Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A Return

Post Yemen I continued to do work for MWF via the wonders of the Internet after returning to the US. I never wrote a final blog entry. I ended up staying in Yemen slightly longer than expected, but I guess I never felt the experience really ended and hence, was never able to achieve that moment of retrospection where experiences could be filtered and connected. My time in the Middle East has had two years to process and its digestion will most likely be a lifelong endeavor, one that continues to transform as I do.

I feel the urge to try to wrap it all up even now, but there are no words that can give rightful meaning to the things I saw and participated in, to the people I met, to the places I ventured, and to the immense and indescribable ways in which it all became me. 

Thank you to all those who followed my travels. I'm amazed at the amount of emails I still receive inquiring about my experiences or asking for advice as they set out on their own adventures. Keep 'em coming! 

That first month back to the US was a very difficult time for me. I returned to a group of wonderful people, but people who had no understanding of so much of what my life abroad entailed. More importantly, I went from doing something new, challenging, and risky on a daily basis to being stagnant, and it felt like I was suffocating. The overwhelming anxiety I was introduced to slowly dissipated as the months dragged on, but has never fully left me. 

I got a job bartending, moved to San Francisco, and interned with the International Refugee Committee as a Casework Assistant all the while studying for the GRE and applying to grad schools. This past August, I moved to Washington DC to pursue a Master's degree in International Relations with an emphasis in Diplomacy in the Middle East. And now I find myself following up this blog in the most appropriate place possible, back in Israel where it began. 

My grad school program offers courses over the year in various locations throughout the world so when I heard of the course in Israel titled "the Intersection of Israeli Foreign and Domestic Policy," there really wasn't anything to consider except for deadlines. I came to Av'iel a week and a half early to stay with my former flatmates Dina and Tal and finally got to meet their now two year old daughter, Noga. Staying with them has been refreshing, we just picked up where we left off. 

After Israel/Palestine I will be heading to Morocco to do research under the supervision of AmidEast. I'll be researching why a policy passed in 2004 that elevated the rights of women and gave them legal recognition has not contributed to decreased rates of domestic violence in Rabat. Afterwards I'll head to Mombasa, Kenya where I'll be meeting Kim, my good friend whom I met in Sana'a, who is studying Swahili there for her PhD. Kim and I intend to travel through Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia before calling it quits for the summer and heading back to our respective educational responsibilities. 

So, then the question remains: should I restart my blogging efforts and if so, should it be on the same blog I created the last time around? That answer remains to be seen. I have to think it over the next few days and decide if I'm up for it again and if round two would be appropriate on the same platform as before.