Goodbyes and Hellos

We are leaving for vacation on Monday night! Needless-to-say, while we LOVE our life here in the Kingdom, we are ready for a break. We'll spend the first 10 days of vacation with Big Zeina and her family in France, and then Little Zeina and I fly to Houston where we'll stay with my mother for seven weeks (until the end of August). After our trip to France, unfortunately, George has to return to Saudi for work (but we do get a month-long family vacation at the end of the year!).

I've had many people ask me where I would prefer to live. And, as everyone knows, there are pros and cons to all living arrangements, so I thought I'd put together a goodbye and hello list. As you will see, there are advantages and disadvantages to both cities that I now call home: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and Houston, Texas.

1. Goodbye abaya and hello bikini

2. Goodbye to shwarmas and Saudi champagne (apple juice, Perrier, and mint) and hello to Mexican food and margaritas

3. Goodbye to taxi rides, buses and being chauffeured around by George and hello to DRIVING a car again

4. Goodbye to stores closing during prayer times (five times a day) and hello to the GALLERIA (open all day long!) in Houston

5. Goodbye to kind, loving friends and hello to kind, loving friends

6. Goodbye to my sweet husband and hello to my sweet mama

7. Goodbye to 120 degree heat and hello to 100 degree heat

8. Goodbye to the commissary running out of Cheerios, etc. and hello to COSTCO

9. Goodbye to 60 cents a gallon for gasoline and hello to $4 a gallon

10. Goodbye to my maid and hello to rolling my sleeves up!