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Single woman in KSA
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We had a few teachers who used to disappear on a bender to Bahrain. Think of the poor sod who was given the job of going there to bring them back !
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Ixchel



Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Posts: 156
Location: The 7th level of hell

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. And the other hand, you're going to be shaking with excitement from all the entertainment on offer in KSA to single female TEFL teachers.

Laughing

2. Take that as a hint about the kind of country you are considering going to live in.[/quote]

Actually yeah, I'm bored to death with teaching kids. I want to do something very different and challenging before I'm too old to be hired. I'm almost there right now. Mid-50's seems to be the cut off in a lot of good places. I don't smoke or drink, I read a lot and I do craftwork like jewelry fabrication, knitting etc, I swim at the YMCA, and I hang out with my friends. So it's not like I'm going to chafe at not being able to go out clubbing. The excitement and challenge of a culture vastly different from my own will wake me up. I feel like a zombie. Frankly Asia doesn't interest me deeply if I have a choice and I've already been to Korea, I've always wanted to go to the Middle East.

And I can't take anything as a hint. I've already heard several different things that contradict each other. If someone doesn't say something out right then I can't assume. Some people have liked Saudi. That's why I posted to get different opinions and different sides. I liked VS's Oman suggestion.
I guess I'm too late because I had friends in the late 80's who made a lot of money there. But even so I'd be earning the same as I do here only tax free so I'd be able to save most of it.
I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get another MA (mine doesn't count because it's in Ed Counseling so I don't bother mentioning it) then I'll have my choice of much better jobs. I'm finding university positions (in Japan yesterday) that accept American and English teachers with state certifications. So I may look into that. I think the days of big bucks for ESL teachers is over.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Those days were actually over before I got there in 1988. Laughing And, to be honest, most of the really big buck jobs weren't available for women. They were military or oil business related for men only.

I would give a try for Oman now... and perhaps do an MA online while you are there?

Or try Japan... it's a very interesting place too though I never lived there... only visited. Cool

VS
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bulgogiboy



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803

PostPosted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ixchel wrote:
1. And the other hand, you're going to be shaking with excitement from all the entertainment on offer in KSA to single female TEFL teachers.

Laughing

2. Take that as a hint about the kind of country you are considering going to live in.

Actually yeah, I'm bored to death with teaching kids. I want to do something very different and challenging before I'm too old to be hired. I'm almost there right now. Mid-50's seems to be the cut off in a lot of good places. I don't smoke or drink, I read a lot and I do craftwork like jewelry fabrication, knitting etc, I swim at the YMCA, and I hang out with my friends. So it's not like I'm going to chafe at not being able to go out clubbing. The excitement and challenge of a culture vastly different from my own will wake me up. I feel like a zombie. Frankly Asia doesn't interest me deeply if I have a choice and I've already been to Korea, I've always wanted to go to the Middle East.

And I can't take anything as a hint. I've already heard several different things that contradict each other. If someone doesn't say something out right then I can't assume. Some people have liked Saudi. That's why I posted to get different opinions and different sides. I liked VS's Oman suggestion.
I guess I'm too late because I had friends in the late 80's who made a lot of money there. But even so I'd be earning the same as I do here only tax free so I'd be able to save most of it.
I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get another MA (mine doesn't count because it's in Ed Counseling so I don't bother mentioning it) then I'll have my choice of much better jobs. I'm finding university positions (in Japan yesterday) that accept American and English teachers with state certifications. So I may look into that. I think the days of big bucks for ESL teachers is over.


Speaking from experience, if you teach in Saudi Arabia you might end up wishing you'd stuck with your original kids, depending on the classes of Arab students you're landed with. Even the nicest students (18-30+) often have severe issues when it comes to work ethic, punctuality and observing classroom rules. Teaching adults anywhere in the Gulf can, at times, feel like you are teaching kids...You might feel just as unsatisfied here as you do there...

Saudi isn't the place to try and 'wake yourself up', especially for a single female. There is very little, if any, excitement to be found there. If you "feel like a zombie", then I would wager Saudi, with all it's oppressive restrictions (which are multiplied by 10 for women), will exacerbate that. There's next to nothing to do in the evenings. Trust me, the 'Arabian nights' are nothing like the Aladdin stories would have you believe!

