Evan Rose: From Arabia to America

Rose returns home after almost two years in Saudi Arabia

Catherine Smith, Student Life Editor

“Riding a camel…that was something I’d say is exciting,” said Junior Evan Rose. He left for Jubail, Saudi Arabia during his freshman year, starting a new life in the Middle East. After adjusting to another culture, Rose is back to finish high school in America.

In November of 2017, Rose moved to Saudi Arabia with his family because of his father’s work. Jubail is located on the East Coast near Bahrain in the Middle East. “I was a little surprised and a little scared. I mean it’s cool to go to a new place, but sad that I was leaving my friends, I hoped to come back [to the U.S].,” said Rose.

Rose went to an American private school located on a compound while he was in Jubail. To Rose, depending on location, much of life in Saudi Arabia was no different than life in Virginia.

“In some respects, it seemed like you’re walking into an American grocery store, other than everything’s in Arabic,” said Rose. “Other times, you will definitely see physical differences, as in men and women wearing cultural dress or street markets.”

The new lifestyle change came with its benefits. Rose said, “My dad’s company gave us the chance every six months to go on home leave. You could fly back to wherever you lived before, and they would pay for that ticket. But most people didn’t fly home, they would fly to anywhere in the area between Saudi Arabia and their home. So during the summer, we went to Amsterdam. One time we went to Egypt and then around the Mediterranean.”

For Rose, the hardest part about moving away was leaving behind friends and family for a long period of time. But the experience made a good lasting impression on his life. He made new friends, saw new people and learned from all his experiences.

Adjusting to the culture and language was the hardest part and came as a surprise to Rose at times. He said, “I was able to learn some Arabic so it made it a little easier; but in a sense, it’s much more communication without words for us U.S. people moving there. Communication without words was a really big part of it because in a grocery store you would either point or say something that you knew in Arabic that they might know.”

The people were friendly where Rose was staying. He said, “The media has portrayed the Middle East to be terrorists everywhere, but where I was, and almost every single part of Saudi, you have friendly Arabic people who would be willing to help you and communicate with you.”

Although Rose was nervous to live a new lifestyle, he accepted this new way of life and enjoyed his time there while learning about a new culture.