The heat is on

You will be glad to hear that I have fully recovered from my travel zombieness and am back into the swing of desert life. I am glad to say that it felt a lot easier coming back this time, than in January, possibly because I know there is a shorter gap between returning to my little isle, but I was actually missing my life here. There is a lot to be said about getting a change of scenery that makes you appreciate all you have, as they say absence makes the heart grow fonder and I am truly quite fond of our Arabian adventure. So yes its good to be back, but when I was walking back from my morning yoga class, my zen like mood quickly dissipated, as all i could think was it’s too bloody hot!

As you may recall in my post The great escape  one of the main factors, both expats and Kuwaitis indulge in a mass exodus from the country is the heat. I was lucky enough to have escaped the ridiculous extremes of July which are beyond comprehension. Whilst I was sat in Jersey, enjoying a balmy 26 degrees and listening to everyone, including my mum say it was too hot, my attention was drawn back to the ITV News, when I heard Kuwait mentioned. It turns out that the previous day the country had  reached a staggering 54 degrees (129 if you prefer), making it on that day officially

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Once upon a time…

Once upon a time there was a princess, who lived on a beautiful island. Every summer, after unicorn riding school was over, her cousin would travel across the sea from a far away land called England. The princesses loved their 8 weeks together and would plan trips around the island doing all their favourite things. But the place they loved the most was a little cove called Green Island, which sat in a small corner of the kingdoms eastern province and was home to the princesses’ castle (or house as they called it, although even by Jersey standards it was a pretty big house!). They would spend hours playing in the “house” whilst the queen watched from her sandy throne and supplied royal Mini Milks, to revive the little girls, as the afternoon drew in. This ritual went on until the little princesses grew up and their annual summers together came to end.

Many years later, the princesses had become accustomed to grabbing every opportunity they had to visit each other. Whilst one was travelling to strange and far off places, the other had stayed in her kingdom of England and had a little prince to keep her on her princess toes. So whenever they could, the family would meet in each others realms and when this was not possible, the frequent use of the magic iMirror was used to maintain their special bond. 

Home game

I am literally days away from going home and if you haven’t guessed it already, from the numerous references in recent posts and nostalgic Tweets, I am simply beside myself with excited anticipation. Whilst I was packing, yes I had packed with over a week to go, but before you pass judgement, in my defense I HAVE to be organised. I’m a planner and quite frankly would need Valium if it was left with only days to go, so what if I have nothing to wear for my last week desert side, I’m calm(ish). Anyway where was I? Right, I was thinking about going home and all that means in terms of preparation, for this perfecting Virgo, and what awaits me in the motherland. So sitting on my sun lounger I let my mind drift and came up with a little word play…..

The great escape

There is a moment every year, where there is only one thing expats talk about. Everyone does it, everyone talks about it, they compare notes, it’s the go to conversation throughout May and rankings are drawn up to see who’s the hardcore bunch, lasting longer than anyone else. Let the expat exodus begin…….

It is completely accepted that expats disappear from Kuwait  in  June and reappear at the start of September. The locals also get in on the action, making August in the desert somewhat desolate as temperatures soar and everyday life becomes limited solely to air con induced activities. The schools break for summer a whole month earlier than the UK, due to July and August reaching above and beyond 50 degrees (that’s 122 Fahrenheit for those who prefer old money) so kids here have a full 10 weeks off. Whilst this sounds great to the kids, that’s 10 weeks that they need to be entertained, 10 weeks of activities to find and Kuwait simply doesn’t have enough options out of the heat. So with little alternatives, my expat friends escape the sand pit and head home. 

In a desert, far far away….

There comes a time around the world, where women simultaneously scream in horror realising bikini season is upon them. We are exposed to what seems to be every magazine cover spouting the bikini diet, the latest celebrity fitness DVD or food fad that will drop inches whilst we sleep.

Now coming from Jersey we boast that we have more sunshine hours than anywhere else in the UK, however the reality is we still don’t have masses of beach days which are two piece viable. So my “normal” (hardly normal to a sane person) bikini ritual would be realising you only have 30 days to that holiday and you’ve just had your 2nd helping of cake, so there is only one thing for it; a 3rd piece of cake whilst you ponder how to drop 20lbs in a month with the least amount of effort.