Meet the Author of "Girl of the Book"

Like many women who relocated to Saudi Arabia under their husbands' sponsorship, Princila Murrell is one of those who sought to make a living by doing jobs out of her field of expertise. As you may already know, most female university graduates who come under the sponsorship of their husbands start off by looking for a teaching job, in most cases at an international school, before transitioning to a job that matches their education. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky and some women end up in jobs below their qualification level. 

Murrell believes that every expat woman should explore their skills and get the best out of it. She has, for example, been working as a freelance writer for several researchers in the Kingdom since 2009 and made the leap to indie author this year when she wrote her debut novel Girl of the Book. While the book has not yet been published, she has garnered some positive reviews from book bloggers and reviewers, some of which are presented below:

Editorial review on Amazon.com

Girl of the Book by Princila Murrell is a book about a young teenager, Courtney Parker. Her father has decided to accept a two-year contract in Saudi Arabia, which means uprooting the family from their hometown in South Africa. Courtney hates everything about her new environment. Everything feels foreign to her and she longs for her friends and school back home. Courtney's new school is full of cultural divides. She meets Lana and they forge a shaky friendship, but it's soon shattered when Courtney befriends a Muslim boy in her building, Nizar. All three find themselves faced with challenges of their heritage. Can they overcome their differences?

Murrell tells a very heartwarming story about the journey of fitting into a new life. Girl of the Book is a perfect way to start the conversation rolling about these difficult topics.--Readers' Favorite

Girl of the Book by Princila Murrell is an interesting and engaging story about a South African family that moves to Saudi Arabia for the father’s two-year work assignment. I was concerned that this would be a preachy book for kids about how all Muslims are wonderful and all Christians are intolerant and arrogant, but I was pleasantly surprised by a balanced story line with realistic characters that struggle with real life situations.

The new-girl-in-school problems found in many tween and teen books are magnified in this book. Despite her parents’ careful instructions, Courtney still manages to violate cultural rules regularly, even though she tries not to cause trouble. Many of her classmates at school don’t help--and even work to get her into more trouble. Two young people, a girl and a boy, are the only ones kind to her. Unfortunately, their kindness to Courtney causes them problems with some family members and classmates, too.

This was a wonderful book that respected both religious traditions while showing how difficult it can be for the two cultures to understand one another. There are no objectionable elements, so parents can confidently hand this excellent story to young readers, even very young children who read well above grade level.--Kimberly, Hog on Ice

Her book has also been featured on other blogs:

• A Girl and Her Kindle
• Land of Children's Books

Oh, How They Come in Different Colours!

Abayas come in different shapes, sizes and colours. Traditionally, the abaya is black; however, when it's not simply black, it is classy, with crystals or embroidery;




or red;



or blue;



or purple;




or bi-coloured; 



or tri-coloured;



or even white!




Some say we should wear only black abayas.
"It will cause fitnah," they say.
Others disagree.
"The type of car that you or your husband owns, your job or money can also cause fitnah," they argue.
But at the end of the day, you've got to wear an abaya when you step out of your home.
What colour is it going to be?

Arabie saoudite: Quand est-il temps de partir?

La plupart des expatriés sont en Arabie Saoudite parce qu'ils veulent faire plus d'argent. Certaines personnes sont ici pour des raisons purement religieuses. (Vrai ou faux ?) Bien que ce soit le meilleur endroit pour un musulman de vivre, qu'est-ce que ce pays peut nous offrir ? Nos comptes bancaires sont surveillés, nous ne sommes pas censés avoir des emplois supplémentaires, ou même envoyer des sommes considérables d'argent à l'étranger. Ce qui irrite beaucoup plus certains expatriés c'est qu'ils ne peuvent pas acheter un appartement ou un terrain sans le concours d'un saoudien.