Sorry to sound so negative, but I just think there are better countries in the Gulf for single female teachers, that's all. In all sincerity, you should look for posts in Oman, Qatar or UAE. I think you'd be a lot happier there. I wish you all the best.
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Gerund



Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 80
Location: Amerika

PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 4:57 pm    Post subject: Re: Single woman in KSA Reply with quote

Ixchel wrote:
I am bored to death...


You're bored to death and you want to come to Saudi Arabia? You have no idea what it means to be bored to death until you have lived in Saudi Arabia.
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Ixchel



Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Posts: 156
Location: The 7th level of hell

PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually not. My original B.A. was in Anthropology so any/every culture fascinates me and I've taken some classes at the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies over the years. I've read countless books about Saudi Arabia for the past 30 or so years and had a few private (one on one) female students from there from a local private ESL school. I live a very quiet life and I have a high tolerance for boredom-I happily stay home reading, doing crafts, cooking, seeing friends. Boredom isn't a concern at all. I have other concerns but I'm still looking into other jobs in the region.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 11:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You need to be self-sufficient to make it in KSA. That applies to mnales AND females. One of the great blessings of bwing in KSA is TIME, time to do things. Of course if you don't have enough imagination to think of things to do, you should stay in Essex, or Los Angeles.
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bulgogiboy



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803

PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ixchel wrote:
Actually not. My original B.A. was in Anthropology so any/every culture fascinates me and I've taken some classes at the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies over the years. I've read countless books about Saudi Arabia for the past 30 or so years and had a few private (one on one) female students from there from a local private ESL school. I live a very quiet life and I have a high tolerance for boredom-I happily stay home reading, doing crafts, cooking, seeing friends. Boredom isn't a concern at all. I have other concerns but I'm still looking into other jobs in the region.


Yet you complain about being "bored to death" in your current situation???

What little there is of traditional Saudi culture (camel racing, falconry, etc) will be largely inaccessible to you, as a single, western female. Besides, 'culture' in Saudi Arabia mostly consists of visiting modern shopping malls, and going to drive-through fast food restaurants. Those are things you could do at home, without being pestered by sexually-frustrated Arab men every time you venture out into the street.

And you can read a thousand books about a country, and really enjoy reading them, but it doesn't mean you're going to enjoy living there. I love reading about ancient Egypt, but I don't think I'd have been very happy there. Laughing
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bulgogiboy



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803

PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scot47 wrote:
You need to be self-sufficient to make it in KSA. That applies to mnales AND females. One of the great blessings of bwing in KSA is TIME, time to do things. Of course if you don't have enough imagination to think of things to do, you should stay in Essex, or Los Angeles.



Yes, Saudi Arabia really is the place to cultivate creative thinking skills. Laughing
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perfect if you have trouble finding the time to write that novel you have been thinking about. Also good for a distance degree...

As someone who is also interested in Anthropology (and Archaeology), even in the rest of the Gulf it is difficult to break into the local culture. But the restrictions on women in Saudi make it even more difficult. (Oman is IMHO the best)

VS
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Loads of things to do - you just need to use your imagination ! In KSA not being able to drive could be an issue for some women.

For most of my 17 years there I chose not to drive and I managed okay, but I accept that it is difficult for a woman on her own.


Last edited by scot47 on Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear bulgogiboy,

"Yes, Saudi Arabia really is the place to cultivate creative thinking skills. Very Happy"

Actually

"Ten of the best books written in prison"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/sep/19/books-written-in-prison

you could be right on Twisted Evil

Regards,
John
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cmp45



Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 1475
Location: KSA

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Something to ponder ...life is truly what you think...
http://theconsciouslife.com/free-yourself-from-the-prison-of-your-mind.htm
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear cmp45,

Except I would say that sometimes, maybe often, the past that stays with us is beneficial since it lights our way to the future.

Yes, i know, the mantra "Live in the NOW" has many positive aspects (although it has, I fear, become a bit trite). However, all of one's past should not, I think, be dismissed nor should one never think about the future.

So, I agree insofar as I think one should not harbor regrets about the past or worries about the future, but neither should one shut them out entirely.

Regards,
John
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