Reading the book, I liked it. After all it is a kind of memoir about how a person experienced living and working abroad. And that's what I liked most about the book.
When you're born & raised in a western society, you can't just look with different eyes to the world you've entered. Just like the female reporter with a scholarship in Missouri can't shed her eastern look on the western society she's living in.

Describing differences, things that catch your eye or that you find strange is something everyone does. And I think that it's okay to say that there are things in your new society that you disagree with.

This book brought memories of that back to me, from my time living and in Georgia (Sakartvelo).

Loving a married man, being the reason for a divorce, well I'm not going to comment on that. ( )

Adventures of a Journalist working in Yemen's capital. Living in one of the world's oldest cities, I expected that the story line would have an acute archaeological and historical bent. Instead you are treated to the daily travails of running a newpaper with staff who are barely coversant in English in a Third World Country peppered with the usual shenanigans that living in a foreign land entail.

Adventures of a Journalist working in Yemen's capital. Living in one of the world's oldest cities, I expected that the story line would have an acute archaeological and historical bent. Instead you are treated to the daily travails of running a newpaper with staff who are barely coversant in English in a Third World Country peppered with the usual shenanigans that living in a foreign land entail.

One of the best memoirs I've read in a long time! I am now longing to return abroad (though maybe not to Yemen). ( )

Editing a newspaper in Yemen.

In 2006, American journalist, Jennifer Steil was asked to visit Sana'a for three weeks to improve the local English language newspaper. The paper was in serious need of upgrading and her initial three weeks eventually became a year's employment.

Although her presence was initially viewed suspiciously by the male staff, the women accepted her immediately. Dealing with the female staff involved finding ways around their restrictive lifestyles. They came from traditional families and wore the long dress and head covering. They could not travel in a taxi with a male driver and were required to be home before evening. The men, on the other hand, had problems accepting instruction from a woman and no concept of time-keeping. In addition, everyone needed considerable improvements to their use of the English language.
Jennifer had to teach all the staff how to begin a piece, how to be impartial and not to write articles promoting the paper's advertisers. She than had the problem of getting eveything laid out and ready to go for a twice-weekly deadline. At first this was acheived by about 3am, but eventually she managed to bring this forward by nearly 5 hours.

Sana'a is a city that I visited for just 24hrs but it is a fascinating, ancient city and I loved Jennifer's descriptions of the place. She lived in a quaint old 'gingerbread' house and although she spent endless hours whipping the paper into shape, she also explored the city, both with colleagues and on her own. During her stay she also visited Soqotra Island and other areas of the Yemen.

One of the fascinating aspects of being female but American was that Jennifer was accepted into both male and female societies. She was able to visit the women and converse with them without the head covering, but she was also received into male-only gatherings as an 'honoury' male.

Although I loved the local flavour, I did find the detailed descriptions of the newspaper's problems and solutions a bit excessive. However, this was a good read and a book that I would recommend for those interested in a feel of Yemen.

It is worth taking a look at the Yemen Observer which can be viewed online. Even after Ms Steil's year of improvements, some amusing articles can be found. It is not hard to imagine the state of the newspaper when she began her task. ( )