Home for the Holidays

Patrick, Alexei, and Zeina. Poor Alexei had his teeth pulled, so he was hurting :(

Me, my brothers, and a few of my cousins

My sisters!

Britney, Isaiah, and me

There's no place like home! Coming home for the holiday's had been something I had been anticipation for quite some time. Although Bahrain is warm and sunny, I was ready to take on the cold winter climates just to  come and see the people that I had been missing dearly. I left Bahrain on a Thursday evening, after school. I felt like the school day couldn't happen fast enough, and I was so antsy to get going. When the day finally ended, I couldn't help but have a massive smile on my face. Getting to the place I call home was the challenge. My trip began by me flying from Bahrain into Jordan, where I had to stay overnight due to my 11 hour layover. Fortunately, Royal Jordanian put me in a hotel for the night, at the Golden Tulip. I got some rest, and was ready bright and early to get on the plane to fly into Chicago. Now, going to Chicago is where the painful part of the travel home was. We boarded the plane a bit later than expected. Then, because they had to wait for people who were in transit from other flights, we had to just sit on the plane and wait for an hour before the other passengers arrived. The flight was already a 14 hour flight, and now it was 15 hours I would have to actually sit on this plane.

When we finally took off, I was happy we were in motion, but not happy about the delay. The flight was full, so I was stuck in the same seat the whole time. As you can imagine, 15 hours in the same spot is a real challenge. I was very uncomfortable and my butt and legs and back were killing me from sitting, even though I was getting up to stretch and move around. When we began the descent into Chicago, I could feel myself getting happier by the second. I had a 4 hour layover, so I grabbed some soup and stopped at a bar while I waited. When the time to go to Pittsburgh came, I felt like singing and dancing though the airport, knowing that home was only and hour and a half away.

This was my long journey to the wonderful city of Pittsburgh. Driving home from the airport, and coming through the tunnels to see the city was so amazing. Even though it was a cold and cloudy night, the city was still equally magnificent. Everything felt surreal, like a dream.

My time home was so full of many emotions. It had its moments of happiness, and sadness as well. Smiles and frowns, heartbreak and joy. So many things were the same as when I left, and yet things were different as well. I had so many mixed emotions, and felt ways that I hadn't even anticipated. Nonetheless, I got to come home to the people and places I know and love dearly. I got to see so many friends and family. I loved being able to share my crazy Bahrain stories with everyone, and watch their expressions and see them laugh. Having people laugh at me and my stories is by far one of my favorite things. I really do love to entertain. And its funny, because most of the stories I tell are ones that were not funny when they happened, so I'm glad that I can look back and laugh. 

The holiday break ended so quickly. Time always flies when your having fun. It was painful to leave everyone behind, again. Fortunately, I had been preparing for leaving again for a long time, so it made it a little easier since I was ready for it. My parents made it through saying goodbye without crying (at least not in front of me), and of course my brothers didn't cry (they never do). I even made it most of the time without crying, until I was on the plane in Chicago, getting ready to take off for Jordan. That's when the emotions began to build up inside. I actually had tears pouring down my face while I was on the airplane waiting for takeoff. The lady across the aisle was staring at me like I was crazy. Finally, after about 20 minutes, I pulled it together and got a hold of myself. I remembered that although I was sad about leaving the States, I have some amazing friends in Bahrain who will be just as happy to see me as I am happy to see them.

Adam playing guitar in the kitchen