<p>Pizzagirl – am interested in your clothing decisions for your trip. Is this what your employer recommends or personal choice? I had (perhaps naively) thought that a woman dressed in professional, modest attire with a headscarf would satisfy most cultural expectations.</p>
<p>DH travels oveseas frequently for work, so I am interested in hearing from him and others about various cultural differences in the business world.</p>
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<p>I’m sorry to keep hammering on this, but isn’t a 21 year old man with an engineering degree skilled enough to figure out on his own if he can bring his music and movies? Or is this something that he really needs outside assistance in figuring out?</p>
<p>It is difficult to visit Saudi Arabia. My understanding is that you generally need a Saudi company or government agency to sponsor your visa application. I’m not sure that having family come to visit you in the Kingdom would be a sufficient reason to get issued a visa.</p>
<p>Many ex-pats who live/work in Saudi Arabia are quite happy for the chance to travel outside the Kingdom, even if it is just to Bahrain or the Emirates, where visa restrictions are much less stringent and the social atmosphere is not as confining.</p>
<p>moneyisimportant…no need to be snippy I am the one who is curious and I am sure my son knows what he will need to do. He is obviously very capable but he is still my son and I am concerned about this position. Just curious do you have kids this age?</p>
<p>dadx3 I did’nt think Saudi travel would be possible but I figured we would be able to meet up somewhere in the region.</p>
<p>One of my closest friends just returned from a 3 year stay in Qatar. Overall, the whole family enjoyed their time there. They were there with US government positions but several of their friends and neighbors were employed with oil industry. I’m sure she would be happy to “talk” with you. If you are interested PM me and I’ll send you her email.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: IANAP (I am not a parent).</p>
<p>I have met various people who study/work in Saudi Arabia. Some were Arabs (not Saudis though) and one was a European student (at KAUST, a fascinating place in its own right).</p>
<p>It’s an interesting experience, has the potential to be quite financially rewarding, and I think the risks are somewhat overstated. Expats are pretty segregated and there is a ton of security.</p>
<p>That being said one of the biggest challenges I think will be the cultural aspect. Make sure he understands that is a very, very different society and things that are taken for granted in America/Europe can get you in incredibly serious trouble (the student I met forgot a bottle of alcohol is his luggage on the way back from vacation in Turkey, the results were not pleasant from what I was told).</p>
<p>I say go for it! It’s something that is best done when you’re still young and can afford to pack up and go on an adventure, not to mention get paid well for it!</p>
<p>^ Thankyou, I think it will be a great experience for my adventure loving son. The job is wonderful but the experience of living and working in this part of the world is what is really intriguing him. </p>
<p>I want to thank you for realizing that my concern for him lies in the fact that at this age young people can be forgetful regarding the repercussions of minor infractions. I will also miss him but I understand that this is a great experience both professionally and personally. He will be leaving one week after graduation…something I never expected.</p>
<p>I agree w/dadx3 regarding visiting Saudi Arabia. I really haven’t figured out a way to visit our son there, and he said that Riyadh, where he is, wouldn’t really be a great place to visit. We are considering meeting him somewhere. </p>
<p>Son’s Saudi visa requires that he leave the country every 30 days, so he has been to Beirut and Cairo so far. Interesting that as a non-Muslim in Saudi Arabia, S must listen to the prayers every day, but is not allowed in the mosques (a mixed message in conversion according to him!). He was allowed in a mosque in Cairo, however. </p>
<p>I’ll check with Son about bringing movies and music. I know that he didn’t take any T-shirts with writing on them, especially beer T-shirts. Your son may have more freedoms if he is living in a compound.</p>
<p>My brother is a commercial pilot for a major middle eastern airlines and has lived in the gulf for 8 years. He previously lived in Abu Dhabi, is now in Bahrain and is thinking about moving to Doha because he feels the city has more to offer his growing family. He also flies in and out of Saudi, but usually doesn’t stay overnight there. We are American. He has never had any problems as an American negotiating his way around those countries. He owns a home, takes taxis to the airport and eats in all the local restaurants, goes to local doctors. Of course he doesn’t walk around saying “look at me I’m an American” There are thousands of Americans and Europeans living and working the Middle East. I think your son is lucky to have the opportunity to live and work in that part of the world. I say go for it!</p>
