I find myself two months and 9,500 miles removed from my last blog. Far from the sand, sun, oil, thobes, abayas, dates, crescents, rugs, shisha, mosques, calls to prayer, security checkpoints, Al Baik, fish markets, and people of the east shore of the Red Sea, I find myself on a different west coast. There is still plenty of sand and sun, and I’m eating a date, but in many ways Irvine, California is a far cry from Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
I’m excited to hear the experiences that many of my friends from throughout the world are having in the US this summer. I am very grateful to have this opportunity to reconnect with my family, my beautiful girlfriend, and some amazing friends, and to reflect on my time thus far at KAUST. I’ve been blessed this summer with the privilege of working in a biology lab at UC Irvine. I am learning a lot, and am glad to have a practical application to the math I’ve been studying. I have had lots of great experiences so far this summer, including getting to go to Colorado to see one of my KAUST friends avoid one last segment of long distance by marrying the girl of his dreams. I have many more experiences to look forward to, including getting to know my girlfriend’s family this coming weekend.
I recently came across this entry I had started before leaving for the summer. It is somewhat open ended, but I’m hoping you guys can add to it.
“With the days counting down until I return to California for the summer, I am filled with mixed emotions- not all related to the stresses of finals week. I am overjoyed at the chance to as to see my family and girlfriend for more than a couple of weeks. There are many friends I long to see and ordinary, every day things and places that I am looking forward to, like Chipotle, Trader Joe’s, Corona Del Mar, and even Aldrich Park.
At the same time, in some ways I feel as if I am leaving home. I will miss things that I am leaving behind here. More so, I will miss the people. It amazes me that in just a year I have been blessed with such friendships and relationships. I will miss the Friday night basketball, and Tuesday night ultimate frisbee. I will miss being able to walk everywhere I need to go, and expect that I’ll run into someone I know along the way. I’ll miss floating in the Red Sea with Wail, enjoying the beauty of creation, or resting by the beacon with Idris, listening to stories of Nigeria. I’ll miss Noah’s passion for marine biology, and pasta and movie nights with him. I’ll miss getting to compete with Nathan at everything, and learning so much more from him than he could know. I’ll miss Ryan and Matt taking care of me when school was overbearing. I’ll miss Fred’s ridiculous handshakes, and Ahmad’s frankness. I’ll miss Simon and Amy sharing with me there hilariously, tragic stories. I’ll miss Eric’s shenanigans, such as fountain runs and beacon swims…
