high school

High School

Having grown up in Saudi Arabia my whole life, I never really cared or thought
anything of high school being different in other countries.  Now that I am studying at a
university in the United States I have quickly learned that my high school experience
was much different than others around me.  For instance, high school is only three
years long in Saudi Arabia, but we still finish when we are 18 years old.  Our high
schools are also separated between males and females; for students and teachers.

The classes we had to take were very standard including the normal subjects like math, 

science, and social studies.  Since Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country we also had to 

take religious classes each year about Islamic history and the Quran.  English and 

Arabic classes were also a required part of our curriculum.  School started early at 

7:00am and finished by 1:00pm. Every day we would get a mid-morning break and

snack.  Since we finished class by 1:00pm the school did not serve us lunch.  Typically 

when we go home after school we would have the biggest meal of the day. 

After school we didn’t have school sponsored sports, but there are many competitive sports clubs 

outside of school that are offered to teenagers such as soccer, horseback riding, and 

swimming to name a few.  I joined a soccer club where I met some of my best friends.  

We traveled around the city and played against other clubs and one year my team even 

won the championship.

The schools calendar is based around the Islamic holidays and

holy month of Ramadan, so every year around Ramadan is our three month summer 

break.

High school was a really great time for me; I got to spend time with all of my

friends, play soccer almost every day, and didn’t have to worry about anything really.  I 

really wouldn’t change my high school experience for anything and I’m so happy for the 

people that I met.