Asalaamu alaikum brothers and sisters....
Now before any moderator takes umbrage at me putting the word "dream" up there and deleting this post, in this case "dream" means to fantasize or to dwell on the subject.
Anyway.
As I've mentioned before repeatedly I've been trying to get out of the US at least for a bit. My dream was for Kuwait; I went there for a week last September after Ramadan and loved it. However, the American contracting companies I've applied for tend to only hire their relatives & close friends, while the Khaleeji companies & countries require high end degrees for even the most manual of labor, particularly from Americans. I can't get a job teaching English even WITH a TESL certification unless I have a degree as well, while Canadians and Brits just need the cert. One American expat who has a page on YouTube offers advice to folks wanting to come to Kuwait, but when he found out I had no degree he stopped replying to my emails. I thought about studying, but even Saudi Arabia will not even consider you for a scholarship if you're over the age of 25.
The hadith says that the dua of 3 types of people are never rejected: the oppressed, the traveler, and the fasting person (other narrations say a parent for their child). I made dua as a traveler & while fasting that I can make hijra (among other subjects). So far, finding a job & a home overseas is the ONLY dua that to date has not been answered.
Not long after I became Muslim our masjid hired an imam who was one of the best I've ever met. He is Palestinian by birth but has his home in Jordan. I learned so much from him in the year and half he was at our masjid, but when he left for Hajj last year he decided not to return to us but go home to his family in Jordan instead.
His son is a friend of mine and recently we were chatting on Facebook. The son told me that he and his father both recommend me coming to Jordan instead of Kuwait. The son said he could easily find me a job & a place to live. He said he knows many Americans living there who are studying Arabic and working - even simple jobs like working in a restaurant and these expats are happy and content. He (the son) told me to make niyyah & leave the rest to ALLAH.
I tried to talk to my mother about this, but even though she supports Islam as a "beautiful religion" she doesn't really support anything I do because of it, ie giving up my previous lifestyle, trying to get married, wearing thobes & lehya, and now apparently making hijra. She claims I have a case of "the grass is always greener" syndrome.
I live in one of the most depressed cities in the US, Sacramento. Its hard finding a job here, as much of the population can attest to. I have no family here though I do have a network of friends and a good Muslim community (heavily Sufi, like much of the West Coast). However I have no problem selling everything I own - including my house, the only riba I am still paying - and leaving for a bit. The only thing I have that would slow me is my parrot Pooka. He's like my child, however most of the countries I've looked into will allow me to bring him as long as he leaves with me when I go.
I'm not sure what I'm asking for here....advice? Encouragement? An alternate view point? Allahu alim.
Now before any moderator takes umbrage at me putting the word "dream" up there and deleting this post, in this case "dream" means to fantasize or to dwell on the subject.
Anyway.
As I've mentioned before repeatedly I've been trying to get out of the US at least for a bit. My dream was for Kuwait; I went there for a week last September after Ramadan and loved it. However, the American contracting companies I've applied for tend to only hire their relatives & close friends, while the Khaleeji companies & countries require high end degrees for even the most manual of labor, particularly from Americans. I can't get a job teaching English even WITH a TESL certification unless I have a degree as well, while Canadians and Brits just need the cert. One American expat who has a page on YouTube offers advice to folks wanting to come to Kuwait, but when he found out I had no degree he stopped replying to my emails. I thought about studying, but even Saudi Arabia will not even consider you for a scholarship if you're over the age of 25.
The hadith says that the dua of 3 types of people are never rejected: the oppressed, the traveler, and the fasting person (other narrations say a parent for their child). I made dua as a traveler & while fasting that I can make hijra (among other subjects). So far, finding a job & a home overseas is the ONLY dua that to date has not been answered.
Not long after I became Muslim our masjid hired an imam who was one of the best I've ever met. He is Palestinian by birth but has his home in Jordan. I learned so much from him in the year and half he was at our masjid, but when he left for Hajj last year he decided not to return to us but go home to his family in Jordan instead.
His son is a friend of mine and recently we were chatting on Facebook. The son told me that he and his father both recommend me coming to Jordan instead of Kuwait. The son said he could easily find me a job & a place to live. He said he knows many Americans living there who are studying Arabic and working - even simple jobs like working in a restaurant and these expats are happy and content. He (the son) told me to make niyyah & leave the rest to ALLAH.
I tried to talk to my mother about this, but even though she supports Islam as a "beautiful religion" she doesn't really support anything I do because of it, ie giving up my previous lifestyle, trying to get married, wearing thobes & lehya, and now apparently making hijra. She claims I have a case of "the grass is always greener" syndrome.
I live in one of the most depressed cities in the US, Sacramento. Its hard finding a job here, as much of the population can attest to. I have no family here though I do have a network of friends and a good Muslim community (heavily Sufi, like much of the West Coast). However I have no problem selling everything I own - including my house, the only riba I am still paying - and leaving for a bit. The only thing I have that would slow me is my parrot Pooka. He's like my child, however most of the countries I've looked into will allow me to bring him as long as he leaves with me when I go.
I'm not sure what I'm asking for here....advice? Encouragement? An alternate view point? Allahu alim.
