I am well aware of the cultural differences and the impressions that most Americans hold of this far away land. However, the benefits of our move outweigh the nervousness we have and the sacrifices we will be making. Overall, I think we made the best decision. I am curious and looking forward to the next adventure life holds for me and my little family.
Mike has accepted a job at a Boy's School in the port city of Jeddah. He will be teaching Math, Science, History and English all in English to an Elementary school class. The school is very well off with Smartboads in each room, laptops for everyone, and some amazing looking sports facilities. His very good friend Chris has been working at this school for a year and a half and is now part of the administration. He suggested Mike apply for the job, and has put together a pretty great pay and benefits package to attract Americans as teachers.
Chris (who is from Wisconsin) has lived in Jeddah for almost two years with his wife and 2 year old daughter. They have had a positive experience living there, and have worked out a lot of the initial kinks of adjusting to the city and culture. We are very fortunate to have their help and company!
With the money we will be making we can pay off all of our college loans and medical bills. We will be able to live comfortably, and can afford a three bedroom two bath villa in Jeddah. We should also be able to save a bit! Top of the line Healthcare is included and completely paid for. We have talked to Mariam's doctors here and they say Saudi Arabia's medical system is on par with Britain and France and we have nothing much to worry about. One also asked us to send him photos of Mariam with some Camels! We have also already found a Pediatrician from New York who practices in Jeddah. With Michael working as a teacher we will have June through August each year to travel and visit you guys at home. The benefits package also includes some money for trips back.
Mike will be leaving September 6th and Mariam and I will be following sometime in late October or early November. That way he can scope it out, set up house, and our visas can come through.
Over the next few weeks I will be posting information about Jeddah, and answers to questions I had and anything you guys might have too. I encourage comments and questions from you! I am planning a post on my views of feminism and living in Saudi, and an entry giving you an overview of what I am told life in Jeddah is like. Those should come in the next couple of days. I plan to keep this a very regular blog for my entire stay in the Kingdom.
We are looking forward to the time we have left with everyone here, and sharing our experiences once we move. Again, your questions and comments are encouraged!
::tontie::
p.s.
To all you Negative Nancys: I am not a secret Muslim, and I have not been brainwashed. I am me, please respect that.
Very, very sad that you'll be leaving and very jealous of the exciting adventure on which you're embarking. Looking forward to getting an insider's account of life over there, including life with an actual, humane health-care system. Hope it takes really good care of all of you.
ReplyDeleteI also hope I can muster the time and money to come visit you while you're living there.
Lots of Love.
My favorite quote for you:
ReplyDelete"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." ~Andre Gide
Love you!
I don't think you've been brain washed, but be careful. Saudi Arabia is the kind of country where blogging about your views on feminism while in Saudi Arabia is something that can get you arrested. being a woman and driving on public roads is another thing that can get you arrested. you are both adults and I'm sure Saudi Arabia's ongoing history of human rights violations is something you've both discussed so no one on a commenting on blog is going to change your mind. but seriously. be careful.
ReplyDelete@brett
ReplyDeleteMike has a degree in Political Science with a specialty in the Middle East. We are well aware of the rules and dangers of living in the place. My post about feminism is actually pretty mild and dose more explaining than criticizing. As for driving, I don't drive anyway, not since 2003, and they are lifting the ban on women drivers by the end of the year. Jeddah is the most liberal city in Saudi, full of people from all cultures and religions. I don't even have to cover in Jeddah if I choose not to. All that said, I appreciate your comment and hope you continue to read this blog.
She wouldn't get arrested for blogging; the only chance of that happening is if she is using the blog to flaunt that she is doing illegal activity, and then, a citizen reports her to authorities. Here are some examples of women feminist bloggers there who have certainly not been arrested:
ReplyDeletehttp://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/
http://saudijeans.org/
http://geniesarabia.wordpress.com/
http://saudistepfordwife.blogspot.com/
http://www.blackchickinsaudi.blogspot.com/
One of the biggest misconceptions about Saudi Arabia is that it is like a police state where everything is heavily monitored. The muttaqaween (or religious police as they are so often referred) do not really have any power unless a complaint is made by a citizen, also they are much more active in the eastern provinces and capitol (Riyadh) than where we will be.
They do censor what they consider to be obscene, and their standard of that is very conservative, but that is done through media filters.
Fortunately Saudi Arabia doesn't need a strong police force because it has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Explore the rankings on this website here:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap-crime-rapes
Notice how low down Saudi Arabia (and Yemen) are on the rankings of nations, these statistics are from the UN's annual crime report project. Notice how in all major crimes like murder, rape, robberies etc. Saudi Arabia ranks no higher than 51st in the totals, and if you look at the per capita ratings they are in the bottom 5 of all those categories. Their rankings are way better than the northern European countries - Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland - and people are always thinking those are such peaceful and tranquil places to be.
