__________________________________________________________________________________
Why travel? “Things” mean very little to me.
The latest fashion brands, make up, handbags
and shoes - I’m not into any of it. I thrive on
experiences. It’s discovering the unknown. You
arrive in a place not knowing anything about it
and you leave having explored and discovered
something completely new. It’s an awakening of
your senses: different sights, sounds, smells,
tastes and feels. You are embraced in its culture,
its food, its locals, its history, its architecture and
so much more. The world is my biggest
classroom, it has expanded my mind in more
ways I can describe. From travel I have learnt
the virtues of kindness, humbleness, patience,
perseverance, adaptability and agility when
things don’t go your way. I have learnt to smile
at strangers, embrace and relay my religion, there
are many people who still don’t know what
Islam is about. And just when I think I’ve learnt
enough, my next trip brings a wave of new
learnings, perspectives and adventure which
makes my heart smile. A classic example is our
big move to Seattle!
“The place where the dunes meets the Ocean in
Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia ”
Why Seattle as a destination? To cut a long
story short, my husband received a job offer in
Seattle and we embraced it. There’s more to
the story than just the destination. We toyed
with the idea of moving to another country for
a long time. Each time we travelled, we’d
always imagine how cool it would be to linger
in a place for longer. Sure, you experience it as
a tourist but imagine the level of exploration
and learning living somewhere different to
your home country brings. This always
intrigued me. We knew that it’d be easier to
relocate if one of us found a job abroad and so
two years ago we started the journey of actively
looking for opportunities in various countries.
Sweden, Canada and Singapore were potential
options we pursued with no success. Then the
Seattle opportunity arose, and we decided to
grab it! When faced with setbacks or
disappointments, you only realise much later
that Allah is the best of planners and whatever
is written for you will happen at the appointed
time.
“The space needle in Seattle, also capturing the awesome Autumn colours”
29