When did that happen?

Now please don’t fall off your seats at my appearance in blog land. You know what they say, if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all, so I guess I kept my mouth shut! The wheels of expat life keep turning and before you know it months have passed and I cant believe the summer exodus is nearly upon us.

So in light of my somewhat triumphant return, I know you are dying to hear what profound insight I have for you in this post. Well it dawned on me that whilst the expat wheels do keep turning, the routine of life magically makes the days, weeks and months pass unnoticed. But things do change. Little changes, that almost sneak past you. Where you stop, smile to yourself and say “when did that happen?”

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Life is pants!

After my life changing, or not so life changing as it turned out, news last week I very quickly relaxed back into the status quo. I have to say that I was extremely happy that now the choice was made, I could focus forward and not linger on the what ifs of the situation. One thing that became very apparent, during this period of uncertainty, was how people handled this scenario completely differently. Was this usual? Did I handle this the best way that I could? I pondered that latter for some time, I came to the conclusion that yes, there were a couple of inner freak outs towards the end, but on the whole I was the poster girl for facing it head on.

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. 

Beach bliss: Sri Lanka Part 1

Usually my years travel is planned and organised at least 6 months ahead of time, simply to calm my inner Virgo control freak. So when Hubby and I decided, slightly on a whim to book a trip to Sri Lanka 6 weeks in advance, I did freak just a smidge. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go, in fact it had been on the list for a while, but I felt like I wasn’t fully prepared, in terms of research or what to expect. I’m not going to lie, I was very anxious before leaving, as this wasn’t going to be our usual 5* middle eastern luxury trip. Instead, what happened over the next 8 days was that I lost every ounce of anxiety and fell in love with this incredible country. 

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! 

Scream if you want to go faster!

Since we last “met” dear readers, my week has been a busy one. As I flit like a social butterfly, from one occasion to the next, there have been moments where I have not stopped, contrasted by quiet moments of reflection. As I pondered about what this weeks post should be about, I realised that the last seven days, have really been a mixed bag. Forget the seven deadly sins, I am talking about the seven desert moods that I have journeyed through, in just one week! No one tells you that this expat lark will bring you a plethora of feelings in such an intense way, one minute you’re up, the next you’re down. In the words of Ronan Keating,  (expat) Life is a roller coaster. 

O(h)man, we’re a hoot!

Last week Hubby and I took a much needed break to Oman. Ok, maybe not that needed for me, the girl who is on permanent holiday, but after a long summer apart it was good to know we had some quality, chilled out, switch off time together. As you all know Oman has become our little haven in the Gulf and to say we were excited about our return was an understatement. I have to be honest here, and tell you that my enthusiasm did falter when Hubby declared that we were on a 4am flight and that we would have to be at the airport by 2am!

Older but am I wiser?

As I celebrated my 30 something birthday this week, one thing became abundantly clear. Ok two things were abundantly clear, one I am now officially in the realms of late thirties ( how the bloody hell did that happen?!) and two (once I got over point one) was that I had not celebrated a birthday at home, with family and friends, since my 30th. I used to be one of these people that would obsessively insist that I had to have my birthday at home in Jersey, even when I was a student in London I went back every year. So now here I am 3,000 miles from home and celebrating my 4th in Kuwait and 7th abroad (ah shit, the cats out the bag on my age now!).  This got me thinking about as an expat, how do I cope with missing and hitting milestones without my loved ones? 

Tug of war

How is it already June?! I can not believe that time is passing so quickly and that the summer escape is nearly upon us.  As the temperatures rise, Ramadan continues and the kids are entering end of term craziness, the desert girls and I are running down the social events and looking ahead to months away from the sandpit. Now whilst most of my friends are eager to escape, some literally counting the days with excitement, I have a very real, inner tug of war going on. I am so ready to see my family and friends, but there is a massive part of me just not ready to leave. The fact that I am less than a week away from heading to the motherland, should have me planning every inch of my first few days on The Rock and have my “getting off the plane” outfit all picked out, but this time there is something holding back. Has my desert life stopped being full of randomness and now truly become home?