Monday, June 16, 2008

Jonathan Barney

I had planned on attending the reunion, partly as an excuse to see family and friends in the Mapleton/Springville area, but unfortunately my job is keeping me in my adopted home of Bethesda, Maryland. I cannot believe that we are all nearing 30. We're old. After graduation I studied history and linguistics at Utah State University interrupting my studies with a 2 year stint at a missionary in Ohio where I learned to appreciate the finer aspects of Racoon cuisine. Seriously, it wasn't all that hick, but I did see fellow Red Devil David Young while I was there. Returning home I completed my education taking time to work summers in Yellowstone and study abroad in Cairo, Egypt where I studied Arabic and Arabic Calligraphy.

After USU I was accepted to Princeton University's Department of Near Eastern Studies where I pursued a Master's Degree and continued to study Arabic and Arab culture from some world class professors. After leaving Princeton I got a job with an NGO in DC run by an acquaintance of mine from Egypt. As a wet behind the ears newbie to the real world, I worked at the Mosaic Foundation (www.mosaicfound.org) doing everything from filing bills to organizing international bazaars and scholarly lectures.

After one year at Mosaic, I received a phone call from someone who has changed my life forever. A women who did contract work for Mosaic called to offer me a position working for the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia under HRH Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, daughter of the late King Faisal and wife of the former Saudi Ambassador to the US. I am being hired as a Research Consultant (I prefer "Roving Royal Researcher") to assist the descendants of His Majesty King Faisal, who died in 1975, in compiling and creating an archive devoted to his memory containing documents, books, pictures, etc of his life and reign. I have been signed on to the project for one year with a chance to extend if they like my work. In fact, I just returned from visiting with Princess Haifa and other royals in Saudi Arabia. You can learn more about my new job at my blog http://mormonmeditations.blogspot.com where I will be posting pictures of my world travels which will take me all over the United States and to most of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, India, and maybe a few others. I am very excited and overwhelmed my new position and can't wait to get the project underway.

As to my personal life. There isn't one! Just kidding, I have dated (do date), but I am still single at 28 which makes it all the easier now to galavant around the globe like the world's most boring copy of Indiana Jones. After this job is over I plan to persue a degree in Archive Sciences at the University of Maryland (I have already been accepted, but afterwards got this new job and decided to defer my matriculation). Upon graduating, I hope to settle into the staid life of a rare books and manuscripts curator. Check out my website for continuous updates from the Roving Royal Researching and see when I'm going to a town near you!

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