Travel destinations and experiences
What kinds of memorials do we make?
Maybe the key to understanding is assuming you don't.
The allure and danger of projecting onto our leaders.
A few months after I arrived in Saudi Arabia, I found myself at dinner with a group of teachers. You know, school teachers. Ladies that taught English at Saudi girls’ schools. Old maid school teachers. You got that picture squarely in mind? Good. Now flush it. Whatever scars you still carry from that time you … Continue reading A World of Stories
When you're about to be unemployed, and have an already-mostly-paid-for (nonrefundable) trip to Thailand in your pocket, you go. Or that's what we did, anyway. It's a four-time-zone trip from Riyadh. After we go home, it's an other-side-of-the-world trip. No-brainer. People go to Thailand for a variety of reasons. I'm quite sure the 75% unaccompanied … Continue reading Last Fling: A Week in Thailand
My new favorite painting: I did it myself. Well, if you want to get technical, I took the picture myself: Then ran it through the Waterlogue app. So with a liberal definition of the word "paint," you could say I painted it myself. I didn't get to the place where I took the picture by … Continue reading To Grandmother’s House We Go: Touring a Traditional Arabian Village
When it comes to celebrating the Christmas and New Year holidays in Saudi Arabia, an expat has two choices: Leave Stay and do something weird Last year we took Option 1 and went home, where we managed to get everybody in one spot for long enough to get a family picture. Out of about forty … Continue reading Finding Festive: Holidays in the Gulf
My daughter will be having a baby in the U.S. in February, which is fantastic. I'm so excited to snuggle a little newborn girl and to play with her toddler brother. This guy: But nothing good comes for free. I'll be making a substantial sacrifice to go. See, if the baby were coming in, say, … Continue reading Party On: Riyadh’s Janadriyah Festival
To understate the obvious (double whammy!) Arab and Western cultures have some...difficulties understanding each other. But don't worry--I can totally fix this. Yes, it's true that I'm completely untrained in anthropology or sociology, and have done zero structured research. Minor details. The important thing is that I'm fairly well acquainted with Hollywood and Riyadh, two cities of about … Continue reading Inside Out and Backwards
I have always loved history in the laziest way possible. I love the stories, and the complicated way stories cross and influence each other, and I love puzzling over why people did what they did and how the consequences still play out today. The older and more mysterious, the better. Plus I'm a sucker for … Continue reading What the Cave Man Knew
Margo Catts 