WordWeb Pro defines the word lazy as, "Disinclined to work or exertion". Sometimes I ask myself whether qualifying someone or a group or persons as being "lazy" is not a subjective issue. Maybe each society has a definition for a "lazy woman". One society might consider a woman who is incapable of properly doing household work as being lazy. Others might generalise this to include both her performance or attitude at her workplace vis-à-vis her work and the way she manages her household. So a woman who is very active at work, but not good at taking care of her household might be considered by some as lazy, as opposed to some who might say the contrary and give an explanation for the woman's incapacity to perform her duties as a housewife. So what do you call women who are fabulous at handling both? Superwomen?
Saudis are generally known to be lazy, either at work or at home. I have never met an expat who said the opposite. Not even my Saudi acquaintances dared say the opposite, except for one who said she was always busy at home, even though she had 2 maids who did all the housework. I have also met a few Saudi women who claimed they didn't know how to cook, and it wasn't their fault because they have always had maids who did the job. Who did the laundry? Their maids. Who took the children to school? Their drivers and/or maids or in some cases their husbands. So what did they do in 24 hours? Many things. What kind of things? If the answer was not "studying", then it was "shopping or meeting friends at cafes or women's clubs". One article recently published, blamed Saudi women for the high divorce rates in the Kingdom. They said women spent more time with their friends and went shopping for beauty products instead of spending time taking care of their homes and families.
I come from a tribe where the women are known to be the laziest in the whole country, in addition to being champions in divorcing. In my country, a woman is supposed to be all-round. No one cares whether you are a working housewife or not. If you are too tired to do both, quit your job and take care of your home and let your husband be the breadwinner.
Here in Saudi Arabia, I work an average 18 hours a day, and I am proud to run my household. I do have a maid who stays with my son when I am at work, but basic things like cooking and shopping for groceries should be done by me. Normal. I believe each woman should be proud to cook for her husband. In my hometown, I would be called a lazy person because I do not know how to farm and easily get tired whenever I try this activity. Basically, I would be considered as a woman who can't even till the soil to provide food for her family but would rather sit in an office and claim that she is a housewife.
So what do you think? Am I lazy? Don't you think expats, and maybe a few open-minded Saudi men, judge Saudi women a lot? Don't you think these women only need a change of attitude because they use their energy to do the wrong things instead of concentrating on their household and marriages? By the way, what does it really mean to be a lazy person?
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They were speaking in Arabic, but I did a transliteration since I can't write Arabic. This is what happened:
A Saudi man saw an African lady in front of a newspaper rack. She had a newspaper in her hand, which she was scanning. He was polite. He greeted her and asked her if she was a shagala (maid). She was angry, but she didn't show it. She thought of asking him whether every black woman on the street was a shagala, but then she knew it was pointless to say anything. This was not the first time that someone asked her that question. Usually when anyone asked her her nationality and she responded, the next question that followed was, "Inti shagala?" or "Are you a maid?"
She turned around and looked at him. He looked like he didn't mean any harm. After all, it is a generally belief that nearly all black women here are maids. She looked away and said, "No, I am a doctor." He was so embarrassed that his face turned red. He rapidly apologised, then went into the store nearby at the speed of light.
Why? It is life. Not that being a maid is an insult, but it is a pity that people do not know how to ask questions. It is only in Saudi Arabia that I witnessed people asking questions like, "Are you a maid?" instead of "What is your profession?" Sometimes it is, "Are you a muslim?" instead of "What is your religion?" or "Is Egypt in Asia?" instead of "Where is Egypt?"
If you are new to scenarios like this, then welcome to the club.
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Ils parlaient en Arabe mais j'ai fait une translittération parce que je ne peux pas écrire l'Arabe. Voici l'histoire:
Un homme Arabe vit une femme d'Africaine devant un porte-journaux. Elle avait un journal en main qu'elle parcourait. Il était poli. Il la salua et lui demanda si elle était une shagala (bonne). Elle était en colère, mais elle ne le montra pas. Elle voulait lui demander si toute femme noire dans une rue était une shagala mais elle savait que c'était inutile. Ce n'était pas la première fois que quelqu'un l'avait posée cette question. Habituellement lorsque quelqu'un demandait sa nationalité et elle répondait, la question suivante était: "Inti shagala?" ou "Etes-vous une femme de ménage?"
Elle se retourna et le regarda. Il avait l'air innocent. Après tout, c'est une croyance générale que les femmes noires ici sont la plus part du temps des shagalas. Elle se retourna et dit: "Non, je suis médecin." Il était tellement gêné que son visage devint rouge. Il présenta ses excuses rapidement, puis entra dans le magasin voisin à la vitesse de la lumière.
