Category: saudi life

Saudi Post Chocolate Monster Mystery

9:15pm. Kids finally asleep. Now my “real work” can begin. But all I can focus on after a VERY long and stressful day are the Fazer chocolate bars sent by my mom from Finland. (Love you mom). I’m homeschooling my kids now that we had to pull them out of their kindergarten. TheRead more

Saudi Life Series Volume 1

Something new and exciting on Blue Abaya.. I decided to start a series of posts, kind of like a photo challenge of day to day life in Riyadh after some readers have been asking me to share more family photos and to show what the everyday life is like in Saudi Arabia.. . Many of you have beenRead more

Oh Christmas Tree? Oh-Uh Black Market Christmas Tree!

Christmas decorations such as trees, ornaments and other holiday season decorations are pretty much non-existent in public during the holiday season in Saudi Arabia. Christmas is viewed as strictly a Christian religious holiday and all items that celebrate it are supposed to be forbidden here.Read more

The Curious Case of Samsung Godfathers And Washing Machine Eating Mice of Saudi Arabia

You’ve probably heard about the crappy customer service in Saudi-Arabia before. Disservice, un-service, no service, customernoservice..WHAT service? To give you a better idea of how things work (or don’t work) in the Magic Kingdom, read this experience with SAMSUNG Saudi Arabia customerRead more

Blue Abaya Interviewed- What is Life in Saudi Arabia Really Like?

I did some interviews for a couple of magazines which focus on what life in Saudi Arabia is like from my personal point of view, as a Finnish expatriate nurse. I think these interviews will be beneficial in answering questions of readers who are new to Saudi Arabia and/or new to Blue Abaya blog.Read more

Saudi Positives-The True Stories We Rarely Hear Of

In response to the negative behaviors seen in line cutting post, I was asked by a Finnish reader to write about an example of a very good behavior or a nice deed I witnessed done by a Saudi. No problem! It’s very easy to write about positive incidents in Saudi-Arabia because theyRead more

Stuff That Annoys Me. Only in Saudi Arabia

I’ve noticed myself pretty annoyed lately. Lots of stuff going on last week. Some things in Saudi just tip off my irritation. I’m going to have to rant to let some steam out. If you’re easily offended and don’t have a sense of humor, stop reading now PLEASE. What really getsRead more

The Famous Saudi Hospitality

I experienced hands on the generous side of the Saudi people by having the chance to interact with many families through my work. At the hospital a patient would have their own private rooms and the average length of stay would be 8 days. A nurse typically works around 12 hours a day, on averageRead more

Culture Fair for Children in Riyadh King Fahad Cultural Center

An interesting event worth checking out in Riyadh is the International Children Culture Fair organised at the King Fahad Cultural Centre. Aimed at parents and children in Riyadh, this exhibition was organised for the first time in 2011 at the beautiful King Fahad Cultural Centre. This building is aRead more

Thank you my dear Saudi patients!

Dear patients, I wanted to write this letter to all of you to express my gratitude for everything you have given me during the years. I will not be seeing you for a while because I will soon be going on maternity leave. It is all of you wonderful patients that I will miss the most from the ward.Read 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