The knockout punch

It’s funny, this expat life seems to be life of extremes. Nothing is every truly easy, even when things are going well. Sometimes even in the relatively calm, mundane, nothing to see here moments, you can get an extreme emotional reaction. You can’t actually fathom why or how this has occurred but whether it be  no sleep, change in the weather or lack of caffeinated wisdom, you can have an off day. When is a bad day just you needing a slap and when do you need to land the killer blow?

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The annual agonising

There comes a point in January, when the post Christmas catch ups are had, that latest trip home seems like a million years ago and the typical desert expat starts wishing the year away. I don’t mean it’s unbearable, a slog or there is pure desperation to get out, but there is a definite moment when the planning heads go on and we start to have markers in the calendar. We haven’t even finished January and I bet that most have up to September all planned out! So as Hubs and I are joining this bandwagon and trying to pin down our plans, I ask myself it this really necessary or just a desert thing?

Silent witness

Apologies for the radio silence, there seems to have been a little blogging drought in the desert. Whilst the prospect of writing wasn’t a chore, I definitely wasn’t in the mood to put this post out there. I have always wanted this blog to be an honest one and at times there have been some posts that have come easier than others, but I have never shied away from it. What I have learnt over the past month, is that there was something I wanted to write about, but I didn’t know how it would be perceived or if I actually wanted to vocalise it out loud. So here we are, I guess I am ready and after a few conversations with the desert girls, my feelings on this matter are not exclusive to this Jersey Girl.

The greatest adventure

I, like the majority of the world, have become slightly obsessed with The Greatest Showman. There is something about this movie and its soundtrack that speaks to me, motivating me through desert workouts, making my baking sessions, a whole singing and dancing affair and rendering me to tears whenever I hear This is Me. However, the song that has me on an emotional edge, connects with me more than any other………Tightrope. And dear readers, it has become my very own expat anthem.

A desert Ramadan

We are now heading into week 2 of Ramadan and whilst I am fully into my new adapted routine, I know some desert girls are still in the midst of finding their feet. This time of year is always a funny one, it quickly shows me how much I rely on a routine, even though I don’t have a 9 to 5 to stick to, last week I had no idea what day it was, because my usual social diary was torn up, so I had nothing to pin point the weeks progress. Having said that I have enjoyed the longer mornings with Hubby, chats over a pot of coffee and the papers (albeit digital), slowing things down, finding time to breathe. During this moment of reflection and pace change, I do wonder how everyone else copes with these changes and I know it varies dramatically. 

Live it, love it, grab it

Why would you do that? I don’t understand the appeal? Isn’t that just a real pain that lifestyle? When are you coming home? How long are you doing this for? Questions after question, all very typical of people that find out that you are an expat. It is so far from their comprehension, that they struggle to engage with you on any discussions about your weird, non conventional life abroad. My answer is, do I care what others think?

Type face

I have had many conversations with the desert girls, over the last few weeks. Whilst the conversations are varied, I made an observation. During these chats, I saw that the manifestation of emotions, showed itself in different ways to different people. How they coped, how they responded was all so different, even if the scenario was similar. This got me thinking, that whilst there are definitive emotional stages to this journey, was I right to think, there are in fact definitive expat types?

Location, Location, Location

Unfortunately we can’t all have Phil and Kirsty at our disposal, so when it comes to choosing a new expat location, do we always have the expertise to make the right choice? I know that in both our moving decisions, we have been led by the opportunity, rather than an emotional or situational need to move. Luckily for us it worked out, but I do look back and wonder were we just to blasé about the whole thing, what if it hadn’t worked?

Home Truths

There comes a time in every expat life, where the novelties have worn off and it just becomes life. Routines are forged, every day flows into the next, without major discoveries or incident, and before you know it year 1, 2 and 3 are behind you. As Hubby and I approach the same time period in the desert, as we did in Prague we can’t phathom where that time as gone and how our desert life will have more longevity than our European adventure. I for one never envisaged that would happen, but love that it has. Like many expats, we entered the new year contemplating the last and having that annual discussion of whether we are happy, bored or indifferent to our current location and what plans should be made. As we are eager to continue on our sandpit journey, our travels will be for pleasure and Kuwait remains home. 

All shook up

Last night was one of those weird moments in expat life, where it all seems to become very real. We sat watching our XFactor & Strictly catch up, snuggled on the sofa just like any normal Brit Sunday night. It’s moments like this we could quite literally be anywhere in the world and you forget that you are in this random corner of the Gulf . Then something happens that jolts you back to reality and you think shit!