Mais pourquoi ? C'est la vie. Il est bien vrai qu'être une servante n'est pas une injure, mais c'est dommage que les gens ne savent pas comment poser des questions. C'est seulement en Arabie Saoudite que j'ai eu à voir des gens poser des questions telles que: "Etes-vous une femme de ménage?" au lieu de "Quelle est votre profession ?" Parfois, c'est: "Êtes-vous musulman?" au lieu de "Quelle est votre religion?" ou "L'Egypte est-il en Asie ?" au lieu de "Où se trouve l'Egypte ?"
Si vous êtes nouveau à des scénarios de ce genre, alors bienvenue au club.
A couple of months ago, I was asked to help our company in recruiting 2 individuals for two positions at a government hospital in Jeddah. On the day that I posted the ad online, I got about a hundred applications. I was stunned, but I had to get to work since the company needed to fill those vacancies urgently.
Most of the applicants (95%) sent their emails without cover letters. Is this the general tendency in Saudi Arabia only or is this what usually happens in the Middle East and Asian countries? I ask this question because all of the applicants who sent in these wonderful CVs or résumés came from this part of the world. I come from a country where it is mandatory to send a cover letter along with your CV when applying for a job, even though everyone knows that the letter might end up in someone's trash or serve as paper to wrap doughnuts or peanuts at lunch. Nevertheless, people still write cover letters whenever they are applying for a job.
In Saudi Arabia, it is common knowledge that employers never glance at cover letters, so the general opinion is, "what is the need of writing them anyway?" When I just came to Saudi, I didn't know that this was the general tendency, so every time I applied for a job, I always included a cover letter. After living in this country for 3 years, I also got into the habit of not writing a cover letter when applying for a job. This always irritated my husband, who after living here for 5 years, still felt it was necessary to write one even if it would not be read by a potential employer.
Another surprising thing which I saw was what applicants wrote on their CVs. My! Is this another tendency in Saudi Arabia or what? Over half of them gave too much of their personal details like, the name of their father, their father's experience, the number of siblings in their families etc. Some even went as far as saying that their father had Saudi nationality and that they were under the sponsorship of their father! Has anyone out there carried out a study to find out how information of this type would help job seekers in Saudi Arabia land a job? Please send the results of this research to my email address. Thank you!
So what happens if you can't write your CV correctly? Consult someone whom you judge has the experience in doing so. Many CV writing services such as ResumeWriters.com, PrimeRESUME.com or Resume Lines can be gotten online for a reasonable fee. If you do not have the possibility of paying online, look for a CV writer locally. As far as I am concerned, I have come across a few CV writers here in Jeddah who charge only 50SAR (13.3$) per CV. My husband for one has experience in writing CVs, and he has the habit of writing them for friends and relatives, for free of course. If you really want a job and want to have your application considered, then you would not mind going that extra distance to get someone, friend or acquaintance, to write you a professional CV.
So what do I think?
- Write a cover letter. It doesn't cost anything, right? It might be read, who knows? You might also stand out among other applicants who have the same qualification as you but who applied for the position without attaching a cover letter. Most experts advice job seekers to write one when applying for a job.
- While it is worth mentioning the name of your sponsor, I doubt it is necessary to write it on your CV. I think that should be left out until when you are asked for that information at an interview. What many employers are interested in knowing is whether your iqama or residence permit is transferable or not. Writing this information on your CV is enough.
If you have not yet read what you need to leave out of your CV, you can get some tips from here.
J'aime faire du shopping. Combien de femmes n'aiment pas le faire? J'aime visiter un centre commercial ou un magasin en particulier quand je veux quelque chose de spécifique. Qui ne voudrait pas toucher le tissu d'un sac ou une robe pour s'assurer que c'est ce qu'il/elle veut vraiment? Ou essayez une paire de chaussures pour voir si elles vont bien? Eh oui! La plupart d'entre nous veulent suivre la voie traditionnelle.
Il ya certaines choses que je pourrais acheter sur internet sans trop réfléchir. Ce sont les livres et les CD. Si je ne pouvais pas trouver un livre ou un CD à Jarir, Tihama Bookstores ou Obekan, je ne cherchais plus ailleurs. Je me lançais sur internet pour le chercher. Il était hors de question d'acheter des vêtements, bijoux, appareils électroniques ou quoi que ce soit (hormis les livres et CDs) sur internet.
Un jour quand je surfais sur internet, je suis tombée par hasard sur une boutique qui prétendait être quoi? Le premier club privé de vente en ligne au Moyen-Orient? Je crois. J'ai visité le site et devinez quoi? J'ai aimé ce que j'ai vu, mais je n'ai fait aucun achat parce que j'étais le type traditionnel. Ils avaient un programme de référence, donc je me suis inscrite et j'ai invité une de mes amies Saoudiennes à rejoindre le site. À ma grande surprise, elle était déjà membre et elle achetait des articles sur ce site. C'était une femme Arabe qui aimait aller faire des courses, mais maintenant elle prenait plaisir à acheter des sacs et des bijoux assise devant son ordinateur portable. Plus tard, j'ai rencontré quelques dames qui étaient également membres de ce site, la plupart d'entre elles Saoudiennes. J'étais surprise car il ya tellement de centres commerciaux dans cette ville (Djeddah) que je ne pouvais pas imaginer quelqu'un acheter des choses que vous pourriez trouver partout. Ca, c'était mon coté traditionnel qui me jouait des tours une fois de plus.
