As Salam Alaikum, dear readers. My name is Amina Alzahrani and I'm a young Saudi Arabian woman living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. My boyfriend Tyrone Ferguson hails from the City of Buffalo, New York, and we're living proof that opposites truly do attract. We met at the Galleria Mall in Buffalo almost two years ago, and we reunited at Billings Bridge Mall in Ottawa a while ago, and have been together ever since.
Fate brought us together, Tyrone Ferguson and I. How else could you explain the fact that we met in the first place? I'm from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the world's most conservative country, a religious autocracy, and Tyrone Ferguson, the love of my life, hails from the United States of America. Our two homelands are as different as night and day. Yet Tyrone and I not only found common ground, but against all odds, we fell in love and decided to stay together.
I have some wonderful news, for those of you who have been following our adventures since the beginning. I'm pregnant, and Tyrone is ecstatic about becoming a father. You see, Tyrone was raised in the foster care system of the State of New York and never had a real family. For him, starting a family of his own is a dream come true. I love Tyrone and I am thrilled that we're about to become parents. Still, this new development has certainly made our lives somewhat harder.
It's often been said that parenthood changes everything, and I'm finding this to be true. Tyrone and I moved to the Gloucester area of Ottawa, since it's cheaper over there. We found a three-bedroom apartment that only cost us a thousand dollars a month, everything included. It's located about ten minutes from the Blair Shopping Center, one of our favorite hangouts. That's cool, right? Tyrone and I live within walking distance of the Silver City movie theater, the spot where we've had some much fun in. Another bonus of our new locale, if you ask me.
Whenever Tyrone Ferguson and I go out together, we get stared at a lot. A tall African-American man holding hands with a curvy, bronze-skinned and dark-eyed, Hijab-wearing Arab woman from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Even in a diverse town like Ottawa, people stare at us. A lot. Especially folks from Africa or the Arab world. The looks on the faces of Arab men when they see me with Tyrone is one of pure hatred.
The funny thing? Lots of those same Arab guys who seem angered or disgusted to see me pregnant with Tyrone's brood have white girlfriends or black girlfriends themselves. In the Arab world, it's considered okay for Arab men to have dalliances and even marriages with African women and white women but if an Arab woman has a relationship with a man who isn't Arab, there's an uproar. Not fair if you ask me but whatever. I'm just a woman living my life. I am with the man that I love. So what if we're from different racial groups, different cultures and different faiths? At the end of the day, I'm a regular woman and Tyrone is a regular guy. We're in love, you see.
Tyrone Ferguson and I are having a tough time lately. Now, for prenatal care, I went to AppleTree medical center, and everything worked out just fine. I want to make sure everything goes right, for I'm about to become a mother for the first time. It's a very exciting time for me. I can't wait to see what our future son or daughter will look like. I'm two months pregnant, and I'm just starting to show. I am super excited!