The airport was teeming with young, Saudi military personnel carrying rifles-that made me nervous. I was feeling good for the first time in many, many months. It felt like I was getting out of prison and starting a new life.
That would mean tuition, a nice apartment and a car. I was able to send home over ninety-thousand dollars tax-free. I explained that I wasn't 'that way' they laughed at me but left me alone. More than once I was propositioned by local men. I learned their comments were crude and usually sexually suggestive.
I worked with many Saudi's and I wanted to know what they were saying when they talked to each other while pointing at me.
I even taught myself a rudimentary understanding of the local language. One year of hard work and solitude I drove a road-grader 10-12 hours-a-day and spent the evenings reading in the library at the compound where I was living. The past year meant nothing to me except now I could go home and afford to put myself through college. I was in the customs line at the airport and couldn't wait to get on the airplane. I had two reasons to celebrate: it was my 21st birthday and I was finally leaving hell-on-earth-Saudi Arabia.
