I'm Going WHERE?!?

Let's face it: I'm a stereotypical white girl. Natalie Portman is my idol and my list of guilty pleasures includes pumpkin spice lattes and watching the Bachelorette. But at some point in my stereotypical white girl life, I decided to become obsessed with the Middle East.

I usually blame it on the art class I took in high school (Middle Eastern art is cool as shiz, btw), but sometimes I think that it goes back way further than that. I remember hearing a lecture on Islam at my church as a middle schooler and since then I can't shake the feeling that there is a huge divide between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East.

Regardless of its origins, my obsession led me to major in International Relations and study Arabic at the University of Alabama, where I was blessed with meeting one of my best friends, Lubna. Lubna is from Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. And one year ago she asked if I would like to come home with her this Christmas. Naturally my answer was "HOLY CRAP YES I WOULD LIKE TO! HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

So I stand before you today with the announcement that my visa has been approved and in a little over a month, I will board a plane headed East. My parents are terrified, but I couldn't be more excited. I can't help but feel like, in a way, my entire life so far has led up to this moment. Not many people ever get the opportunity to do something like this. But God, or Fate, or what-have-you, brought a best friend into my life, and now she will bring me into hers.

I hope this blog is entertaining, enlightening, and completely ridiculous at times. I hope you all will learn and struggle with me as a try to pack everything I own into one suitcase, deal with hellacious jet lag, and face a culture that couldn't be more different from my own. Here's to an interesting next two months! Roll Tide and Ma'a Salama!