Mon histoire d'amour avec ce site a commencé quand j'ai reçu un courrier électronique dans lequel ils annonçaient un grand solde. C'était en effet un grand solde, avec les prix des produits de marque réduits de plus de 80%. J'étais émerveillée. A cette époque, ma carte de crédit avait expirée et je devais la renouveler. La boutique allait arrêter le solde après environ 24 heures! Je ne pouvais pas résister à la tentation de faire un achat. J'ai appelé mon amie Saoudienne qui a passé la commande pour mon compte. Les produits étaient fabuleux et je ne pouvais pas m'arrêter de parler de leur qualité.
Vous pourriez être du type traditionnel, mais je serais surprise si vous pouviez résister à la tentation d'acheter certains articles sur ce site surtout si vous êtes celle qui aime les produits de marque. Honnêtement, je ne pensais pas que les femmes Saoudiennes aimaient faire des achats sur internet jusqu'au jour où j'ai rencontré certaines qui ont l'habitude de le faire. Quoi qu'il en soit, il ya encore certaines choses que je préfère acheter dans un centre commercial ou magasin. Je suis vieux jeu.
I love shopping. Which woman doesn't? Most of all, I love to visit a particular mall or store when I have something in mind. Who wouldn't want to feel the fabric of a bag or dress to make sure that it is what they really want? Or try a pair of shoes to see how they look like when they put them on? Yeah, most of us want to go the traditional way.
There are certain things that I could buy online without thinking a lot. These are books and CDs. If I couldn't find a book or CD at Jarir, Tihama Bookstores or Obekan, then that was it. I looked for it online. To me, it was out of question to buy clothes, jewellery, electronic appliances or any other thing online.
One day, I happened to come across an online store that claimed to be what? The first online private shopping club in the Middle East? I think so. I visited the site and guess what? I loved what I saw, but still I didn't bother to make an order because I was the traditional type. They had a referral programme, so I registered and invited one of my Saudi friends to join the site. To my surprise, she was already a member and she seemed to enjoy shopping on this site. This was a Saudi lady who loved to go out shopping, but now she took delight in buying handbags and jewellery sitting in front of her laptop. Later on, I met some ladies who were also members of this site, most of them Saudis. I was surprised because there were so many malls and shops in this city (Jeddah) that I couldn't imagine anyone buying things that could be found everywhere. That was the traditional me.
My love story with this site began when I received an email from them, notifying me of their big sale. It was indeed a big sale, with the prices of designer products slashed dramatically by more than 80%. I was swept off my feet. At that time, my credit card had expired and had to be renewed. The sale was going to end in about 24 hours! I couldn't resist the temptation, so I called my Saudi friend who placed the order on my behalf. The products were fabulous, and I just couldn't stop talking about them.
You could be the traditional type, but I would be surprised if you could resist buying some items from this site, especially if you are the type who loves designer products. Honestly, I didn't think Saudi ladies fancied shopping online until I met some of them who did so. Whatever be the case, there are still some things I would rather buy at a mall or shop. Same old me.
Ils viennent de différents pays et pourtant ils sont prêts à briser les barrières culturelles et sociales pour se rétrouver au moins une fois par mois. Ils ont peut-être franchi les grands déserts du monde ou des grandes étendues d'eau, ont bravé le climat des régions tropicales ou tempérées pour venir en Arabie Saoudite travailler, mais ils ont trouvé le temps de se réunir pour tuer la monotonie de la vie quotidienne dans ce pays.
Cette semaine, ils avaient un barbecue dans une enceinte privée. C'était un endroit agréable et accueillant. Il était environ 20 heures quand les invités ont commencé à arriver. La fumée du rôti faisait baver. Oh oui! C’était bon de se rappeler que l'on avait les glandes salivaires qui fonctionnaient normalement.
La plupart des invités ne se connaissaient pas. Certains d'entre eux s’étaient seulement rencontrés sur ce site. L'ambassadeur du groupe prononça un discours d'ouverture puis il invita les a invités à se servir. Après le dîner, ils jouèrent un jeu intéressant de remue-méninges.
Ce fut une soirée passionnante. Rien de fou comme certains pouvaient penser. Une soirée calme sans alcool et pas de musique bruyante. Juste une simple rencontre parmi les expatriés qui sont venus ensemble pour voir de nouveaux visages et partager leurs expériences avec d'autres personnes. Les expatriés qui sont nouveaux en Arabie Saoudite pourraient bénéficier de telles rencontres, car ils pourraient obtenir des information utiles des personnes qui ont séjournées dans ce pays depuis des années.
