Living as a Foreigner - What I have taken for granted the past 3 years.

Some days I sit here and feel sorry for myself, living in a foreign country so much different than my own without my kids, my family, my friends, and my familiar life. I have come to the realization that I am very blessed in my situation and have it much better than many American and European women who marry and travel to live in a foreign country with their spouse. There are so many things I have taken for granted.

First, I know the language so I do not have to depend on others to translate for me and it allows me a lot greater freedom to live a normal life in society. It allows me to read the news for myself and draw my own conclusions without having someone possibly hide the facts because of their own bias or because of their lack of knowledge - or maybe because they are concealing the truth for more nasty reasons (yes I've seen and heard this happening to a lot of foreign women). Speaking Arabic in an Arabic speaking country allows me security to know what people are talking about around me and it allows me to engage in conversation - and while I may be shy to speak a lot of Arabic my listening, reading and writing skills are awesome - and I can still function well with those around me. Arabic isn't easy to learn but it is essential to living in an Arabic speaking country.

I also have an amazing and understanding husband. He knows, understands, and respects my thoughts and opinions - and I his. We work together not against one another. Morally and culturally we have the same ideas, which helps avoid a lot of conflict. Also, I am only slave to God. My husband will help me around the house with chores if I ask, will cook and clean when I am to sick to do it myself, and while he might grumble about it - he will even do laundry. 👍

Another thing I take for granted quite a bit is mobility. I have freedom to move about as I please - I can come and go without restriction. If I want to go to the market to buy my own produce I can. If I want to go fishing alone I can. If I just want to go out and walk alone I can. I can get in our car and drive it anywhere - well, in town because it does need repairs to drive longer and I don't like manual transmission either. I don't need a male or female escort to go anywhere. I think a lot of this has to do with the ability to communicate with others (again, language) and my ability to defend myself if necessary - though I don't really think it would ever come down to that unless I went into a bad neighborhood at night - and I don't go out at night and I know where the bad neighborhoods are.

I think the number one thing that I have taken for granted is my ability to adapt. While I see so often online how women are missing things like Wal-mart or sitting in a coffee shop with friends, I have found substitutions for these things to make my life normal. Regardless of where I am, I need to have a routine and I need to be able to do things I enjoy. For example, while I love ( I mean LOVE) the souq (farmers market/bazzar) for shopping I do enjoy our quarterly trips to Hyper One - which in case you don't know is the Egyptian equivalent to Wal-Mart. I have replaced coffee shops with taking a coffee at the beach, which by the way, is so much better than any coffee shop in the US! And I do still talk to friends back home and have made new ones here as well - which makes life easier.

While there are still things I miss (like root beer and sauer kraut for example) thinking about some of the hardships other women are going through makes me realize how blessed I really am in my situation. Alhamdulillah.