Mental Gardening

It is hard to write about all the encounters here without generalizing about people and cultures. But don't the majority of (the mean and mode of those) experiences reveal some truth? Aren't they representative and valid to some degree? Albeit, they do perpetuate stereotypes and can lead to pejorative assumptions. But aren't they necessary to process all of the information that we are bombarded with daily?

Since moving here, I have to admit that all of the beliefs of cultural relativism are slowly fading. It is difficult to pinpoint why this is happening. When I travel, I openly seek to understand they mysteries and rituals of a society. But for some reason now, the insularity of Saudi, has caused me to do the opposite here. I find it difficult to accept many customs here and in some ways, I've grown a bit ethnocentric.

Fortunately, I realize it takes time to adjust to a very foreign culture. When you uproot yourself to another terra noir, you are bound to be in shock and lose some leaves. This is an unprecedented opportunity in our lives to grow and flourish. For us, Santa Cruz will always be the most ideal place to live; but moving somewhere new has afforded us a chance to enhance our perspective about the world -The end result will yield a better understanding of the Middle East -I hope.

The funniest part is how utterly stupid an experience like this can make you feel. You live most of your life in familiar surroundings. You get comfortable. The scope of your knowledge helps you navigate all of the daily problems with relative ease. When you come overseas (to the antithesis of a Western culture) to live, this all slips away. I can't tell you how many times we've felt mentally challenged. From exit visas to sending a letter via the post office, these tasks can be insurmountable at times.