A big fat expat wedding

Firstly, yes your shock and bewilderment is justified. It is me, the one that would pop up weekly in your feeds, spilling my expat guts. So whilst the shock of my return to writing is shared between us, I hope that my first post back, after my little self imposed blogging break, won’t  disappoint.

When I read expat blogs, many delve into the ins and outs of friendships. I myself have fequently mentioned that there is a fine line between the the ones you had in your old life and throwing yourself into potential new ones. I can only speak of my experience, which thus far has been extremely positive. There haven’t been any transisant, right for right now, kind of friendships, so for me they have been a massive part of my journey.

Advertisement

Passing ‘ships

Back in the Land of Sand, after a month immersed in island life. The weather was spectacular, family time was comforting and the familiarity of my life that was, made the 4 weeks fly quicker than I imagined. However, amongst all the trips to St Ouens, caffeinating my way around The Rock, something surprising, profound and unexpected happened. Something that made me realise that whilst I have continued to connect with people, who were in my life pre expatting, I have obviously become very dependent on technology. Like most expats, we relish in the fact that the world is smaller because of the ability to FaceTime, WhatsApp and Skype. Gone are the days of long distance phone calls and battling with bad connections. Whilst these new processes are crucial to me, it still doesn’t make up for that human connection and I question whether we become too dependent, allowing some relationships to pass us by?

Expat evolution

At last I am back in the land of social interaction post Ramadan. Whilst I really enjoyed my month of slowing down, focus on myself and quality time with Hubs, I cannot lie and say that I wasn’t enthused by the idea of recaffienating my life with flat whites and conversation. As it felt like the entire country was simultaneously exhaling, coffee shops refilled and the desert girls reconvened

I was very happy to see them again, as many I had literally not set eyes on for a month. The warm hugs, enthusiastic hellos and a joint squeal of excitement to be handed a menu for our reunion marina brunch, set the morning up perfectly. It was so lovely to be back in the presence of these ladies, granted there were some of the usual brunchers missing, as the expat exodus has already begun, but those of us that remain in the land of sand, were more than making up for the absentees. 

Desert tribe

Ever had a day when you think what am I doing? That day when you look around at your weird, random expat existence and think to yourself WTF, how did we end up here?! I remember walking down my little Prague street, in the snow, having just survived the supermarket on my lunch hour, and suddenly out of nowhere, I  caught myself in a moment of realisation….This is my life now……and with a smile and a giggle I carried on trudging through the snow. We all have moments where the reality of our situation can make us smile, cry and laugh out loud and sometimes this can be all in one day. 

Sheer(an) delight & Dubai nights

There are moments in my expat life that will be firmly placed in the memory box. This weekend was one of those moments. A one-off, surreal, pinch yourself, special experience which will be very hard to forget. 

Bitched, bothered & bewildered

Sometimes the slightest thing can throw you off or sometimes nothing at all seems to be the culprit. I don’t know if it was the being struck down with the latest desert cold or whether it was something else, but I have definitely feeling detached of late. I am by no means unhappy, in fact I continue to be content with my sandpit life, but there was definitely something that had made me uneasy. Why does a small change in our mood or emotional state become such an issue when living abroad? 

Social Network

Desert life is heating up and as many will agree, once the sun is out, happiness is accompanied by positive vibes, along with sunscreen and shades. That being the case, I have returned with a spring in my step and back to seeing the world through my rose tinted sunglasses. I am in an appreciative, reflective mood, enabling me to be fully back into the world of expat, living the dream and raring to go. As I stumbled out of my little wobble over the last few weeks, it seems to be a current theme among the desert girls, making me wonder if we are all like a house of cards, remove one or pressurise another, every card becomes a little unstable? Whilst our expat circles are there for support, can we also freak each other out? I ask myself, is our social network always worth a “like” or should we start to “unfollow” the crowd? 

On shaky ground

I’m by no means in a blip right now, but I am definitely unsettled somewhat. As I am approaching my three year mark in the sand, so too are some of the original desert girls. Those ladies that touched down within weeks on my arrival and who have been part of my social circle every since. Now, many of us  on these nomadic trails have a limited timescale and quite a few are contracted out to this random corner of the desert for a set period. Hubby and I have never embarked on a fixed term contract anywhere, allowing the decision to move on to be our own. But for many, particularly in this part of the world, they are on countdown from the moment they arrive, so as I approach three years, so too do a lot of contracts and departures are imminent.

How long is long enough?

I am well and truly back into the swing of desert life, the desert girls have all returned from their travels and you will be pleased to hear, that the ladies that brunch will be reconvening this week. However, whilst this weekly ritual was on hold, I still managed to meet up for a post Christmas Starbucks with those who had spent the Yuletide in situ, so I was very eager to hear their experiences. I am pleased to report that they were all very contented and even the newest desert gal was surprised she “survived”. 

What the F

Wow I really don’t know where time is going, can you really believe that Christmas is nearly upon us dear readers? Writing this post a little late this week as well, life has got in the way and as the big day approaches things have started to run away with me and with a week left in little island haven, I am starting to panic and get uber emotional. But on a happy note, as I review the last week and all that’s happened only one thing springs to mind…..what the F?!