That sounds like quite an adventure for both of you.
I like learning new cultures, and trying to learn new languages as well. Sounds like the Saudis were ready to make you feel welcome and safe.
The Saudis were/are used to Americans. "Aramcons" have been with them since the 1920's. I found the Saudi, the Arab, the Muslim culture so very, very different. Like I've written before, when we were there in the Kingdom there was no e-mail yet and phone calls were horrendously expensive...and I used to sign my letters home: Your loving daughter, from the dark side of the moon.
Since the Saudis were used to us, it wasn't difficult at all.
We had a week's orientation in Houston [YEW-stun, as the rednecks say it] about what to do and what NOT to do. If women screwed up royally, THEY were sent home and the husband went to the pokey.
The Saudis LOVE their children. I remember riding on a train once and a young Saudi man had his daughter with him. She was about three or four.
She CONTINUALLY asked questions and talked, prefacing her remarks and questions, always with "Daddy...":
"Baba" is "daddy" in Arabic. It was patently obvious that he adored her.
"SAFE" was crucial. We had South Korean regulars there to protect both the on-shore and off-shore platforms. I noticed them immediately as they were ALL very, very short, short, ALL in their mid-twenties, ALL extremely fit, ALL with an "I'm ready to roll" attitude. So, we were safe.
The Saudi king had hired them for just that task: safety.
Oddly enough their faith was the LEAST of any problem. They considered "Issa," Jesus, to have been a very holy man. They thought that Allah and God were the same, although there are PLENTY of FReepers here that deny that to their dying day. I CAN quote you a couple of verses from their Koran that prove that their "book" has our Old Testament in it.
Saudi women prayed and still pray to Mary, "Miriam," for the birth of a SON. Yes, Mary had The Son of all ages.
Bottom line: only 25% of all Muslims are Arab. The rest of the world has the other 75%. INDONESIA is a Muslim country...almost all of them. Our own country has its share as well, though many are from that charlatan Farrakhan.