ONE EXPAT FAMILY'S EXPERIENCE IN SAUDI ARABIA
If I pick a staple food crop that merits investigation, oats would be the one. Oats possess characteristics and nutritional attributes that are attractive in human nutrition and prevention of disease. Additionally they have environmental advantages in agriculture. Oats are consumed as a whole grain cereal unlike wheat and rice, etc. which have more processed …
Continue reading "Oats, Breakfast Food of Champions, Especially Kids"
A recent article in The New York Times from summer of 2020 addressed the problem of malnourished children and the gut microbiome. It's one of the many new articles exploring the world of our bodies at the microbial level. The food you eat may have a bigger impact on your health than even your genetic …
My kids were all excited this afternoon and told me to come fast. They had spotted a large caterpillar crawling in the yard. At first I thought, oh they probably just found a large black slug, common here at nighttime. However I was in for a surprise when I went out the front door and …
Continue reading "Discovery in our garden, Striped Hawk-moth caterpillars!"
It's becoming spring again very soon, which could mean a return of the locust swarms we saw last year in Saudi and across the Middle East, as well as Africa. You may be asking why this still happens, and what causes grasshoppers to form swarms and turn to locust behavior. Well for one, we as …
Covid has brought a lot of change and with it new ways of connecting to others. Saudi Arabia took a very proactive approach to containing the virus early on, which helped immensely in keeping numbers lower than in many other countries. Throughout this process travel was restricted, borders closed and people were encouraged not to …
Continue reading "During Covid, Abayas get stylish with new design collaboration"
I can't believe I missed this one! While looking up other art forms in Saudi I came across last year's Benefit cosmetics video. It features Saudi R&B singer Roya and other music artists in a music video made for the Middle East on Instagram. The favorite color here is hot pink and has lots of …
Continue reading "Music, Rap, Beauty, all combine for Benefit Cosmetics"
As World Poetry Day, March 21st 2021 is coming closer, I thought it would be nice to introduce the 4 female Saudi poets that were written about last year in March 2020, in About Her (abouther.com). The link to the article can be found at bottom of post so you can read more about each …
Continue reading "World Poetry Day 2020, 4 notable Saudi women"
This past weekend we had a chance to visit the Ritz-Carlton while in Riyadh. It is a grand affair to pass through the monumental gates and drive up the flag lined driveway. The beautiful fountains greet you as you pass into the covered parking spots. Everything about the Ritz-Carlton is fancy. So be prepared to …
Continue reading "Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, opulence and luxury, our visit"
Saudis love the tradition of camping out in nature, the desert. You will see many families and especially groups of guys, take a car ride out from the cities, or go to a public park and spread a blanket to set up the meal and enjoy being next to the earth. There is usually a …
Continue reading "Riyadh desert glamping experience is expensive, but popular with Saudis"
Finding music teachers in KSA is not easy. The ones you do find tend to charge high prices to teach music. I had hoped to continue learning the acoustic guitar in Spanish style Flamenco, but failed to find myself anyone who could teach it, at least here in Al Khobar. The reason behind this, is …
Continue reading "Saudi violinist hopes to open music school"
Date Palms & Camels 