Certains musulmans ont l'intention de quitter l'Arabie Saoudite pour l'Occident! Pourquoi l'Occident quand nous savons ce que les musulmans pensent de l'Ouest ? Pourquoi l'Occident quand nous savons que le niveau de vie dans les pays occidentaux est beaucoup plus élevé que dans le royaume ? Voici les réponses de certains expatriés (je cite) :

« Je me sentais persécutée. J'ai publiée un article et j'ai été agressée verbalement pour avoir dit la vérité. Que pouvons-nous gagner lorsqu'un chercheur dans un milieu universitaire est menacé parce ce qu'il a publié ses données - des résultats honnêtes ? Comment est-ce que la recherche peut t'il avancer ? »

« Le système d'éducation est nulle. Tout un chacun qui n'arrive pas a trouver un travail peut être embaucher pour enseigner nos enfants. »
     
« Vous ne pouvez jamais être trop sûr que vous quitterez l'hôpital vivant lorsque vous êtes malade. Certains spécialistes sont loin d'être ceux qu'ils prétendent être. J'ai entendu parlé de médecins égyptiens qui achètent la MRCP sur le marché noir pour se présenter comme des médecins spécialiste afin de bénéficier de salaires élevés. Mince alors! »

« Nous sommes payés en fonction de la couleur de nos passeports. Je pensais que tout le monde était égal dans ce pays. J'étais très déçu quand j'ai observé le contraire. »

Y at-il quelque chose que vous contrarie en Arabie Saoudite ? Vous pouvez partagez vos impressions dans la section commentaires ci-dessous. En fait, il y a toujours des avantages et des inconvénients de vivre dans n'importe quel pays. Dans un article précédant, ja'i décrit les avantages de vivre en Arabie Saoudite (pour une femme, bien sûr).

Saudi Arabia: When is it Time to Leave?

Most of us, expats, are in Saudi because we wish to make more money. Very few are here for purely religious reasons. (True or false?) While this is the best place for a Muslim to live, what can this country offer us? Our bank accounts are monitored (what? I read that our incomes should be proportionate with our monthly salaries), we're not supposed to have extra jobs, or even send substantial amounts of money to our home countries. What irks some expats

most is that you cannot buy an apartment or a piece of land and call it yours.  

Some Muslims are planning to leave Saudi Arabia for other countries: for the West! Why the West when we know how Muslims feel about westerners? Why the West when we know that the standard of living in those countries is much higher that in the Kingdom? Below are the responses of some expats (quote unquote):

• I felt that I was persecuted. I published a paper and I was verbally abused for telling the truth. What can we gain when in the academic setting a researcher is threatened for publishing his data--results that he did not falsify? How do we expect research to move forward? 
• The educational system is not good. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is employed to teach our kids. Some teachers are not even qualified to teach, yet employers hire them without running a background check.
• You can never be too sure that you'll leave the hospital alive when you're ill. Some specialists are far from being who they claim to be. I've heard of Egyptian doctors who buy the MRCP from the black market and brandish it around to avail of high salaries. Blimey!
• We get paid according to the colour of our passports. I thought everyone was equal in this country. I was so disappointed when I observed the contrary.  

Is there anything that irks you in Saudi? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. As a matter of fact, there are always pros and cons about life anywhere. To be fair, I had written a post a few years ago about a woman's advantages of living in Saudi.

Jeddah: Treasure Island Eid Festival

While I was looking for something fun to do this weekend with my family, I fell across the advert below and couldn't help spreading the word.

Are you bored from same Eid routine in KSA? Having the same places to go with nothing new? Same traffic difficulties and rush. Great News!!!!! Its not going to happen this Eid because Our FESTIVAL will not let you be bored thats our promise.

Treasure Island festival. To be held on Durrat Al Uroos from 2nd day of Eid till 11th day of Eid. Tickets available now. Book your tickets as this event has limited tickets. Daily gifts and luckydraw with a treasure hunt. Special surprise gifts for first 50 passes. Jet ski, banana boat, desert bikes, Segmented Shopping Arcade and a night to remember with most of National and International Artists. Have the best day with your family and friends at the best ambiance imaginable. Contact 0563235353 to get your tickets.

Join us on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/events/1559193150974115/?ref=22

In the poster, the organizers stated that the activities will run from the 2nd to the 11th of Shawwal. This corresponds to July 29 to August 7, 2014. Hope it's not to let to grab a ticket. Have fun!
 

