An American Womans Life In Jeddah Saudi Arabia

I grew up a Roman Catholic. Sent to a Catholic school, I received good education. In those days, when you passed certain tests, you were allowed to enter first grade very early. I graduated from grade school at eleven years old. Then I was on a Catholic high school, graduating at the age of sixteen years. I skipped a grade in grade school. My mother belonged to a Catholic organization, and our family took in foreign students to live with us. Thus, I am very eager to learn foreign cultures. When my husband had the chance to live and work in Saudi Arabia, we jumped at it.

An American woman shares her journey from living in Cabrini Green in Chicago, Illinois, to meeting her Saudi Arabian spouse at Vincennes University and venturing off to live in Saudi Arabia for thirteen years. Tina enjoys sharing her unique story with friends and those who want to ask questions about her unique life. The story begins with life in Cabrini Green, moving to Indiana, and eventually Saudi Arabia. Enjoy the journey. Each chapter will take you on my journey through my childhood from Cabrini Green to life in Saudi Arabia and how I met my husband and our journey together. Sit back and relax and read on.

Memoirs of an American Woman in Arabia, Book 2 "Bismillah" is the second book in the series by Addison Ireland. Book 2 details Addison's life in Saudi Arabia being married to a Saudi man. In the beginning, life was good for them, but things changed after her mother in law passed away. Addison's jealous sister in laws create drama for her and falsely accuse her of things. Her husband attempts to solve some of the issues that are taking place with them, but ultimately, when Addison is offered a position as an English teacher at one of the elementary schools, she accepts. Teaching leads her to a position working for Princess Ameerah Al Saud at an International School where she continues to work and study at the same time. Addison discusses life through the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the ousting of Osama bin Laden from Saudi Arabia. She explains verses from the Qur'an that prove that Al Qaeda and other terrorists are hypocrites who are going against the very religion they claim to uphold. Traumatic events cause Addison to recall memories that had been repressed. Repression is one of the most haunting concepts in psychology. Something shocking happens, and the mind pushes it into some inaccessible corner of the unconscious. For some the memories stay hidden away. For Addison, the memory emerged into consciousness and caused her to recall horrific events that had occurred just before her marriage to Khalid. This is a heartbreaking story of an American woman who was in love with a Saudi man and had hoped she could make it work in a land where westerners weren't liked very much. Her uncompromising husband and the strict Sharia (Islamic Law) dictate her fate.

It all begins with an ad in the newspaper. When Jean Sasson, a young Southern woman living in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, answers a call to work in the royal hospital in Saudi Arabia, what should have been a two-year stay turns into a life-changing adventure spanning over a decade. Over the years Jean is plunged into the hidden lives of the veiled women in Riyadh, where women are locked in luxurious homes and fundamentalist mutawas terrorize the streets. Jean meets women from all walks of life--a feisty bedouin, an educated mother, a conservative wife of a high-ranking Saudi, and a Saudi princess the world knows as Princess Sultana--all who open a window into Saudi culture and help to reshape Jean's worldviews ... the first installment in a heartfelt, inspiring memoir about Jean's thirty-year travels and adventures in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq.

From the author of Threading My Prayer Rug, an eye-opening view of life in Saudi Arabia. It’s Not What You Think is a wry, incisive account of working in Saudi Arabia that offers insight into that insular patriarchal society, what is so attractive to expatriates living there, and what was contradictory or confining about it for a naturalized American who is a woman and a Muslim. A hospital executive in New Jersey, Sabeeha relocated with her oncologist husband to Riyadh, the most conservative city in the country, intending to remain two years. They ended up staying for six. Her book takes the reader on a journey of discovery that mirrors her own. Offered an influential position at Riyadh’s most prestigious hospital, she first has to obtain her husband’s permission to work. In public spaces, she quickly encounters the morality police but also learns the freedom of the abaya. Salesmen staff the lingerie department. Women in Riyadh do not work in public places, yet they hold positions of authority within corporate culture; and outside Riyadh, she discovers that women-owned-and-operated businesses flourish, and Bedouin women could drive in the desert decades before Riyadh’s ban was relaxed. Through Sabeeha’s eyes, we see how Saudi and Western expat cultures coexist within the boundaries of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” how traditions define the identity of the Saudi nation, and how to discern what is “culturally appropriate” versus what is required legally. As she dons pilgrim’s garb, we join her on the hajj, to discover the intensity and spiritual high of the devout.

Written by a female Middle East expert, Bradt’s Saudi Arabia is the first English-language travel guide from a mainstream publisher that focuses exclusively on the Kingdom, which has now opened for general tourism as part of rapid political, economic and social reforms. With detailed advice on what to see and do, listings for accommodation and restaurants, guidance on cultural etiquette and advice for women and other diverse travellers, this book provides the practical information adventurous tourists need to explore this new, exciting destination. Saudi Arabia will appeal to adventure travellers, offering activities ranging from pristine, world-class scuba diving to mountain-trekking. With dramatic scenery including a desert that stretches for hundreds of kilometres (where you can camp like a Bedouin) and several accessible nature reserves, visitors looking for undisturbed landscapes are spoilt for choice. Culture vultures will appreciate pre-Islamic rock art, Nabatean heritage, Mada’in Saleh (the sister city to Jordan’s Petra in Jordan) and six UNESCO World Heritage Sites rarely visited by international tourists. Particularly after sundown, when Saudi Arabia truly comes alive, urbanites can explore the cities of Riyadh and Jeddah, where shopping opportunities range from traditional souqs to top-end malls where the wealthy go to see and be seen. Gastronomists can enjoy varied cuisine, from fine dining worthy of a Michelin star to traditional meals served on the floor, shared by all and eaten by hand. This guide dispels misinformation by providing an unbiased, up-to-date and comprehensive resource that accurately reflects what Saudi Arabia now offers visitors from all backgrounds. Most outsiders know little about the Kingdom other than from typically negative media coverage, so may be pleasantly surprised at its rich history and youthful population eager to extend hospitality to guests respecting their culture and traditions. A comprehensive guide combining detailed travel information about the entire Kingdom (from the Northern Borders to Asir, and from Hejaz to Eastern Province) with a chapter explaining some of the main practices of and reasons for the hajj and umrah pilgrimages, plus contextual insights covering cultural etiquette, reforms and women travellers, Bradt’s Saudi Arabia is the perfect companion for people who thrive on off-the-beaten-path travel.

