My Farewell Tour

Years ago, sitting in class, didn't you wonder why you had to learn where Mesopotamia was? Why learn about the places so far away? What was the point of knowing about some huge desert in a place it was unlikely I would ever visit. Well, now I know why. One never knows in life what sort of interesting things will come about. And my life has certainly been interesting. But, now it's time to learn about another part of the world and depart from my safe haven of New Hampshire and head out to parts unknown in a place called Abu Dhabi.
I am calling this part of my journey, before I leave, my "Farewell Tour" because haven't you ever noticed that when a cool rock band is going to change members or break up, they have a Farewell Tour that lasts about a year? Well, I began my "Farewell Tour" at the Thanksgiving dinner table last November as I sat and looked around at my family, my cousins, aunts and uncles and I asked my mother what she would think if I decided to teach overseas. My mother responded favorably and I thought, well, then, this is it. This could be my last Thanksgiving dinner with the family in New England, for a couple of years. I mentally looked around at the family as if to impress their faces and that moment on my mind. At that point, my mother was the only one who knew that I was planning such a crazy, wild journey of my heart. I applaud her for being open to such an idea. Now that I am further along in my journey, she is still so very supportive. What more can one ask from her parents?

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Like Sands in the Hour Glass, So Were the Days of My Life...

Al Hamdul'allah!
So, a quick blog to reestablish that I'm back! I have lost this blog since sometime in 2012 when I changed over to a Google chrome account and suddenly, this whole lovely blogging hobby was lost. Complicating matters was the fact that in trying to get back on, the page would only come up in Arabic, which, of course, I couldn't read...haha. I just spent the last hour going through page after page of forums and help desk info. So, baby, I'm back!!

I am also home from the sands of a place I loved and dearly miss. I left Abu Dhabi in October, 2013. I came home unexpectedly, and with much regret. I will elaborate more, dear readers, at another time. 

My story actually begins some time in February, 2014, with my mother's death. The story begins and ends with her death. I thank the lucky stars and my God in heaven that I came home in October, when I did, as I was able to visit her and spend time with her that I could never have had if I had stayed in the UAE. I have acclimated and acculturated back into life in New Hampshire; a difficult process, due to the parts of me that missed my friends in Abu Dhabi with a cutting pain. But this story, and these words will have to wait for a time when I can truly reflect on my time in Abu Dhabi, and more importantly, my arrival home.