Expect the Best

There're a lot of negative perceptions about the Middle East and the people who occupy this land. 

Like we black folks have said for so long, "If your only opinion of us as a people is derived from what you see in the media, you're getting a warped view."

The same holds true here.

I've met some of the nicest, kindest, warmest, most caring people, who are Arabs. They have been from here in the UAE, from Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and other countries that make up this region.  Ninety-nine percent of them are Muslim.

And they are wonderful people.

One of our teachers is from Iraq and we were talking about the war and the continued conflict in her land that has been and continues to be exacerbated by the US, and we shared that the conflict is not with the ordinary citizens, but with the rulers of our respective countries.  The ordinary folks want to live in peace and provide for their families, the same as us in America.

This has to be one of the greatest lessons learned in my time here - we're far more alike than we are different.  Most people don't wake up wanting to go to war.  

I've learned to expect good things from the people I meet.

I expect people to be good to me.

I expect them to be kind and helpful.

I expect people to treat me the way I treat others.

As a result, I don't live in fear that someone will harm me.

I've learned to expect the best in others, and that is the greatest lesson of all.