Sarah and Jared Staal at the pyramids in Egypt. The Staals live in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which allows them to travel to a variety of locales in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

From northeast Iowa to the Middle East

Brian Smith
Contributing Writer
bsmith@fayettepublishing.com

Growing up in a small community in northeast Iowa, Sarah (Henning) Staal learned a number of things that have helped her become successful in life. Becoming involved in a variety of extracurricular opportunities that included all sorts of different people was the norm in a small school and a small town, where everyone seemed to participate in everything.

           “My parents, family and friends challenged me to keep an open mind, and that has been a catalyst in helping me adapt to new groups, people, and situations in my life. I was motivated to reach for my goals, but was also taught to look for the good in everyone’s heart, no matter where I may travel or live,” said Staal in describing how she was raised.

           This outlook, which she sees as a core value of the small communities located in northeast Iowa, has benefited her greatly in her travels. Staal has been many places and seen many things since leaving the community of Elgin, where her parents, Randy and Denise Henning, raised her.

            A 2003 Valley High School graduate, Sarah attended the University of Iowa, where she earned a degree in business administration – finance and marketing, and later a master’s degree in healthcare administration. She began working for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., in June 2008. It was after she had been working there for three years that she met someone who shared her passion for travel.

           “I met Jared Staal in December 2011 at a place called Zoup, where we were both having lunch. After we met, we discovered that we had not only been working at the same hospital, but that for the past few months had been sitting about 50 feet away from one another after he moved into the building in which I was already working,” noted the former small-town Iowa native.

            Jared had already lived in West Africa for one year during his college experience at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. He was interested in having additional international experiences, but he was also interested in sharing those experiences with someone else. Sarah came along at just the right time to spark that interest again, and they added fuel to each other’s fire as they began planning an international experience together.

           “We got married Oct. 5, 2013, in Grand Rapids, but had begun looking for an international healthcare opportunity months before that. We found what we were looking for and moved to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in February 2014,” explained the adventurous healthcare professional.

             The couple now live on Al Reem Island, which overlooks the Arabian (Persian) Gulf. They have had a variety of experiences in their new home as well as in their travels to other countries. Jared and Sarah seem to be soaking up the culture and taking advantage of every opportunity available to them, living their lives to the fullest and making every day count.

           “There is no greater gift than the ability to create a bridge between one culture and another. The ability to learn from and establish a relationship with an individual from a completely different culture is priceless. I think everyone should have that opportunity at least once in their lifetime,” said Jared, who believes that such opportunities promote understanding and have the potential to make the world a better place.

           The Staals have traveled to a variety of locales throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. Sarah has a personal goal of attempting to visit every country in the world (factoring in safety concerns) during her lifetime. She also has her favorite places that she would like to revisit, but both Sarah and Jared agree that the most amazing experience they have had is right in their own backyard – the experience of moving to their current location and calling it home.

            “The adjustment that takes place integrating yourself into a new culture is challenging, but also very rewarding at the same time. We had never visited Abu Dhabi, much less anywhere else in the Middle East, before moving here. It was instant culture shock for us when we stepped off the plane,” related Sarah.

           Fortunately for Jared and Sarah, United Arab Emirates has a large expatriate (people living outside their native country) population. Expatriates outnumber locals by 8 to 1, so they had some common ground with many others who had made the choice to live in the area.

            Still, the couple were surrounded by people of varying nationalities and cultures in their new home. However, they soon found themselves feeling like they belonged.

           “It is always easy to judge ideals from a distance, but when those ideals take the form of a real person, it is difficult to not find something you can relate to. That is what we find ourselves doing now,” added Jared, who works as Team Lead Business Intelligence for Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi.

            Living in a foreign country located in the Middle East and traveling as much as they do, one might wonder how the Staals feel about their own security in certain situations. They are aware of potentially unstable situations; however, they also feel that some misrepresentation occurs as well.

           “We are cautious travelers and understand the risks that are present with each country. We feel the media often inaccurately the media represents the status of certain countries. We have found that a lot of insecurities and fears are unnecessary and that it can have an unfortunate negative effect, especially if that country happens to be a major tourist destination,” said Sarah, who currently works as chief administrative officer for Healthpoint Hospital and is a senior associate for Mubadala Development Company.

           In all the traveling she has done and places she has seen, Sarah continues to carry with her the lessons of acceptance and achievement that she learned while growing up in northeast Iowa.

            My parents, family, and friends have taught me to remember where I came from and embrace the experiences that have led me where I am today. I am especially grateful to my parents for all that they have done for me,” closed Sarah.

            Interested in finding out more about the Staals’ travels? Check out their blog, “The Tale of Two Traveling Misfits,” at http://jaredstaal.blogspot.com/.