Spring Break
International education helps form unique perspective
Joce DeWitt
Issue date: 2/4/09 Section: Forum
I suppose it is safe to say that my academic experience as a whole has been pretty unique considering I spent all of it in different foreign countries. Wait … what? A seemingly na've, white girl who lived outside of the United States? Yes, it's true. When asked where I went to high school, I doubt an expected answer is "China." But it's true, I promise.
My parents, who are teachers for Quality Schools International, have taught courses in English in undomesticated countries for the past 20 years.
They began their adventure in Sana'a, Yemen. (That's in Middle-Eastern Asia for those who don't recall geography). They lived there for five years after my brother and I were born into their audacious lifestyle.
Yemen was politically unstable at the time. We were warned the streets weren't safe to walk on, but people hardly ever gave my family trouble. Yemenis jubilantly waved at us everywhere we went as khat (pronounced "cot," a popular drug) ruminated in the sides of their cheeks, like a squirrel with two acorns stuffed in its mouth.
Although I was young, there were details I vividly remember. I remember riding on the back of a camel and climbing up a steep path that had been around since the beginning of time. The heat and dry environment were unbearable at times, so sweating like a dog was a part of everyday life. It was like living in a city dropped in the middle of a desert by accident.
Political instability within Sana'a rose due to the Gulf War, leaving it unsafe for Americans. As gruesome as that sounds, I recall a somewhat serene feeling in the dark, seemingly abandoned city the night before we left, like the calm before the storm.
Soon, we were getting kicked out of the only home I'd ever known. It was unsettling to wonder what would happen next, even for a little girl. The culture I had gained from living in this faraway land was getting taken away from me for reasons I really couldn't comprehend. I was young but I vaguely remember wondering where my family would go.
My parents, who are teachers for Quality Schools International, have taught courses in English in undomesticated countries for the past 20 years.
They began their adventure in Sana'a, Yemen. (That's in Middle-Eastern Asia for those who don't recall geography). They lived there for five years after my brother and I were born into their audacious lifestyle.
Yemen was politically unstable at the time. We were warned the streets weren't safe to walk on, but people hardly ever gave my family trouble. Yemenis jubilantly waved at us everywhere we went as khat (pronounced "cot," a popular drug) ruminated in the sides of their cheeks, like a squirrel with two acorns stuffed in its mouth.
Although I was young, there were details I vividly remember. I remember riding on the back of a camel and climbing up a steep path that had been around since the beginning of time. The heat and dry environment were unbearable at times, so sweating like a dog was a part of everyday life. It was like living in a city dropped in the middle of a desert by accident.
Political instability within Sana'a rose due to the Gulf War, leaving it unsafe for Americans. As gruesome as that sounds, I recall a somewhat serene feeling in the dark, seemingly abandoned city the night before we left, like the calm before the storm.
Soon, we were getting kicked out of the only home I'd ever known. It was unsettling to wonder what would happen next, even for a little girl. The culture I had gained from living in this faraway land was getting taken away from me for reasons I really couldn't comprehend. I was young but I vaguely remember wondering where my family would go.
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Ron DeWitt
posted 2/05/09 @ 3:55 AM PST
I enoyed reading oyur memories, but have a few to add. I rememeber the Yemenis pinching your cheeks and giving you candy. I remember the Yem civil war when we were evacuated by the British airforce. (Continued…)
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