An Alumnus of a Nomadic Society

The word nomad has been used throughout history to describe the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. Yet as time has passed, the definition of this word has changed. The nomads of the 21st century are no longer confined to arid deserts; in fact, they are no longer even confined to countries’ borders. The nomad of the 21st century has become a “Global Nomad.”

The world’s increasingly globalized population is apparent in the American School of Doha’s [ ASD] diverse student body. The international school in Doha, Qatar, boasts of having a high level of academic excellence and pristine facilities, yet I believe that it’s most precious resource are its students.

As an alumnus of ASD, I find that the most valuable lessons I learned weren’t always the ones that I learned in the classroom. When I first arrived in ASD, I felt intimidated by the extensive worldly experiences my classmates seemed to have acquired in their short life spans. However, as time passed my intimidation was gradually replaced by awe, as I listened to their accounts of misadventures in foreign countries. Yet, even as my classmates spoke, a seemingly inexplicable sadness crept into their eyes. It was then that I realized that while their lifestyles were rewarding at times, they could also be very difficult.

When asked about the difficulties he faced leaving ‘home’, Rex Wilkins, a member of the graduating class of 2009 said “Until I moved to Qatar, I had lived my whole life in Utah. When the time came for us to leave, my greatest challenge was leaving a network of family and friends that I had grown so close to. I remember going to my last day of high school and seeing all my friends and teachers, knowing perfectly well that I might not see them for years, if at all. Yet Wilkins highlighted the benefits of living in Qatar by saying “Living abroad gave me the chance to meet extraordinary people, who shared different viewpoints and backgrounds. Luckily, I was able to befriend these expatriates, who could also relate to the challenges I faced moving to a strange, new place."

As Global Nomads, many of my friends have had to endure moving from country to country, culture to culture and, hardest of all, school to school. While the globetrotting lifestyle may be attractive to people who have ‘stable’ and ‘uneventful’ lives, they rarely understand the sacrifice that such a lifestyle entails.

For many, being a Global Nomad usually means that they’re only able to see their family once, maybe even twice a year. However, this trip usually requires hours of tedious air travel, accompanied by several stopovers all around the world. Moving frequently, often every 2 years or less, means that these Nomads also have to part with friends frequently. This reality makes the friend-making process that much more problematic, as the Nomads are reluctant to initiate a process that maybe abruptly interrupted by yet another move. In addition to the hardship of parting with family and friends, these Nomads have to experience cultural shock several times in their life, if not more. Dealing with the aforementioned is challenging, even for the most willing candidates. And yet the Global Nomads deal with it on a daily basis.

After understanding the subculture of the Global Nomad, I couldn’t help but sympathize with them. Having been amongst these unique individuals, I realized that the ideas of diversity and unity aren’t necessarily paradoxical. Despite all the different nationalities, cultural identities and religions the student body represented, their identity as Global Nomads and ASDers seemed to supersede all and unite them.

What made ASD special to me wasn’t the comprehensive curriculum or its state of the art facilities; it was always the people who passed through the hallways on a daily basis. In addition to all the historical dates I needed to memorize and all the mathematical formulae I needed to learn, the ASDers taught me the values of loyalty, patience, tolerance and understanding, just to name a few.

For a Third Culture Kid and a newly dubbed Global Nomad who’s never truly experienced a ‘home’- that is to say a ‘home culture’- ASD and its students were kind enough to give me one. The students’ personalities ‘furnished’ the hallways of ASD and their life experiences ‘colored’ it. When I graduated with the class of 2009, I didn’t receive one diploma, I received two. The first stated that I had completed 12 years of education; the second stated that I had learned the lessons that would carry me through life and ultimately help me face the increasingly globalized world of the 21st century.