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<p>I hope you’ll share your experiences, Pizzagirl. Decades ago, the company I worked for banned woman from working on a Saudi contract due to their lack of respect for women (or however you want to phrase it). Didn’t get to the point of discussing what we’d wear if assigned.</p>
<p>In Saudi Arabia, ALL women must wear an abaya when outside, and ALL Muslim women must also have their hair covered, but the muttawa may even make non-Muslim women cover their hair. The (non-Muslim) women in my son’s office don an abaya to go to lunch, to go home, etc. He said it was quite interesting on the plane to Riyadh to see women dressed in designer clothes put on the their abayas prior to landing. </p>
<p>It is quite easy to find a lot of information on the internet about societal norms in Saudi Arabia. So far, my son would say it is quite accurate.</p>
<p>don’t worry about it. There are plenty of Americans in Saudi Arabia, especially on its East Coast (i.e. Dhahran). They won’t be like “Oh look it’s an infidel American, let’s kill him!” We’re talking about a modern Arab country (that happens to have two sites holy to Muslims), not a remote, lawless, and dangerous (they have a war every other decade) region full of redneck conservatives like Afghanistan. The last time I checked KSA was like 5% Christian or something (all of them foreigners). Just have him follow the rules of the country and he’ll be fine like all the other Americans there.</p>
<p>The biggest “danger” you would have to worry about isn’t the people. From what I’ve heard from others, it’s driving.</p>
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Having lived there for three years, I guarantee this statement is untrue. It may be more convenient to wear one, because you don’t have to worry about what you’re wearing otherwise, but it is definitely not required. As long as you’re dressed modestly, it is okay. I also was never asked to cover my head. Considering my coloring, which could be assumed to be arab, I’m also going to assume that arab women are not required to cover their heads or faces, but it is a choice.</p>
<p>OP: I think your son will have a fabulous adventure and as others have said: assuming he can respect their customs and laws, will be perfectly safe.</p>
<p>I have read that Qatar is a bit more relaxed. Have any of you been there for any length of time? I am not sure if he will live in Qatar and travel to Saudi or the other way around.</p>
<p>In the holy cities that are reserved for Muslims, Muslim women should be wearing their abayas or what not. But then again, that’s 1) the more religiously strict West Coast 2) the holiest cities to Muslims.</p>
<p>From my son who is living in Riyadh:</p>
<p>Regarding abayas: All women absolutely must have the abaya on in public and all Muslim women cover their hair and often everything but their eyes. Women from other countries particularly westerners do not often cover their head though they could be yelled at by the mutawa - it is unlikely a western women will be arrested for this offense, just scolded. Actually the biggest threat from not covering up is not incarceration but verbal or physical harassment from younger Saudis who view it as a sign of promiscuity to not cover up.
This goes for the whole country. Jeddah might be a little more relaxed but not much.</p>
<p>Regarding bringing music and movies to Saudi Arabia:
I sensed no restrictions - if its not clearly visible in the scanner they won’t do a thing. Obviously a book like “God is dead”, a Jack Daniels label on a bottle, or a DVD case with “Saving Ryan’s Privates” will get some attention. They used to be very thorough and even go through hard drives but that has ended completely and customs is now very lax.</p>
<p>momma-three
I really think Qatar is ok
D (age 20 now) is somewhat interested in jobs in Education City in Doha.
Qatar seems safer and less stressful than a lot of the other places she has been thinking of. (Arabic major D is fine with wearing conservative clothes + hijab when out and about; you just need to blend in.)
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thankyou to all the above posters for sharing your knowledge and thoughts, as always I appreciate the help from you. </p>
<p>If anyone else has first hand knowledge or knows someone who has been in the area in the last year or two please let me know.</p>
<p>I think Qatar is more relaxed. I have a family friend who has been living in Doha and I don’t think she wears a headscarf there, and she’s Muslim.</p>
<p>bumping thread…</p>