Category: Arabia

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19 – Cultural Souvenirs from Arabia

Alice Delaney Walker, aka Dana Walker

Leaving a country is traumatic. What’s worse is being back home and thinking, “I should have bought that when I was there!”  What stops me? I have this silly feeling that anything that costs more than 100 of any denomination is too expensive.  Before I left Saudi Arabia, I went on a jewelry binge. This is not healthy shopping. It’s less painful to take a few weeks and buy a souvenir (French for “to remember”) here and there, carefully and selectively.       I love rugs, however, I’m not a doctor or an oil executive.  I’ll invest in fake Chinese rugs … Continue reading 19 – Cultural Souvenirs from Arabia

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Embracing Reverse Culture Shock in America – 9

Alice Delaney Walker, aka Dana Walker

Last summer I returned to the States.  The Midwestern oaks, maples and elm trees were in glorious green-leaf flower on streets and surrounding unwalled houses while grass was everywhere. No wonder American money is green!  Most everyone spoke English. I loved the overflow of conversations on airplanes, in stores and while standing in movie lines but I soon tired of eavesdropping after hearing one too many, “He don’t….”  Companies have 1-800 telephone numbers:  free long-distance phone calls to sort out plane reservations or to order products.  Summer school registration with computers was quick and easy. Dormitory living became tolerable.  I … Continue reading Embracing Reverse Culture Shock in America – 9

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75-Day Summer Break – 7

Alice Delaney Walker, aka Dana Walker

    March 8, 1990   Remember planning last year’s summer holiday?  We teachers have the lavish leisure of a 75-day paid summer holiday. But wait!  Like swamp lots sold in Florida or some property in India, such a lengthy holiday may be a golden time to destroy one’s finances and wreck one’s nerves. Staying home in the Gulf isn’t my first choice. My friends leave town and there aren’t any movies playing at wide-screen theatres.  Bicycling, jogging, camping or Hashing don’t seem inviting. One summer I spent a month on the French Riviera. The franc was nine to a … Continue reading 75-Day Summer Break – 7

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Tax-free Income! – 4

Alice Delaney Walker, aka Dana Walker

Those magic words encouraged my move here, yet a year later zero savings!  “No one saves the first year,” fellow teachers console me.  “You’re too busy paying for the essentials.”  Like a car, computer and credit card.  Before I came here, I speculated an exotic future, but worried about my 110 voltage computer.  It could, like me, adapt, but the problem was the Hertz.  Many feverish phone calls illuminated me that my 60-Hertz-only computer wouldn’t work in a 50-Hertz-only country.  Ever buy a computer in the Gulf?  The prices and experience just aren’t the same as in America.  Then there … Continue reading Tax-free Income! – 4