The grass is greener on the other side of the World!

Bismillah ..
There are some things you don't miss until there apparently gone. I'm not talking about family or friends, I think about everyone all the time. But besides people I truly miss GRASS. LOL nice green healthy grass. I didn't expect to see much,(it being between 105-115 degrees and all) but I didn't realize how much grass is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I remember going to Arizona for a bowl game in college and thinking the same thing. Everything looks so much better with greenery I guess. There are palm trees here and there, but for the most part its just a whole bunch of dust:)( I'm simply stating facts here, don't want to offend anyone). You always picture young kids in the park playing soccer in the nice plush grass, but here its more like a barren dusty field. But all praise due to Allah for alleviating my annoying allergies. I'm not sniffing, scratching my throat, or rubbing my eyes anymore, and I'm truly thankful for that.
Another thing that's different here are the windows in my apartment. Here they cover the windows with the same material that you would use to cover a textbook (cant think of the name). So needless to say, there isn't much sunlight coming in. I would like to purchase curtains and hang them up instead but I'm not sure if we can drill into what seems to be concrete walls. Inshallah the owner won't have a problem ,and I can get ride of these blockers to my Vitamin D:) I'm still amazed at how hot it is even at night. I thought it would at least go down to 70 degress but I'm not in Jersey any more, that's for sure. Average Low here is about 90 degrees LOL, (and I complained in Jersey when it was that hot in the day time, LOL silly me). When my husband and I walked to the store today he said it wasn't to hot, LOL. I told him when its over 100 degrees I can't tell the difference, whether its 100 or 115, I'm just HOT. HOT is Hot LOL, But I try not to complain, that doesn't make you any cooler now does it!!!!!
One thing that I like about being here is that everyone is pretty much equal to the naked eye. Because Saudi culture has developed somewhat of a uniform (men where white(sunnah: what the prophet did),and women where black), its hard to tell who the rich people are and who are less fortunate. It's kind of like school uniform in the states, which I personal like the idea. If everyone is wearing the same thing, it's really hard to get picked on, and that's one less thing a child has to worry about. Obviously there are other ways to tell (like the cars people drive .etc) but for the most part, when shopping or out walking, everyone is equal. During Hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to the Holy city Mecca),the same rules apply. Rich or poor, old or young, every man wears two white pieces of cloth, one for the top, one for the bottom. This signifies that you are all equal in Allah's eyes. Beautiful huh:) So on that pilgrimage a king could be praying right next to a poor person and, and only Allah would know. This highlights whats important in Allah/Gods eyes. Your standing with him has nothing to do with degrees you've earned in the past, money you've acquired or accumulated over the years, or your status. Allah wants you to remember him in everything that you do, be patient in hard times, and be thankful ALL the time for the blessings that He has bestowed on you. As humans we seldom realize how many blessings we are given daily ( I speak to myself first as a reminder). The ability to wake up every morning and see, to be able to think coherently, to be able to walk, talk, and eat to name a few. At any moment those abilities can be snatched away from us just like that. I'm thankful for everything. I miss my family and friends but I'm thankful that they have there health and that I'm able to communicate with you all via internet:) I'll continue to pray to Allah that he makes this transition for me smooth and that we all are able to live another day to praise him.
I'll be writing again soon!
Salam