1. For international flights-pack light or be embarrassed at JFK!!

2. For international flights- pack for 1 week if you staying for 1 year.

3. For international flights-basically don’t take anything but you and your ID.

4. Get your music, phone, plug, toiletry life together a few weeks in advance of leaving.  Handling business outside the US is a different kinda challenge!

5. They fed me well on my flight- shout out to Etihad Airways!

6. On the flight from NY, this Indian boy asked if I had a mom, I guess he thought I was young and couldn’t understand why I was traveling alone- made me a lil emotional, didn’t cry tho! Lol.

7. Bahrain, where I went for my medical and visa, felt like a vacation.

8. My first night in the hotel in Bahrain, the fire alarm went off at 3am, which made me feel at total ease in the Middle East!

9. My first full day in Bahrain, some new teachers found my room and invited me to dinner.  I’ve never been alone since.

10. I was never alone on this journey to begin with. God is ever present!!

11. Getting the medical work done was quite an experience, they want it ALL-yes, ALL! (eat yo fiber!!)

12. Perspective!! Some of the best advice I got was to be flexible, patient, and open!!  This has been helping me have a great experience!!

13. I rode cross country!! No really!  We drove from Bahrain (a country, if you didn’t know…hek I didn’t!)  to Saudi in 4 hours.

14. To get to work on time, I have to be on the bus by 7:10am.  For those of you who know, praise God! I’ve made every bus w 2 min to spare! Still working on it.

15. I loved every warm fuzzy/encouragement note, thank y’all!!! 

16. The school I work at is aesthetically beautiful, alas everything that glitters… 😉

17. You can save good money in KSA!  Ask me why…

18. As a woman, for a successful stay, you will have to exercise a level of dependency, which ain’t all bad!

19. These students talk A LOT, dang lol!  Generally not disrespectful, they just be talking!!!

20. As corny as I am, being from NY+being from BK= super cool points out here!!! Saudi ppl recognize NY more and the expats recognize BK-interesting.