One Down

At this time last year, Julia Real and I stood and handed out flowers and shook the hands of seniors after they received their diplomas at AHS. It was a bittersweet night that began a summer of preparations and goodbyes. Now, we say goodbye to Saudi for a while having completed the first half of our contract. We have overcome the shock of being transplanted into a new culture, we've accompanied groups of students to India and to England and another group through their sixth grade, junior and senior year of English class. We leaned on our friends and family back home for support and made new friends and family here.

When we left Minnesota I got the sense that people thought we were a little crazy or that what we were doing was risky or even dangerous; they wondered why, of all places, would we choose to come to the Middle East. Our feeling was, “why not?” It was time for an adventure and an adventure is exactly what we got. I made a list of some of what we’ve learned or have had reconfirmed since arriving in Saudi Arabia in August of 2016.

• Speaking one language is the exception, not the rule.
• Having a genuine interest in others helps build relationships.
• Arab kids love to talk and argue (loudly).
• Saudi’s love their sweets and pastries.
• Almost all of the cars in the Eastern Province are white and 99% of the trucks are Toyotas.
• A sandstorm looks a lot like a snowstorm, except it is brown.
• Teenagers keep me young (mostly).
• The only wild animals I've seen here (besides birds) was one rat, tons of geckos and a bunch of feral dogs.
• Prayer time is inconvenient. 
• The website for the Aitkin Age is confusing and difficult for me to navigate.
• Indian cuisine begins at spicy.
• Religion is what we have in common.
• Being positive is a healthy choice.
• American culture influences everyone everywhere, like it or not.
• A cell phone is a “mobile.”
• Pride in one’s country is something everyone has in common.
• There is only one football.
• Bahrain is pretty damn cool.
• Marjoram is the only spice I can't find when we make Grandma Jaskowiak's chicken.
• Fresh baked Arabic bread dipped in hummus from Tamimi is a delight.
• Thailand is the promised land.
• Not everyone is as lucky as we are.
• There is no Crystal Lite in the Kingdom. 
• Living in the moment is a decision.
• The entrepreneurial spirit burns bright on the Nile.
• When it comes to littering and child safety in automobiles, Saudi Arabia is so 1976.
• Being from the West (and the U.S. specifically) often translates into a credibility that isn’t necessarily earned.
• The transformation to "Mr. Jacob" took one day.
• Being away from home is hard.
• Lays sells a baked potato chip here called Labneh and Mint that is delicious.
• Whatsapp is how this whole part of the world texts (actually the word “Whatsapp” is the verb in place of "text." As in, “Just Whatsapp me.”
• Ramadan is rough.
• 350 degrees Fahrenheit is 177 degrees Celsius on our oven.
• An abaya is an invisibility cloak.
• The world is much larger and smaller than I thought.
• Oranges, grapes and watermelons are not seedless here and whole chickens in the grocery store are not on steroids.
• A government and its people are not necessarily the same thing.
• Being nice is important.
• Thanksgiving is the only holiday we didn't see here.
• I’ve seen more mangled, fiery car crashes here in the last ten months than I’ve seen my whole life.
• Living on a compound is weird.
• Time schedules are overrated.
• Don’t get bogged down in things that are outside of your control.
• Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Pakistan, Russia, India, South Africa and the Philippines are not just headlines in the news; our friends are from there!
• Facebook messenger and Snapchat are necessities to stay connected with home.
• Less is more.