After nearly 5 (!!!!!!) years in Saudi, I have come to appreciate many things about the culture. The food, the music, the traditional dress… and the attention to detail regarding parties and gatherings. If I am being honest, I didn’t always appreciate this. My sisters-in-law used to drive me insane with how carefully and…
Tag: culture
Newest vlogs
During this pandemic, I have been staying home literally all the time. I haven’t been to work since December since I had maternity leave. After my maternity leave, I didn’t return to work because of the COVID outbreak. I’m basically a stay at home mom these days. With that being said, I have more time…
Ramadan Traditions
Every year for Ramadan, I prepare a food for my family called pepperoni rolls. This is important to me, as I am Appalachian. Pepperoni rolls are the WV state food, and they are found in some states throughout Appalachia. Since I am living outside of my country and outside of my culture, it is…
Wedding Dress
The worst thing happened to me. My phone gave me the black screen of death. Usually this wouldn’t be a big deal thanks to the cloud, but for some reason they weren’t backed up there. It’s the thing nightmares are made of. Guys, I lost EVERYTHING. All my contacts. All my notes. But worst of…
Girls Only: Inside a Female Only Campus
One thing that often draws foreigners to Saudi Arabia is how secretive everything is. Until recently, there were no visitor visas issued so no tourists came here. Public photography wasn’t legal, so you didn’t see a lot of pictures from here. The culture in itself is also a bit private and secretive, so it’s not…
chocoffee
One thing I learned about living in Saudi is that food plays a central role in everyone’s life here. Every week I collect so many chocolates and candies from students as sweet as the goodies they give me. It is common for my colleagues to knock on my office door with fresh baked goods. Saudis…
Self-care
One summer my in-laws took an istahara during Eid. At the time, I was incredibly pregnant, fat, uncomfortable in every position, and chronically sweaty from the 110+ degrees days. I’m sure they just invited me as an extension to my husband’s invitation, but still they were very nice to do so because I imagine I…
Choklava
The other day while walking around the mall with my husband, he got a craving for something sweet. While standing in line and waiting for him to buy some desserts, I happened to spy something I’ve never seen before- chocolate baklava. I’m usually not a huge fan of sweet foods like baklava, but I do…
What’s really under the abaya?
If you ask anyone to describe what a Saudi woman wears, most likely they will say a long, black garment. Technically, that answer is correct. Saudi women are required to wear an abaya, or robe-like garment when they are in public. With that being said, just because women wear abayas in public, doesn’t mean that they aren’t…
Istaraha
There are not a lot of recreational activities in Saudi Arabia. Gender segregation is enforced very strictly not only by the government but by the people that reside here as well. One fun weekend activity would be to have an Istaraha party. An Istaraha is a small house with a giant walled in yard. Most…
Bella Roma, Qassim
Qassim, Saudi Arabia isn’t the most exciting place on Earth… In fact, many people would argue that it’s quite boring. I’m not disagreeing with that, but in my time living there I did discover a few nice things. My coworkers and I would sometimes head away from the compound and treat ourselves to a nice…
Typical Thursday
What’s one of the best things about Saudi Arabia? Going for a walk in a park and finding a camel, of course!
Kendra in KSA 