As you read this I’m preparing to return from a two week trip to the US (in time for Ramadan) that I am calling my “accreditation journey” and it is to regularize all my university documentation. I am returning to my alma mater after 25 years since my graduation (don’t you dare ask my age) to get my degrees attested. My first step is the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (howdy to you too) while my husband’s accreditation track involves Georgia Tech and Seattle University (SU is another story). The intention is to fly out on July 15 from Abu Dhabi to New York, then pick up a flight to Atlanta (for Georgia Tech), and then drive to Knoxville, pick up my attested certificate from UT, get it notarized there, then drive to the governor’s office in Nashville for another stamp of attestation, then fly out to Washington DC to the state department for Mrs. Hillary Clinton’s signature, then over the UAE embassy there for the final round of attestation…. Crazy? Maybe…. (and please send me your stories if you’ve been there, and drop me an email if you want to know how we fared). Yes, we could have had an attestation service do it for us from here, but frankly all the ones we spoke with were wishy-washy about the process, timings and final delivery. So – we decided to combine a mission with a vacation (kind of like the hybrid word “staycation”…we coin a new one: “missioncation”) and do it all ourselves. For sure, this is one long air and road trip, but I know it will be packed with wistful memories and new experiences.
Have a happy summer, and Ramadan Mubarak to all.
Sana Bagersh
Managing Editor
