CLOSURE

I've been back home in the U.S. for little under a month now.  I have been racking my brains about what to write about in my final post concerning my adventures in Saudi.  For some reason or another, I feel that I can’t move on to the next "adventure" until this final piece is written and posted. So here goes…

WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE (THANKS OPRAH): I am a survivor. If I can live and etch out a living in Saudi Arabia, without going insane and without going to jail, I can live and work almost anywhere. If I can go into a Saudi classroom everyday with the determination that I will give 100%, day in and day out, sometimes with no support, no energy, and  sheer indifference from many of my students and the surrounding culture,  then I can teach anybody and I can teach anywhere.

REGRETS: NONE. Although the living conditions in Saudi are quite rigid for women, I have grown so much as a person.  Although there is still much to learn and understand, about myself, culture, people, and politics, this journey has taught me so much, and I understand so much more than I ever thought I would.

I have met some fascinating women. I bonded with women that I never thought that I could ever bond with. Some  I know will be in my life forever, and some I hope to never see again, but even the ones  that I hope not to ever see,  have taught me valuable lessons about myself and my level of tolerance.

MY GIFTS TO THE SAUDI PEOPLE: APPRECIATION AND RESPECT- Look around. Appreciate your bounty and make good use of it. Nothing lasts forever.  Taking the abundance of your country, and hardworking people, who leave all they know behind to help sustain your country for granted, only reaps misfortune and calamity in the future. We may not all be Saudi, but we are all people working for the betterment of your country. Appreciate the fact that we are here and that you can afford to have us here. Respect us enough to treat us with dignity and fairness. Cultural exchange is the foundation of understanding and tolerance.  You can’t appreciate or respect us, if you do not know us.

MY GIFTS TO SAUDI MEN : YOUR WOMEN- They are beautiful and competent. Leaving them behind or hiding them behind closed doors will only breed discord and contempt. Invite them to the table. They have lots to say and only they can convey their needs and wants to you and rest of the world. You cannot speak for them because you have never walked in their shoes. You can never satisfy their needs, their wants, their happiness until you look in their eyes and you hear their voices.

MY GIFTS TO MY READERS: THANK YOU!  Many of you have shared how much you have enjoyed my posts. Because of you, I have summoned the wherewithal to write this last installment about Saudi. I don’t know where I will “gathering fortune” next. Who knows? -It may be right here in Philly. Stay tuned. I promise to keep you posted.

Until next time,

Alex