Mashaallah

Before I came to Saudi, I guess you can say I had some preconceived notions and stereotypes about what to expect. Well, let me just say that my students have really shattered them. They are all so amazing, kind, smart, and unique. Really, each girl has something so special about her. All of them are…

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Kitchen Loving

So, everyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with my kitchen. It’s my favorite room in my home. I love to cook and bake, so it’s only fitting that I have a nice kitchen. Well, I went to a home goods store and I nearly had a heart attack. It’s going to hard…

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For years I had successfully avoided it. I had put myself through extreme discomfort, near-accidents, and weird waddling walks. But the day came that I couldn’t keep putting it off, and it was out of extreme necessity that I had to do the hardest thing I ever had to do. I finally found myself face-to-face with…

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Fashion sense

Saudi Arabia is considered as one of the most conservative countries in the world. There is a dress code, and women wear black abayas, hijabs, and niqabs. The only thing visible on most Saudi Women when they are in public is their eyes.  When they are with other women, however, they are able to wear…

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Cooking roosters

I’ve avoided this topic as long as I possibly could. I guess it was just naive of me to expect I could avoid it forever. But today was the day it finally happened. My students at Qassim university, located in one of the most conservative cities in the world, asked me the difference between “cook”…

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Compound Bus

Four times a week our company has a bus come, pick us up at the compound, and take us into the actual city. Half of us are new, so while at least have an idea of who everyone else is, we don’t exactly know the fine details about each others lives. We all cram on…

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Silence

“Prayer time. Everything’s closed. It should be reopened soon, if you want to wait here.” There was an eerily calm about the place, the entire place was nearly vacated except for a few people sitting quietly on benches, waiting for the stores to reopen. “Over there is a supermarket, so you can get any food…

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Whale status

There was a lot of jokes made before I moved here about how fat I would become. So far I haven’t gained any weight, but I’m sure between the abayas and the fatty food here, that will change. Yesterday one of my coworkers made maqluba, one of the national dishes in Jordan, and invited me…

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Counting

Alhamdulillah, I can’t even begin to explain how blessed I am. I am so happy in my life and I have been given so many amazing opportunities and I’ve lived so many amazing experiences. But I have to say, whenever I count my blessings, I really have to count my students twice. They really are…

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Al Khaleej Training and Education

DEAR READER: PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT WORK FOR ALKHALEEJ TRAINING AND EDUCATION ANYMORE. Please read the following as a reference, but do not expect me to answer any questions about the company.    Whenever I got the job offer from Al Khaleej Training and Education back in June, I almost didn’t believe it…

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The neat thing about Saudia Arabia is that I have a lot of down time to explore new interests. As many of you know, in USA I was fortunate enough to have many very kind Indian neighbors who always made the most amazing foods, and I miss spicy food so much! The supermarkets have a…

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