Arabie Saoudite: Renouvellement du Permit de Sejour et du Passeport

J'ai écrit ce post pour ceux qui ne sont pas sous le parrainage d'une entreprise et qui ont l'obligation de payer pour le renouvellement de leur permis de séjour ou iqama. Les informations sur le renouvellement du permis de séjour après le renouvellement d'un passeport ne sont malheureusement pas habituellement affichées sur ​​les sites Internet, et si c'était le cas, celles-ci sont probablement en arabe. Cependant, je vais me pencher sur certains points spécifiques basés sous l'experience d'un confrère expatrié qui a du apprendre certaines informations pendant le renouvellement de son permit de sejour afin que vous ne faites pas la même erreur. 

Si vous souhaitez renouveler votre iqama et votre passeport a été renouvelé récemment, vous devez d'abord vous rendre au bureau des passeports afin que votre information soit mise à jour. D'après ce que j'ai compris, cette procédure sert à lier votre nouveau passeport à votre iqama actuel et l'ancien passeport sera automatiquement annulé. Vous devez absolument vous presenter au bureau de passeport avec votre khafeel (parrain) pour entamer cette procédure. Pour toutes les étapes ci-dessous, vous n'avez pas besoin d'être accompagné par votre parrain. 

On vous demandera de faire quelques examens de laboratoire. Si vous vivez avec votre famille en Arabie Saoudite, vous et votre conjoint serez invités à faire ces tests. (Mise à jour: J'ai été informé récemment que toute la famille doit faire les examens médicaux.) Actuellement, vous n'avez pas à attendre les résultats car ceux-ci sont transmis directement au centre administratif impliqué dans le renouvellement du permis de séjour. 

Assurez-vous que vous payez une assurance médicale avant de commencer le processus de renouvellement du permis de sejour. Si vous ne le faites pas, vous perdez un temps précieux à faire la queue seulement pour être informé à la dernière minute que vous devez payer l'assurance en premier. Croyez-moi, les bureaux d'immigration sont généralement bondés et vous voudriez vous assurer que vous avez tout ce dont vous avez besoin avant d'y aller. En ce qui concerne l'assurance, vous pouvez payer pour l'assurance médicale individuelle ou familiale. Cela dépend de vos préférences. 

Si vous aviez commis une infraction au code de la route, payez votre amende ou ce serait impossible pour vous de renouveler votre iqama. Vous n'avez pas besoin d'aller à votre banque pour payer ces frais. Ceci peut se faire à n'importe quel guichet automatique.

Saudi Arabia: Passport and Iqama Renewal

I wrote this post for persons who are not under the sponsorship of a company, and who have the obligation to pay for the renewal of their resident permits (iqama). Information regarding iqama renewal after renewal of a passport is, unfortunately, not usually displayed on websites, and if at all it is, then it is probably in Arabic. However, I'm just going to write about specific points based on what one expat experienced when he renewed his and his family's iqamas so that you do not make the same mistake.

If you wish to renew your iqama and your passport was renewed recently, you have to go to the passport office first so that your information is updated. From what I learned, this is to ensure that your new passport is linked to your current iqama and the old passport will be cancelled. You absolutely need to go with your Khafeel (sponsor) during this stage. For all the stages below, you do not need to be accompanied by your sponsor.

You may have to do some laboratory tests. If you live with your family in Saudi Arabia, you and your spouse would be requested to do these tests. (Update: I was informed recently that the whole family would be requested to do medicals.) Currently, individuals do not have to wait for the results, as these are sent directly to the administrative center involved in the renewal of resident permits.

Make sure you pay medical insurance before starting the iqama renewal process. If you do not, you would waste invaluable time queuing up only to be told that you have to pay insurance first. Believe me, the immigration offices are usually crowded and you want to make sure you have everything you need before going there. Regarding insurance, you may pay for individual or family medical insurance. It depends on your preferences.     

If you have a traffic violation, pay it or you won't be able to renew your iqama. You do not need to go to your bank to pay this, as it can be done from any ATM.