Americans were universally astonished when we told them we were moving to Saudi Arabia. Moving to any foreign country is something Americans don't tend to do, and even international travel is unusual. According to State Department statistics, only about a third of American citizens have a passport. But in an expat community in the Middle … Continue reading To Mourn with Those Who Mourn
Category: Blog
I Feel Pretty
Here's how this week's adventure was pitched to me: People either love it or hate it. It's so gross. Keep an eye behind you. Don't walk alone if you don't want to be touched. Look up, not down. Bring your own water. There's no bathrooms. You'll want a shower when you get home. You can … Continue reading I Feel Pretty
An Ignition Key to the Kingdom
This is my current favorite picture of my twin grandson and daughter (you should be able to sort out which one is which): So many captions! So many word balloons! I can imagine a lifetime dynamic starting here, with Brother blithely going about his business and Sister a nano-second away from dope-slapping him on the … Continue reading An Ignition Key to the Kingdom
Real Gone: Bali, Indonesia
I been gone. Real gone. (Sing it! You know you want to. I'll let you get it out of your system here without cartoon cars.) My gone-ness for the last two weeks was part of a national exodus of Saudi-dwelling expats for the Eid al Adha holiday (Hajj pilgrimage season). Most of us get about … Continue reading Real Gone: Bali, Indonesia
A Journey about/along/amid Immigration
You remember prepositions, right? Those location and direction words you are supposed to, at all costs, never let dangle? (e.g., "Yes, Mother, that is the mad ballah whose crib I was at" would be more correctly expressed as "Yes, Mother, that is the mad ballah at whose crib I was.") In school I had to … Continue reading A Journey about/along/amid Immigration
Adventure Among the Ruins
Despite what my earlier posts might indicate, I didn't come to Saudi-Almighty-Arabia to go to Chili's, or Applebee's (pft-pft kiss-fingers cross-yourself), or Tamimi (Safeway), or Saco (True Value), or even IKEA. No, I came for an Exotic Adventure. Well, if you're going to get technical about it, I came because I'm married to guy with … Continue reading Adventure Among the Ruins
Lost in the Lingua Franca
I'm not sure what to do. I'm having a little trouble with household chores as well. Getting a mite cryptic with the pictures, don't you think? I'm trying to figure out what's going on during the glasses-with-the-nose-piece and the flower cycles. (The tornado is a spin, obviously.) And on some settings, the washer stops, half-filled, … Continue reading Lost in the Lingua Franca
Rookie Mistake, Part II: Getting It Right
Read any guidebook, magazine article, or travel post and you'll get the same tips about Paris: Don't go in August unless you want to wander an empty city. Greet shopkeepers when you enter their places of business. Keep your voice down. Dress well. In Madrid, don't go looking for dinner before 9:00. In London, don't … Continue reading Rookie Mistake, Part II: Getting It Right
Rookie Mistake
You know the one about the frog in a pot? How if you put a frog in cold water, then turn up the heat, the frog won't jump out before it's too late? Yeah, that one. Turns out it's true. Diagram explanation: Hyper-Panda (the pot): Panda is a retail chain around the Kingdom with various … Continue reading Rookie Mistake
Saudi Sjaturdi
I live in a rented, furnished villa in a mostly-Western compound in Riyadh. Now be careful that with the word "villa" you don't conjure an image that looks anything like what I get when I Google "villa": Or that by "furnished" you imagine anything like what I get with "villa interior": I'm particularly fond of … Continue reading Saudi Sjaturdi
Margo Catts 