Three Months Back

I returned from the Middle East at the beginning of January. Immediately was faced with the attentions, needs, problems, triumphs and tragedies of friends and family. A lot happened within the first few weeks.
Subsequently I have wanted to reflect back on "Al Kharif" (the autumn) but each time I began I felt unsure about my distance from the experience.
With everything that has happened with my life and the lives of those I love, Al Kharif now feels indeed a part of the past. And as spring seems to have truly and finally come to New York, I can hope to articulate what I've been thinking.

I miss...
...the sense of camaraderie I felt from other women. In some ways I think that casual relationships between men and women reverse dynamics in the Gulf and the United States. In the States I can talk fairly easily to most men, while with women (with New York women in particular), there seems to be more of a watchful aspect. In Oman I felt a common bond with women, while relationships with men lacked the sense of ease. They arise from different causes--I think that the source of the tension is competition among New York women, and societal constraint on male-female interactions in Oman--but both detract from easy-going interaction. I do not mean to apply this across the board to all experiences, but it represents one of the clearest differences in day-to-day existence.

...wearing abaya and hijab. I loved the simplicity of morning preparation and planning, and then the resulting easy elegance. Although at first I was thrilled and over-whelmed to have such a choice of clothing every day, it wore off quickly.

...drinking chai, hearing the muezzin, seeing my friends from SIT and my host family. I met such amazing people in Oman, Yemen and Egypt.

Oh, I learned that I did not receive the Fulbright, unfortunately. I am trying to find a job in the Gulf for next fall, but in the meantime I have to find something to cover rent and food this summer. And whatever I find may end up requiring me to stay longer than I originally hoped...but regardless, I'll go back eventually.