yes, living in Saudi Arabia as an English teacher totally sucks, on one level that is. It is absolutely oppressive in every way: for almost two weeks now I have not talked face to face with a woman except for the four words I exchanged with a Philipino nurse in the medical center. The Saudis look down on everybody, including other Muslims. College students are paid to attend class and are therefore more arrogant and lazy in class than they otherwise might be. There are no restaurants, movie theatres, cafes, book shops of any kind in the town I live in. There are coffee shops, books stores and restaurants in other cities, but forget movie theatres. Where I live is also a terrible place to learn Arabic, the one thing--besids a conservative version of Islam--you'd think would be in ample supply here.
But on the proverbial other hand, there are 20 million Saudis here and another batch of 8 million foreign workers, all of whom happen to be living in one of the pivotal countries of the Middle East. However difficult the Saudis may or may not be to deal with, they have been relatively cooperative and friendly in the US's project to keep it's feet in the middle east and deal with Islamic fundamentalists. They are also rather enamored of the West and with education in English speaking countries. So, even though it may be skewed at times, there are some bases for a good working relationship and one where we can learn from one another.
But I have only been here two weeks. Let's see how this looks in two months.
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5 comments:
Dear anti fodder,
You seem to have a difficult time, dealin with this new situation. I tell you, life in Sudi Arabis isn't easy even for saudis themselves. For you, I hope you be able to adapt. ;)
For me, I hope we be able chnge.
N.B.: I'm living in Dammam, If you need anything.
Cheers.
write more!!
I've been considering moving to Dhahran and have been reading as many blogs as possible to get a feel for the country. Viewpoints vary considerably. I understand it will be different and possibly difficult at times. Why haven't you written more? Are things getting better for you?
hello accord,
thanks for your comments. i find this blog site rather difficult to use. one reason i have written more is that i have not have internet in my apartment have have had trouble getting into this site. the latter problem has been solved. let's see if i have now solved the former one.
Thanks for writing this.
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