The Spoils of Teaching

“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,…

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…

Why do you blog?

Recently I received a message from a former professor I had in my undergraduate career at Marshall University. He informed me that he would be teaching a class in the spring semester focusing on blogging and other forms of social media, and asked me to write a few words about what I do and why…

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…

Country Roads

“But you haven’t even been gone long enough to feel homesick!”

Are you dead yet?

Saudi update- still not dead. Didn’t expect to be as Saudi is actually really safe. I already knew that but apparently half of the people I know are worried I’ll be murdered here. I finally got a laptop charger. That was an experience in itself and is probably worthy of a blog post. It was…

Everything is temporary

While I am waiting on my visa to arrive, I feel like everything is so temporary. I can’t make any solid, long term plans because I don’t know how long I have until I return back to KSA. The other day there was a really great sale on chicken at the grocery store and I…

mafi sabr

Summer has officially ended and autumn is here. The new semester has started and I am still in the states. Yes, you read that right. My students are having class and I still don’t have my visa or flight back to the kingdom. My husband tried staying here as long as he could but sadly…

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 new normal

I spent my vacation in USA and it was so liberating. I was able to do all the things I can’t do here in Buraidah, like go to a restaurant, watch a movie in a cinema, drive, so on…. Basically the normal things that we in the west take for granted.   Readjusting into society…

Okay, so I know I haven’t written anything in a bit… or a long time, but whatever. First I forgot my login information to this site, and just couldn’t be bothered to find it. Then I went on vacation to Egypt with the hubs. And now I’m back to work and have resumed my normal…