“But we were supposed to go back to the States!” my husband exclaimed with frustration, surprise, and a hint of excitement in his voice. True; we had lived in Leuven, Belgium for 11 years, and all along our intentions had been to return to the United States of America upon my husbands completion of his doctorate thesis.
“You realize this would only have been possible if you had actually applied for a job in the US?” I not so much inquired as pointed out.
“Yes, but still,” he mumbled, as we looked at each other with joy, pride, honor, excitement, and fear.
As my husband, along with other equally advanced compeers of ours here in Belgium, was approaching the conclusion of his studies, applying for a job was slowly becoming a necessity to secure the next step in - not so much our survival, seeing that I had a really great - well-paying and stimulating - job, but - my husband’s academic career. Although not perceiving himself advanced enough to actually commence a serious application process, my husband, only because of a friend’s insistence and encouragement, idly applied for a position at The American University in Cairo, Egypt (AUC). Looking back, I never in my mind doubted that he would be accepted for anything he applied for, but I also had not reflected upon the consequences of an acceptance. Yet, here it was.
The decision to leave Belgium and start our post-doctorate life somewhere else was more difficult than I had anticipated. The fact that we were leaving, not for a middle-sized town life in America, but for Africa, certainly did not help. We had, after all, spent our entire adult lives in Belgium, and were leading a comfortable life. Belgium was our home. But; the contract offer was really attractive. The idea of an adventure before settling in was enticing. The thought of finally teaching was exciting. We decided our house with a white picket fence, our SUV, dog, and Labor Day weekend BBQ would still be there in a few years.
As my husband, along with other equally advanced compeers of ours here in Belgium, was approaching the conclusion of his studies, applying for a job was slowly becoming a necessity to secure the next step in - not so much our survival, seeing that I had a really great - well-paying and stimulating - job, but - my husband’s academic career. Although not perceiving himself advanced enough to actually commence a serious application process, my husband, only because of a friend’s insistence and encouragement, idly applied for a position at The American University in Cairo, Egypt (AUC). Looking back, I never in my mind doubted that he would be accepted for anything he applied for, but I also had not reflected upon the consequences of an acceptance. Yet, here it was.
The decision to leave Belgium and start our post-doctorate life somewhere else was more difficult than I had anticipated. The fact that we were leaving, not for a middle-sized town life in America, but for Africa, certainly did not help. We had, after all, spent our entire adult lives in Belgium, and were leading a comfortable life. Belgium was our home. But; the contract offer was really attractive. The idea of an adventure before settling in was enticing. The thought of finally teaching was exciting. We decided our house with a white picket fence, our SUV, dog, and Labor Day weekend BBQ would still be there in a few years.
So, there we were on a rainy day in August, with a signed contract, packing and shipping instructions, vaccination prescriptions, VISA application documents, and an Arabic language course purchased, and well; the Fugate family was leaving for Cairo, Egypt.
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