As for human rights violations, corporal punishment does have a place in their penal code, but short of participating in organized crime, like drug trafficking or murder, no one is subject to it, and in the rare instances that someone is they are given anesthesia before it is administered.
There is flogging for illegitimate sex, but ya know it is done lightly and is not allowed to leave any permanent marks on the person's body. It is meant to be a public admonition; I am not saying I agree with all these methods, but I do think they are things whose effectiveness in crime prevention reasonable people can disagree on, and if it is a part of their tradition culture and history, then they are entitled to it. Their legal system and "authoritarian" nature is made out to be a lot more draconian than it really is by both the media and outlets like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in my opinion. That is not to say I condemn those groups, but I do think there are instances where they hype things up in order to rally support for their own organizations and they make some governments out to be less-humane than they actually are. Even people who are arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting terrorism in KSA can get put into a rehabilitation program, in the US they would get life in prison. And it is true that they have participated in torture and un-warranted imprisonment of terror suspects, but that is because US authorities advised them to do that! Besides, in some instances there is probably good reason to do that.
As for our case, we wouldn't be subject to any of the harsher aspects of the penal code even if we did cross certain lines, which we won't, because we would just have a our visas taken away and get deported. One condition for being granted a visa is you have to pledge to respect the "sensitivities and cultural traditions" of the citizens of Saudi Arabia.
not to say we don't appreciate the concern brett.
ReplyDeleteDid you just say there are some instances where it there is good reason to torture people?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Apologist:
ReplyDeleteDon't worry much about losing you're visa. After all you need an exit visa to even leave. Like the bad old days behind the Iron Curtain. Or like Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
It is no surprise that rape statistics are so low in the KSA. Rape is rarely reported to the police or family in KSA. You bring unimaginable shame to your family and this is not something westerners can understand. You think you can, but you do not. Victims risk very punishments from the government. Rape of foreign women is criminally unreported for the same reasons, but with less shame to the far away family and a very bad situation with the police. The situation is much much worse when the woman is a foreigner and the man is Saudi.
I saw many stories like this when living in KSA:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2007/11/2008525134115502193.html
http://trueslant.com/nealungerleider/2010/01/21/saudi-arabia-to-lash-filipino-rape-victim-100-times/
Statistics can say anything. KSA is #3 for executions, and #6 for percent of prisoners being foreigners (51%).
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_exe-crime-executions
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_pri_for_pri-crime-prisoners-foreign
You will need to at least wear abaya so it is debatable when you say that you do not need to cover in Jeddah.
You do not need to cover your face but PLEASE DO!! Women who do not draw alot of attention and no Im not talking about whistles and winks. Many foreign women wear abaya and a headscarf and escape too much of the bad attention.
You will need to be strong and not be foolish. You will have alot of free time. There is no public transportation in Jeddah so you must stay in your compound unless your husband can chaperone. In some compounds women can ride bikes around wearing nothing but a swimming suit, but some are like the outside.
I wish you all the best of luck. I am sorry for intruding on your blog but it is better to know as much of the facts instead of closing your eyes and shouting LALALALALA and making up conspiracies.
<3 ESM
Thanks for the comments. fewww, didn't intend to get in a huge debate here, but at least some people looking at the world a little more and through different lenses.
ReplyDeleteTo let everyone know, I do plan to wear an abaya and cover my head in Jeddah, basic respect for others. My current life exists with my husband as my main and really only form of transportation here, so I am very used to lots of time at home and waiting. I don't have a problem with that. The schedule he will be on with work is much better than what we have been experiencing here, so it will be less time sitting by myself and more going out.
I have always agreed that stats can say anything, and figure that the repots of rape anywhere are usually skewed. The key to safety is to not be stupid and to trust your instincts, not being quelled by or counting on any statistic or report.
In short: I plan on being respectful of people and cultures. I am aware, to the best of my ability, of what I am getting into and totally accept that. And we will always be careful and cautious, as with any foreign place and any big city.
Good luck in your future endeavors Lindsey. I'm glad to hear you actually have someone already there that can help mentor through some of the experiences, and I'm glad Mike is going over first to "test the waters". You can't believe everything you read on the internet so it's great that he can go experience it first hand before moving over the wife and kid.
ReplyDeleteMy door is always open for you so please keep in touch and don't hesitate to call if anything is needed.
nice to read these comments even if I am reading them late. needless to say statistics and research aside the only way to see for sure what Saudi Arabia is like will be to go there. and you will be doing that. it's Saudi Arabia and there is a big difference between visiting it and a visiting a extremely totalitarian nation like North Korea or Myanmar. it's not like I expect you to end up in some kind of international incident.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it will be fun and weird. I'll keep reading this blog to find out more.