a little background

We live in Portland, Oregon, where Nate is a student at Portland State University majoring in Middle Eastern Studies and minoring in Arabic. Morgan is a Land Planner (or will be until July 6th) with dreams of a joint Masters in International Human Rights Law and Forced Migration and Refugee Studies, with an emphasis on the Middle East.

Nate decided that, in order excel in his Arabic studies, it was necessary to study abroad in the Middle East for a summer. But being newlyweds, Morgan decided that a summer apart--and on different continents--would be unjust, and so she made plans to accompany Nate. The summer abroad gradually turned into a year abroad, and Yemen, some say, is not only incredibly cheap but also has the purest Arabic in the Middle East (and relatively few English speakers).

And so it was decided. Off to Sana'a, Yemen we head on August 21st for a year to study Arabic at the Sana'a Institute for the Arabic Language (SIAL).