Category: Saudi-Arabia

Expats in Saudi-Arabia and Learning Arabic

Many western expats come to the Kingdom for employment not knowing a word of Arabic and that is unfortunately also how they end up leaving. I could strongly recommend expats planning to come to work in Saudi-Arabia to try learning some basic Arabic even prior to arrival. Once here I would recommendRead more

Saudis And Finns-The Ultimate Survivors

I noticed saying to myself, it’s starting to get a little chilly in Riyadh..Actually it was “only” +30C..How embarrassing for a Finn! But it looks like winter is around the corner. Saudis have started switching to their thick wool abayas and thobes and my patients have the heatingRead more

Breast Cancer awareness in Saudi-Arabia and pink abayas

This month is international Breast Cancer awareness month and it can be seen in Saudi-Arabia as well. A National Awareness Campaign to Combat Breast Cancer has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to coincide with international Breast Cancer Awareness month. The campaign is led by PrincessRead more

My Saudi Husband and his love for animals

Yesterday my husband told me the touching story of what he had done for a little stray kitten. He was leaving work and was greeted by a little black kitten at the parking lot. The kitten started following him and walked behind him all the way to the car. When my husband opened the car door theRead more

Saudi-Arabia’s Surprising Little Bro Kuwait-Worth a Visit!

I recently visited Kuwait and was very surprised on how advanced they are compared to neighboring Saudi-Arabia. I had an image in my mind of Kuwait as being a post war-zone developing country. Although these countries share similar demographics, culture and history, they seem to be in differentRead more

Eid al Fitr 2010 in Riyadh

The first three days of the Eid al Fitr following the ending of Ramadan were full of different celebrations around Riyadh. This wasn’t always the case though, a few years ago there wasn’t much happening in KSA during these holidays. Most Saudis used to flock abroad this time of theRead more

King Abdullah- the Emissary of Saudi Women

King Abdullah was recently chosen as one of the world’s top 10 most respected leaders by Newsweek. This might come as a surprise to some since his actions do not usually make big headlines internationally. Nevertheless in the past few years he has accomplished a lot for women in Saudi-ArabiaRead more

The Magic Month in the Kingdom

Ramadan is a very special month to Muslims all over the world. In case you are not sure what Ramadan means to Muslims and why Muslims fast check out this post: The True Meaning of Ramadan The crescent moon has been sighted and the fasting has started this morning. Ramadan in Saudi-Arabia is a veryRead more

Interview with a Saudi male nurse

I thought it would be interesting to hear from a Saudi male nurse. Nurses in general are not always respected in the society, and sometimes male nurses get an even harder time for their choice of profession. Saudi nurses of both gender are still the minority of the workforce in KSA. Most nursesRead more

Cultural comparisons-moving houses

I thought it would be interesting of making a comparison between the Saudi and Finnish cultures every once in a while. They tend to be each others opposites sometimes! These posts are not intended to be taken too seriously. I’ve written them with a dash of humor with them so please readRead more

Saudi-Arabia’s Epidemic: Tribalism

Tribalism is alive and deeply rooted in the Saudi culture. Read more about what tribalism actually means here. Tribalism can have some positive aspects to it. It creates close family ties and high respect of elders. Knowing ones roots and the names of ancestors hundreds or even thousands of yearsRead more

Underneath the abaya, there’s a different story!

I often get asked the question what do women in Saudi-Arabia wear under the abaya? Doesn’t it get terribly hot under the abaya? How does it feel to be forced to wear abaya? Isn’t it horrible for western women to have to wear abayas everywhere? What are abaya fabrics made of? Do SaudiRead more