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A Houstonian overseas

By Manaal Khalid, age 16 | June 27, 2025

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BLENDING CULTURE Manaal Khalid grew up in Houston, where she attended Yorkshire Academy. Her family currently resides in Saudi Arabia, where she is a 10th grader at an American international school. Each summer, she and her family return to Houston. She talks about the unique hybrid of culture this has created for her.

Every year for the last 11 years, I have left one version of home to return to another. I spend the entire school year in Saudi Arabia and then the entire summer in Houston.

I'm a Houstonian living overseas as an expat – someone who leaves their native country to live elsewhere – but I don’t just feel foreign, I feel, well, doubled. I live in a replica suburban American community out in the middle of the desert, and attend an American international school, which is a vibrant melting pot, much like the culturally rich city of Houston, where students from diverse nationalities and ethnicities come together. As a result, I've noticed that despite our differences – whether we're from the U.S., Europe, Africa, Australia, or Asia – we all tend to blend in.

We don’t just borrow culture – we live in a third one harmoniously. It’s not like we are foreigners here, but we live in our sort of hybrid bubble world. One where our Halloweens look like kids darting past palm trees in their costumes, and Thanksgiving is celebrated with a turkey that was imported from thousands of miles away. Christmas dinner during a sandstorm, anyone? We celebrate it all, just with a local flair.

The city we live in comes alive after dark. Cafés and coffee shops buzz with conversations and youth with pistachio lattes in their hands. Curfews blur, the playlists are global, and the vibes? Incredible.

Every summer, like migratory birds, we head back to good ol’ Houston. My home and my early childhood memories are associated with Houston. The best thing is, Houston isn't all that different. It’s a mix of languages, flavors, and people. I cheer for the Astros and devour delicious brisket and Tex-Mex. The sounds of my little cousins’ chitter-chatter fill my ears – both homes equally loud, loving, and beautifully mixed.

So maybe I don’t have just one version of home. Maybe home is wherever my playlist shuffles between Beyoncé and Fairuz, where Thanksgiving comes with a touch of cardamom, and where I never have to choose between cultures – because that's where I live: in the blend.

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