"Leaving America" is book 1 in the series, "Memoirs of an American in Arabia". These memoirs are the true life story of Addison Ireland, the thirteenth child in a family of fourteen who was raised in the Seattle suburbs by Irish-Catholic parents. Addison is suddenly faced with tough life decisions at just nineteen years old, when her parents decide she and her brothers should move out of the house so that they can downsize and simplify their lives. It was also her parents attempt at forcing Addison to give up on marrying her Arabic boyfriend and move on in life. Addison thinks about the choices she has; the decision to either marry her Saudi Arabian boyfriend or find somewhere to live and make a new life for herself. Upset and crying, she leaves her parents house and drives to her friends seeking advice, only to get attacked and brutally raped by several men at her friend's apartment. Traumatized and in pain, Addison is dumped in front front of her parents home where her childhood friend, Bryce, rushes to her side to console her and let her know that he wants to protect her and be with her. Unfortunately, Addison's traumatic experience has caused her to repress any memory of that night. Addison's true story leads us down her long road of adversity as she ultimately decides to get married and move away to live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; heading down what she hopes is a yellow brick road to a better life. Unfortunately, her yellow brick road turns blue at many times during her life married to a Saudi man. She overcomes situations no woman should ever have to face alone. Addison takes us into a world rarely seen by Americans and even clears up many of the misconceptions about Saudi Arabia. It's the sincere wish of the author that other women who have faced similar circumstances: sexual assault, divorce, oppression, abuse, etc. will find some inspiration in these memoirs and just know that we are stronger than we think we are. We can get through hardships and forge ahead to success if we put our minds to it and have faith.

A memoir by a Saudi Arabian woman who became the unexpected leader of a movement to support women's rights describes how fundamentalism influenced her radical religious beliefs until her education, a job, and legal contradictions changed her perspectives.

A strikingly honest look into Islamic culture?—in particular women and Islam?—and what it takes for one woman to recreate herself in the land of invisible women. Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, becomes an outcast in motion. On a whim, she accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia. This is not just a new job; this is a chance at adventure in an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong. What she discovers is vastly different. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a world apart, a land of unparalleled contrast. She finds rejection and scorn in the places she believed would most embrace her, but also humor, honesty, loyalty and love. And for Qanta, more than anything, it is a land of opportunity. Very few Islamic books for women give a firsthand account of what it's like to live in a place where Muslim women continue to be oppressed and treated as inferior to men. But if you want to learn more about the Islamic culture in an unflinchingly real way, this book is for you. "In this stunningly written book, a Western trained Muslim doctor brings alive what it means for a woman to live in the Saudi Kingdom. I've rarely experienced so vividly the shunning and shaming, racism and anti—Semitism, but the surprise is how Dr. Ahmed also finds tenderness at the tattered edges of extremism, and a life—changing pilgrimage back to her Muslim faith." — Gail Sheehy

"Leaving America" is the first book in the series, "Addison's Adventures in Arabia"; true life story of Addison Ireland, the thirteenth child in a family of fourteen who was raised in the Seattle suburbs by Irish-Catholic parents. Addison is suddenly faced with tough life decisions at just nineteen years old, when her parents decide she and her brothers should move out of the house so that they can downsize and simplify their lives. It was also her parents attempt at forcing Addison to give up on marrying her Arabic boyfriend and move on in life.Addison thinks about the choices she has; the decision to either marry her Saudi Arabian boyfriend or find somewhere to live and make a new life for herself. Upset and crying, she leaves her parents house and drives to her friends seeking advice, only to get attacked and brutally raped by several men at her friend's apartment. Traumatized and in pain, Addison is dumped in front front of her parents home where her childhood friend, Bryce, rushes to her side to console her and let her know that he wants to protect her and be with her. Unfortunately, Addison's traumatic experience has caused her to repress any memory of that night.Addison's true story leads us down her long road of adversity as she ultimately decides to get married and move away to live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; heading down what she hopes is a yellow brick road to a better life. Unfortunately, her yellow brick road turns blue at many times during her adventures in Arabia and she is forced to overcome situations no woman should ever have to face. The stories Addison tells of her life in Saudi Arabia are somewhat humorous, enlightening, and at times shocking and even terrifying. Addison takes us into a world rarely seen by Americans and even clears up many of the misconceptions about Saudi Arabia. Life for a young American woman in Saudi Arabia has it's own set of problems that Addison is forced to deal with on her own without the support of family or friends.------------------------------------------------------