“Miss, I am going to present about coffee now. Please, let me make you a cup. ” I smile and thank her profusely as she hands me the cup. Secretly, I am dreading it. I hate drinking coffee. It has the most disgusting flavor- bitter, with a strong after taste. Since moving to Saudi Arabia,…
Tag: teaching
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…
Today in class we were discussing the presentations that are coming up next week. We went through lists of requirements and topic choices, picked the order to present in, and talked through any concerns students may have. “If anyone needs to ask me a question about their presentation, or if you want to show it…
Kendra in USA
My year in Saudi working for Al-Khaleej Training and Education has finally concluded, and I am safely home in the states. But that doesn’t mean I’m not returning to Saudi. I plan on returning this fall but working as a direct hire for a different university. Did I want to leave Al-Khaleej? Honestly, no. The company…
Simplicity
Sometimes I find myself being completely bored out of my mind here. Granted, there isn’t much to do- no theaters, no clubs, restrictions on restaurants women can go to, and so on. It’s no secret that life here can be difficult at times simply because it is so boring. The cool thing about this,…
The Proposal
I am writing this now because the incident happened recently, however I am going to schedule it to post at a later date because I don’t want word to get around… It is my first day at work, and one of my supervisors calls me into her office. “The dean wants to interview you, please…
Other mother
The other day in class I tried explaining the concept of a nuclear family to some of my students. During the lesson it dawned on me that maybe it was a stupid thing to teach despite being in the book, because most of my student’s fathers have more than one wife, so what I was…
You’ve stopped blogging
Whenever I talk to someone recently there is always a point in the conversation where they remind me that I haven’t updated in a while. And while this is entirely my fault it also kind of isn’t. NO WIFI Until last night, I did not have wifi in this country. My friend actually brought me…
$$$
So, I have been afforded an amazing opportunity. My company needed people to teach night school, so I volunteered myself. So, I work Sunday-Thursday at one branch of Qassim University, from 7 AM till 2:20 pm, then twice a week I will go to a different branch and teach from 4 PM until 9 PM…
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”…
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…
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…
Kendra in KSA 