Story about man who goes to the same school for long time

I remember when I had to read an excerpt from a short story as an assignment for my 9th grade English class (2018-2019) and it was about a boy who was sent to a school, only to stay there for about over a decade (no breaks, no dismissals, etc.). During the beginning, he stated that his neighborhood(?) was something along the lines of being vibrant and full of palm trees. When the protagonist graduated as an adult, the environment started changing around him. I vaguely remember the ending where he reminisces about the past and how everything's changed (like stating how the place was more industrialized). I think this was an autobiography, and given the author's name seemed to be of Middle Eastern descent, I think this story took place somewhere in the Middle East.