Introduction

I figured that since this is my first blog post, I'd introduce myself.

My name's Michelle. I'm 19, born and raised in Saudi Arabia. Being raised in a totally different country having a very different background was hard. My parents are originally from the Philippines. They spent more than half of their lives in Saudi Arabia. They know everything about it: from food to culture to traditions to lifestyles and the language, Arabic. Both my parents are fluent Arabic-speakers, aside from being fluent in Filipino and English (my dad speaks Bisaya too).

Growing up being exposed to two different cultures made me confused. Confused, because I didn't know which norm I should follow. Outside of home, I was exposed to the Saudi culture and way of living. Sure -- I accept that. No biggie. But at home -- my parents expect me to behave like a Filipina. They taught me the language. I now speak it fluently, in addition to being able to speak English fluently. Arabic never came easy for me to learn because in school and when in the mall or somewhere else, I conversed in English. At home, I conversed in Filipino.

16 years after I was born, me, my mom, and my sister moved to America permanently. I was used to travelling since my family loved to travel annually to different countries. America came as a huge culture shock to me. Although I've been to America twice before the permanent move, I was still not adjusted to the norms people do here. I used to think dressing in whatever you feel like was a total joke. Wearing shorts and a t-shirt made me feel naked. Back home, I was used to wearing an abaya (this thin, black cloth that covers the woman's entire body). Go figure.

So this blog is supposed to be about the issues I faced and am facing right now. The conflict of 3 cultures (Saudi, Filipino, and American) get to me a lot and I'm here to discuss them openly and rationally.