So sorry for the delay! I've been busy as well as a little bit lazy in updating this. My goodness, is this a different year. All of the faults of our school are coming out from the darkness and into the light, and everyone feels the full brunt of the truth of disappointment. I'm getting to the point where (and my sister and brother-in-law can fully understand this), you've become this other person: this angry, impatient, and fed up person who remembers fondly the beauties of their country and desires to go back and have a normal life. My fellow coworkers and I are in the same boat. My flatmate and I were just discussing today how we miss fresh food and farmer's markets, dressing in shorts to go to the grocery store, a change in seasons, people who actually move quickly, and things working efficiently in the workplace. We're so sick of it. We're not sure how we're going to survive the rest of the year.
Well, I apologize for the ranting. It's just getting a bit overwhelming now. But, I wanted to travel in order to feel this feeling. I miss having a true home and a place to be and live. I will always love to travel, but I am a bit tired of this aimless wandering. Sharjah is my home, but only for the moment. I miss not being able to see my friends and family when I can. I missed my mother's 60th birthday party where almost all of my relatives could attend. I'm missing out on their lives in order to create and decide a life of my own. That was the whole point of this. But it wears on a person more than you know. I didn't realize that before I came. I had to do this in order to realize it.
Moving on, I have returned from my Middle East Tour which included Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia! I'm so excited that I was able to see all of those places because they're so close! Oman was beautiful. We rode four wheelers out in the desert and swam in the clear blue water in the rocky hills. In Saudi Arabia, I visited Katie and Matt. Amazing! What an experience. I'm so glad I got to go because not everyone can say that they've been there! They took me to one of their infamous Embassy parties, so my first night there was spent on a dance floor. Awesome. Then, the next day we drove out into the desert and saw something called "The Edge of the World". It was a cliff overlooking the vastness of the desert beyond. It was an empty place and completely silent. That's what I loved about it: the silence. It was so refreshing and revitalizing. I drank it all in. Over the course of my time, we wore abayas, and went for high tea in Riyadh, went to the market place (called a souk), and hung out with their friends. I loved it! Every woman was covered, but it didn't feel as scary as I expected. It was not as exciting and fun as Dubai, obviously, and I would never want to live there long-term, but it was nice to get away and visit.
And lastly, we went to Bahrain for my friends' Gaelic football tournament. It was an hour flight, and we flew into outside Manama. Interesting place. It's a small island, and 1 Bahrain dollar is worth 10 dirhams. So it was a little strange to see your taxi fare or your grocery bill to cost 5 BD. It makes you feel like you're paying nothing: so not trueeee. Anyway, we went out on the town and oh gosh, was it a prostitutey place. I mean, Dubai has its prostitutes, and you can spot them right away, but this place...Wow. You feel like a movie star because when you walk down the street it's literally ONLY men. So they yell out things like "Nice..." and "Meow." Ew. You don't go unnoticed because you stick out like a sore thumb. You're not covered like their wives and sisters, and you're not a prostitute from southeast Asia.
During the day we did the best thing ever. We spent our day on an island called Al Dar Islands, and laid out on the beach, swam, played volleyball in one of those water courts, and even rode jetskis. That's what's so nice about this country. Random rich Arab men will offer to let you drive their expensive toys like jetskis, no questions asked. So we rode on SUPERCHARGED jetskis that went so unbelievable fast, I got air! He laughed when I screamed as we ramped off of another boat's wake. It was awesome. The sun slowly dipped behind the water, and it was such a nice reminder to me how lucky I am to have seen as much as I have (despite my earlier rant). I have been so blessed and privileged and have seen so many lovely things, that it's easy to forget and to become jaded and take things for granted. But laying on that Bahraini beach and watching the sun go down and forgetting every other problem in the world was a moment to remember.
Coming up next...Home for Christmas December 18 to January 8!
Can't wait to experience fall and thanksgiving when I return to the states next year!
