Tuesday Ten From Saudi-Mom’s First Week in Saudi

Filed in: about | desert | expats9 comments

I saw this idea on Noor’s blog Little Pink Strawberries and I thought I must give it a try too! The idea is to post ten random things from your life during the past week,
So here are ten random things from my life in the Magic Kingdom this week..Mom is staying with us for some while here in the Kingdom and I’m excited to show her all around Riyadh and the nice things there are to do here!

This is the scenery from the “Hash” which my mom refers to as the International Sports Activity Days. It’s basically a day of sporty activities out in the desert with a group of expats. There are Hash House Harrier group meant for expatriates to get together and enjoy the outdoors and wonderful scenery of their new home countries all over the world. In Riyadh the activity is more “secret” though and they don’t publish their information online like they do in other countries.

A man was walking with these funny shoes which look like socks that reminded me of my dad who uses them in Finland. Not sure if my father tested them in the snow yet.

We went shopping to IKEA and saw these clowns going around and people were taking their pictures. Even grown Saudi men wanted to pose with the clowns, it was quite funny. I think the other one (or both?) looked  a bit drugged up! I’m scared of clowns, they are so creepy!

I have some sort of a “obsession” of collecting sand from all over the world. I found some sand I had collected from my last trip to Farasan Islands and put it in this Iittala vase from Finland. The scented candles are Lily of the Valley, my favorite!
Speaking of Sand, this is the view from top of the sand dune I climbed at the hash. It was really tough! It seems as if every time you take a step up you slide two down, progress is SO slow and frustrating. Kind of like progress for women in Saudi-Arabia.

Going to meet the in-laws, we had some souvenirs from Finland with us. Blueberry chocolates and dried Cloud-berry-Strawberry-Blueberry powder which can be used to make tea.

We were offered some Arabic foods, coffee and tea to taste and my mom liked them all except that she mistake the Arabic coffee was tea because of the color and strange taste :)
The  flowers on our balcony smell so nice right now!
October was Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Kingdom tower was pink the whole month to show support to the cause. I wish it was always this color, it’s much nicer than the usual yellow.
Can you spot the third cat in this picture? This week my daughter learned to play peekaboo with the cats. One is hiding under the sheet. The black kitten was born on the exact same day as my baby. I’m happy that my daughter doesn’t seem to be afraid of cats or any animals at all and she is getting used to having pets around the house. The cats are so good with her they never scratch or anything eve if she pulls their tail!

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  • NoorNovember 1, 2011 - 10:40 pm

    Ahh I loved them all mashallah. The food looks so good and I LOVE cats very much btw I am obsessed with Jasmine I want to grow some. When we were in Bali it was everywhere and I fell in love.ReplyCancel

  • SennieNovember 2, 2011 - 1:56 am

    Toivottavasti ei tarvinnut vaeltaa aavikolla abaya yllä :)
    Todella mielenkiintoista vierailla blogissasi, kiitos avoimista kirjoituksistasi!ReplyCancel

  • ranaNovember 2, 2011 - 6:34 pm

    i love the idea with the candles, i will do it also!
    and I know those shoes well they are popular for running and trail hiking.
    Do you think you could possibly mention some blogs you know of other women living in gulf and even arabic women that blog?
    I would really love that!
    :)ReplyCancel

  • Steve at the PubNovember 6, 2011 - 11:47 am

    Love these sandhill photos. So like home!

    That building with the pink lights lining it, looks ever so much like a big bottle opener doesn’t it?ReplyCancel

  • AnonymousNovember 7, 2011 - 10:07 am

    I have enjoyed your blog for a while now. Keep up the good work! I like the pic of your daughter and the cat. The cat looks like it’s ready to pounce and is as big as her it looks. How do they get along?ReplyCancel

  • LaylahNovember 12, 2011 - 1:56 am

    Noor-You should try get some Jasmine trees, they sell them at those road side plant shops!

    Sennie-kiitos vierailusta:) aavikolla ei onneks tarvi abaya paalla vaeltaa, varsinkin kun menee tuon porukan kanssa niin ne on suorastaan kiellettyja sillon!

    Hi Rana and welcome to my blog!sorry for the late reply to your question, I havent been able to answer earlier as I have been on the road for the past week.
    On The blog list I have gathered are also some women living in Saudi that have blogs, check those out!

    Steve in the Pub- hmm, I guess htat depends on who you are asking ;)

    anonymous-thank you!they get along really well, both are quite curious of one another. If my daughter grabs the kitten too hard she will just move further away but will never scratch or do any harm to the baby. They are so used to each other since they were born!ReplyCancel

  • NoorNovember 12, 2011 - 2:17 pm

    Thanks Layla I certainly will I had no idea they sold it here.ReplyCancel

  • AnonymousMay 29, 2012 - 11:38 am

    umm it might be nitpicking, but the flower shown looks a lot like Plumeria (frangipani). Are they known as Jasmine in Saudi? The Jasmine flowers are very different to look atReplyCancel

  • AnonymousNovember 12, 2012 - 5:24 am

    Assalamoalaikum ,Layla i liked your blog very nice masha Allah ….ReplyCancel

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