I was recently contacted by a reader asking about the weather here in Saudi. I remember it being a concern of mine before I moved here, so I thought it’d be a good topic for a blog post. Imranyousafawan wrote: I’m interested in applying for a role at KAUST and presently work and live in… Read More »
We’ve made it through our first year at KAUST! This past year has been pretty great. Here are a few of the highlights from the last 12 months: Kevin’s Job – He loves it. What more can you ask for really? Making new friends – We have connected with so many wonderful people from all over… Read More »
With my recent professional reset, I’ve been thinking a lot about online and offline socially-focused community building here in Saudi or in other areas of the Middle East. I see a huge opportunity at the intersection of online/offline community building, digital media, and social benefit in the region. I have also come up with one… Read More »
Today we went on a bit of an adventure into the desert. It’s always fun to get out of KAUST to visit the “real” Saudi Arabia. So, we planned a trip with several cars of friends to take a short journey north to the ruins of an old Ottoman building in the desert. I’ve… Read More »
One of amazing things that is common-place in the middle east is seeing people driving like crazy people. And, I don’t mean the crazy drivers like you see in America or England. In the US or the UK, we call someone driving 15 miles/hr faster than anyone else, driving on the shoulder, or flashing their… Read More »
<<UPDATE 12/9/2012: here’s my post on 2-br detached houses>> I was recently contacted by a reader about housing and transportation at KAUST and I thought her questions would make a good topic for my next blog post. Georgina wrote: My husband and I just accepted a job with KAUST school for 2012-2013 school year. I… Read More »
When we first moved to Saudi, one of the things I was most excited about was learning Arabic. I had some friends in university with me who had taken it, and found it very rewarding. Plus, I was moving to Saudi Arabia — how could I live in a country and NOT speak the language?… Read More »
…detailing the trip I took to Dubai to get my spouse visa for Saudi. If you need to go to Dubai to get a visa for Saudi Arabia, read the first part. Skip to the second part if you want a few recommendations of things to do while in Dubai. The Visa I am one… Read More »
Ramadan is an exciting time in the Islamic calendar. It’s a time to celebrate religion, culture and family, and it is a time of peace and charity. Ramadan was not unfamiliar to us before we arrived here – we have several Muslim friends and were aware of the main religious reasons for the event as… Read More »
In the last few weeks, several people have reached out to me after reading my blog to say that they are moving to KAUST soon and that my blog posts have been helpful in their own planning. So, I thought I’d put together a few thoughts on some of my lessons learned from moving here.… Read More »