Killing time in Saudi Arabia: an American experience

How could life in Saudi Arabia during the War on Terror be amusing?     In the third book of the autobiographical American Experiences in Arabia series, the author takes a job in Saudi Arabia, biding his time until he can return to Oman and keep a promise he has made to his Omani students as well as a local interest.     In 2003, following the Invasion of Iraq, Saudi Arabia erupts in an armed insurrection-just a few months before the author arrives. The author soon discovers the defense contractor with whom he has contracted his services, hires former American soldiers as trainers. The author also discovers the defense contractor's management has a rather dim view of teachers (like the author) who are in charge of instructing the Saudi National Guard officers, and an even dimmer view of allotting resources to them. With terrorist attacks, shootings and ambushes happening every week, the author soon finds himself feeling that if he is ever going to survive the ordeal, he is going to have to, "go native."       Killing Time in Saudi Arabia is, like the previous books in the American Experiences in Arabia series, one of the best ways to understand Arab and especially Saudi Arabian culture. Killing Time in Saudi Arabia is also the best way to understand the personalities of the Saudis through the friendships the author develops among the officers of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, or more accurately, the personal bodyguard to the Saudi King.     Killing Time in Saudi Arabia is also the story of how Westerners and expatriates, who make up almost half of the Saudi population, survive and actually thrive in such a seemingly oppressive environment. The reader will be amazed to find that the expatriates of Saudi Arabia have created their own culture within a culture that is as vibrant and exhilarating as the one they left, if not more.     Killing Time in Saudi Arabia: An American Experience is an amusing and informative book based upon the true-life experiences of the author as he experiences teaching Saudi Army officers, an insane social orienteering activity developed by the British called"Hashing," a "Capsula," and a South African nurse with whom he traveled the country looking for whatever adventures Saudi Arabia had to offer.