Hello!

I'll start by telling you that i'm a male x-ray technologist, so my experiences may be very different from those of a female nurse. I arrived in the Kingdom in late september 2009, and at the moment i've been here nearly 4 months. I work in National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA) Riyadh, or King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC). Same thing.

Saudi Arabia is not a bad place. The culture is vastly different from Finland, and they have their own rules and laws here. Respect those, and you will be fine. Religion is everywhere. Most of the saudis are quite friendly and seem to like westerners. However, communication may be a problem. Some of the locals speak english, but not all. I have learned that it's better to speak understandable than perfect english, especially if you're talking to a non-native english speaker. The locals appreciate all efforts of speaking  arabic, so it's a good idea to learn some. It's not an easy language, so don't get depressed if you can't learn it in a week. In the hospital you can usually communicate in english, but the patients speak usually arabic. Some of the staff also speak better arabic or their own language than english. So get ready for a very multi-cultural experience, and don't rely solely on your (undoubtedly excellent) english.

Also, you will be filling a lot of forms and other documents here. There's a lot of bureaucracy. If you haven't filled a form or someone hasn't filled it for you, chances are nothing is going to happen. Once you accept that and don't expect things to happen instantaneusly, it'll be okay. It can be annoying if  you've been waiting in the bank for 1,5 hours and when your turn is about to come, it's prayer time. Nothing will happen until after the prayer.

For an x-ray tech here in NGHA Riyadh, the work load is usually reasonable. Working here is not a vacation, but compared to my previous experiences in Finland there's less work per tech here. Of course this is purely my personal experience, and when you come here you may disagree. And these things may change. Basically they do the same things here, but they do them slightly differently. Going into details here would be pointless, so i will not do it. Religion affects even work, as usually a male is not allowed to touch a female which adds to the challenge when positioning a non-english-speaking female patient. Normally female techs deal with the female patients and male techs with male patients.

After work, you will have some free time. Some say boredom is a big problem here, but so far i have had plenty to do. Getting an internet-connection here is easy, but most of the reasonably priced connections are very slow. They work, just not as fast as you might be used to. Also, it's a good idea to get a local mobile phone number. Phones are cheap here, and getting the SIM-card is just as easy as it is with the internet-connection. There's a gym and a swimming pool near my villa in the next housing  compund (Medical City, or MC), and most of the compounds have quite  decent facilities for exercising. Jogging is also possible here, but the opportunites for that may vary depending on your gender. Nobody seems to mind if i jog in the public (inside the housing compound), but for a female that might be different. There's a running track around the soccer-"stadium" so it should be possible at least in there. There are also plenty of tennis-courts around MCX and MC.

Also there's a small library and a pool hall (for billiards, the swimming pool is different) in MC. If you want to be bored, you can be. But there are things to do here, even if you don't want to go outside the compound. As i'm a male, i don't know anything about serious shopping. But there are a lot of shops in Riyadh. If you prefer malls, you'll find plenty of those. If you want to visit the smaller shops, nobody will stop you. In restaurants and coffee shops single males and females are not allowed to sit together, which is  something you want to keep in mind. Also some other things are gender-specific.

For now, NGHA Riyadh still has regular shopping buses which will take you to the scheduled malls and locations. You'll have enough time to look around in the destination, and if you decide you need more time you don't have to return to the compound on the bus.

Like i said in the beginning, Saudi Arabia is not a bad place. Just be flexible and keep your sense of humour. Most likely people will know that you're not local when they look at you, and most of them do not mind. But don't expect to blend in the crowd in Riyadh.

Welcome to the KSA!

If you want to work here you should contact Professional Connections info@profco.com