Sometimes I catch myself wondering why I didn’t choose a place in Europe to go study abroad. A place where I could walk around freely and find boutiques and coffee shops to linger in. A place that had familiar foods and ancient cathedrals marking the skyline. Where the nightlife is vibrant, and smiling old couples …
Tag Archives: Sociology
What a Wadi
The day after the desert, we woke up in time for a 7:00am breakfast and an 8:00am departure to Wadi Bani Awf. A wadi is a valley or channel that is dry until the rainy season, and when it is full of water is a perfect swimming hole for relief from the heat. This wadi …
Darkness and Light
Opposites emphasize one another. Contrast refines prominence, allowing positive and negative moments to be felt more intensely. It’s misery that provides joy with a purpose. Darkness cannot be defined without talking about light. Death brings meaning to life itself. My weekend in Poland serves as a reminder that these worn out clichés do contain a great …
Visiting the Sahara*
Last weekend we all packed a bag, piled into the bus and drove 4.5 hours to the desert (plus a couple of pit stops for juice and a bathroom). At a gas station just on the edge of where the desert began we switched into four-wheeled vehicles and went off through the dunes, past some …
و (“wow”), I’m a Preschooler Again
I have started an entirely new subject from scratch. Language is always tricky, and Arabic is known as one of the more difficult languages to learn. I’m fortunate enough to have patient teachers and dedicated classmates that spur on my learning here in Ibri. As a result, on the ten-minute bus ride home, I’m in …
Traveling by Train
Trains have surpassed cars on my mental list “Favorite Modes of Transportation”. Don’t get me wrong, I miss driving already and nothing beats scream-singing “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind with maximum volume. But traveling by train opens the door to copious new possibilities. The convenient public transportation in Prague quickly became something I appreciate …
The Castle & The Palace
When I was a little girl, my dad would wrap me up after my bath in a lovely pink towel dress. Then, he would spin me around and call me a princess and of course, I insisted on keeping my gown on as long as possible before putting on my pajamas that night. On the car …
Aimlessly Wandering
Passing a previously unnoticed quirky little shop or marveling at a building usually overlooked along a daily route are common occurrences here. Regardless of location, everyone typically recalls the perplexity of discovering something cool only blocks away from home after having settled in weeks, months, or even years ago. Yesterday alone, it happened to me …
Back to Business
Friends, I’ve moved! The city lights and seaside views are no more in this small, interior town called Ibri. The desert dust seeps into my apartment and my sense of direction is all turned around – although if you know me, it may not have been there in the first place. I know that Saudi …
Dishdashing at the Omani Opera
When I packed for my adventure abroad, I went for the practical hiking clothes, clothes to cover up and the comfiest t-shirts I could find for lounging around our home. What I did not anticipate were the glittering gowns and long stunning skirts I would find venturing around the market. In the middle of this …
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