lucky)
When I wanted to get from A to B while I lived in the Balkans, I had the choice between walking, taking the bus, hitchhiking (which a lot of peope in Kosovo do, even female KFOR soldiers) and taking a cab. Here in Saudi, there is no such thing as public transportation yet, hitchhiking in this society is probably as unthinkable as the possible invention of a time machine any time soon…
A Picnic in the Middle of Nowhere
I have never been as happy about thursday coming up as I was this week. Thursday ment the end of the scholweek but also a trip to the desert on this particular day. Those who already have an idea about life in Saudi will know, that social gatherings as we know them from Western counries (or pretty much the rest of the world) do not exist here. Men and women that are…
So You Want to Teach Yourself Arabic?
The last language that I have taught myself was German. That was about ten years ago and the way I mastered this difficult language was just by watching TV and listening to people speak while I was still in kindergarten. Now I am trying to teach myself some basic or as I call it “survival” Arabic, just to be polite when I communicate with local people. Generally, Arabic is a very difficult…