Under seasoned & over done

After a long weekend in Dubai, I’m fully recharged and my spirits lifted. There is nothing like a change of scenery to put things in perspective and after a week of being full of a desert cold, feeling very sorry for myself, the stark contrast of a weekend in Dubai helped a lot. Whilst I was more than happy to come back to the sandpit and normality, I find myself not as settled as usual. For the first time in a long time, I feel that I am on December escape countdown. Am I getting sentimental in my old age or are even the most seasoned Kuwait expats missing the seasons?

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Emotional suitcase

Frustrated, comforted, distant, familiar, lonely, happy, uneasy, content. How can one person feel such a variation of contrasting emotions? Well I can second a guess that I am not the only expat who has had to navigate this rollercoaster during their summer break.  It seems extreme, when I see it there in  black in white, but I can honestly say that this is not an exaggeration, in fact I could probably add another half dozen adjectives, to describe my two weeks back home.  I question myself constantly and upon my return to the land of sand I ask, when did finding the familiar comfort of home, make me feel so lost?

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. 

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?

The expat tool belt

In a recent article collaboration with Thelma & Louise Club, one of the questions I was asked was whether anyone could be an expat. Of course my answer was yes, I think most people can do this. 8 years ago I would never have thought I could, I wasn’t adventurous, I was a true home bird, didn’t really like travelling but somehow I ended up on this journey and its been the making of me. So that got me thinking…….In order to be a “successful” expat what tools do you need in your arsenal?

Own goal?

Well and truly back into the desert routine and that trip back home seems long behind me. Very quickly after landing back in the land of sand, it’s strange how fast I can now flip that expat switch and fall back into the everyday, which only shows how “normal” this all now feels. As well as hitting the floor running upon my return, of course comes the new year reflections, plans to be made, intentions drawn up, and like any obsessive planner I am, try to get some clarity on the immediate months ahead.  At first I thought perhaps my necessity for plans at the start of year, is just a distraction, something to focus on allowing myself not to get sucked into the January blues. It turns out, I am not the only one and that my fellow desert girls all seems to be grabbing 2018 by the horns. 

End as you mean to go on

Sorry for the absence folks, but this little thing called Christmas and family get together all got in the way of my blogging, so I know you’ll be dying to hear all about my latest adventures. For those of you that don’t stalk my Instagram account or have been living under a desert rock for the past month, you wont be aware that I had a very busy December and by the time I arrived back in the desert New Years Eve I had taken 12 flights in as little as 6 weeks! No wonder I was sick and exhausted, but do you know what I didn’t care, because in true nomadic expat style I finished the year with some fabulous travels. So at the start of 2018 I take a deep breath and reflect on the month that was.