As I was being escorted down a highway in Jeddah to go meet my dad at work I came across a flag no eye could miss. A symbol reminiscent to the pride in the American flag. It was the flag of the country I was visiting during last spring break, Saudi Arabia. I had not been used to the timezone for four long years, however this kept me awake. It was almost as if the 588 foot tall flag was saying “peace be upon you”, a traditional saudi greeting as it waved right below the golden sun. I was even more relieved to be back in Jeddah, the city that I was born and raised in. I was never granted citizenship, but being an American citizen was just as impressive. I attended the American International School of Jeddah from kindergarten through my freshmen
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We all were different but the same. Outside of school, Jeddah was very lively. The city never slept, well except for prayer time, during prayer time everything closed. Religion is such a vital aspect of the culture that mosques would be in 5 foot radius of anything. I remember going to sunday school at my local mosque as a total foreigner. The only way I learned was because I knew how to read arabic, but I did not know how to speak it. At the mosque everyone spoke only arabic. I managed by simply stating I was an American. It was like in that five minute introduction conversation with the class, I went from being “the guy who has a terrible accent” to “the cool American”. I did however have some common interests with the class. One major one being soccer, on the field I wasn't the best, but I spoke with my feet. At age thirteen my soccer abilities hit its peak. That year my dad decided to test out how I would do at a public school in America and save money of course. I always came to America over the summers, but actually living there was a difficult concept for me to comprehend. I was sent to live with my oldest brother, while my family stayed in
We all were different but the same. Outside of school, Jeddah was very lively. The city never slept, well except for prayer time, during prayer time everything closed. Religion is such a vital aspect of the culture that mosques would be in 5 foot radius of anything. I remember going to sunday school at my local mosque as a total foreigner. The only way I learned was because I knew how to read arabic, but I did not know how to speak it. At the mosque everyone spoke only arabic. I managed by simply stating I was an American. It was like in that five minute introduction conversation with the class, I went from being “the guy who has a terrible accent” to “the cool American”. I did however have some common interests with the class. One major one being soccer, on the field I wasn't the best, but I spoke with my feet. At age thirteen my soccer abilities hit its peak. That year my dad decided to test out how I would do at a public school in America and save money of course. I always came to America over the summers, but actually living there was a difficult concept for me to comprehend. I was sent to live with my oldest brother, while my family stayed in