Sometimes during my stay in Riyadh I found myself in situations where no matter where I went, I heard moans, complaints and the excited voices of those who could not stop talking about how they would go home for vacation soon, listing all of the (by Saudi standards inappropriate) things they would do once they got there, in great detail. I was not so much surprised to find that the vast majority…
living in riyadh
Why Do You Write About the Good Things?
Those of you who have been reading my blog might have noticed that the significant majority of my articles on this blog have a positive tone to them. Considering the fact that I have dedicated this site to live in Saudi Arabia, which is unfortunately not seen in a positive light by many people from the outside, many of my readers probably ask themselves why I am keeping a blog that talks…
Post Saudi Q&A Part I
When I woke up this morning, I noticed some new notifications in my WordPress app. One of them was a comment on one of my posts by a reader from Australia who had some very interesting questions to me, regarding my life in Saudi Arabia which by now is long over. Since I love it when people share their thoughts with me on my work and ask me questions, I thought I…
On Social Segregation: Beware of the Sections!
Yesterday my mother and I went outside (outside as in “outside the actual compound” YES, my dear people, that is actually doable here…SURPRISE!!!) to get something for lunch. Luckily for us, there are some small places near us that sell (fast) food. However, since my mother has not been outside very much so far, she had some trouble figuring ut which of the two doors she was supposed to use in order…
The Saudi Souvenir Checklist
Every time I go to a new place. and especially when I am fascinated by it, I always try to get something from there that I can keep as a souvenir. But when I am talking about souvenirs, I don’t really mean things like key chains or T- Shirts that say something like “I <3 KSA”, and if I were to buy something that has “I <3 KSA” on it, it would…
Coffee Mornings, Stroller Tanks and Other Stories
What would your first thought be if you got out of the house, walked up to the street of your compound and saw dozens and I mean dozens of buses standing there neatly along the sidewalk? Mass evacuation? That’s probably what you think but no, that just means that a bunch of women from all over the city have assembled on your compound today because it’s coffee morning time. A coffee morning…
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…
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…