TRAVEL_______________________________________________________________________
Indeed, I was nervous. Nervous would be an
understatement. I was leaving behind everything I
knew for a foreign land. I thought about how anti-
Islam and anti- immigrant the US is portrayed to
be and I was genuinely fearful. I was leaving the
immense freedom of religion we have in South
Africa for something perceived to be less so. The
biggest drawback for me was leaving my family,
my strongest support structure behind. My
husband and I contemplated and talked about our
reservations at length. The resolution was if
everything was viewed with a negative mind set, we
would never be brave enough to embrace anything
outside of our comfort zone and so we thought
about all aspects positively. Maybe practising Islam
would be more challenging but we viewed this as a
means of getting closer to our religion, as an
opportunity to fight for what we value and truly
,
believe in. As for the family we will always miss
home, sometimes more than others but with the
advancement of technology, we try to share our
new lives as best we can with our loved ones, as
often as possible given the 10-hour time
difference.
.
It’s been just over a month and a whirl wind so
far. It’s the equivalent of pressing reset on life and
starting most of it all over. Even the basics
change, I need to comprehend in pounds instead
of grams, miles instead of kilometres and gallons
instead of litres. I had to redo my learners
(knowledge test) and driver’s license, parallel
parking and the works. Plus, on the other side of
the road!! Who would of thought??! My fears
around religion haven’t materialised Alhamdulillah
and I’m so taken aback by the diversity of people
in Seattle (both Muslim and non-Muslim). I can
confidently say that I have grown as a person
exponentially in a month and look forward to the
challenges ahead. So that’s my travel story for
now, it’s still incomplete as I pray to continue
travelling to the end of my time In Sha Allah (God
Willing). For progress on my travel journey follow
tattoo_my_passport on social media.
“View of Seattle skyline from the ferry”