Solidificationism

Female culture: A night in with my girlfriends back home means sweat pants, a t-shirt, ice cream, and probably conversations about guys who suck. Here, a night in with the girls is energy, exitement and feeling beautiful and rarely do guys who suck or are cool come up in conversation. (A night out is a bit different in both cases)

I've stepped into many rooms in Bahrain that are for women only: the salon, some clothing stores; weddings and a henna (the pre-wedding party for the bride) and those are the places where I was able to witness life in Bahrain. The streets here say very little. I'm very lucky to be female in this country and have many doors, literally, open to me.

Drinking: Parties back home need three things: music, people and drinks. A party missing one isn't a party at all and the alcohol is the catalyst for good times. Here it's just people and music that are needed and the good times comes naturally from energy and excitement. It makes me question my actual need for drinking.

The past four years in college have been fast and turned me into a college student. All this time to think about how who I am as me and who I am as an American in her 20s is allowing me, the me that crosses borders, to solidify.