Living in a culture and country that is different to my own has been a huge experience and it has stretched me in many different ways.  There are two main things that I have learnt, on a personal level I have achieved so many firsts and gained confidence in my ability to be independent and self reliant when I need to be.  On a social level I have actually learnt that everyone has a story and you can find a similarity if you ask, I always knew this superficially but now I have the confidence to pursue a conversation with people knowing that I will find that similarity…….eventually.

A list of first time experiences;

1. Navigating airports on my own, this sounds like an easy thing but the first time I went overseas I got so stressed in Hong Kong airport that I refused to go down an escalator because I couldn’t see the bottom and was afraid I might end up on the street…….

2. Drinking Champagne in a roof top bar in Dubai

3. Finished a 12,000 word dissertation (woohoo)

4. Flown over the escarpments of Omar -stunning

5. Travelled business class and thanked the gods that I am small enough to curl up on a cattle class seat and sleep for 16 hours…….. The 7x price is not really worth it…… phew.

6. Seen a shamala and breathed in the thick talcum powder dust

7. Roamed downtown Al Khobar, snuck in the back door of a Thai restaurant during prayer time and chased street kittens around to try and rescue them

8. Driven across the causeway between Dammam and Bahrain, 32kms of suicidal manics driving at 100 – 160kms an hour on a bridge

9. Flown to Antarctica, camped in a hut and peed in a bottle in minus 10 degrees

10. Gone camping in the bush with 29 people in an attempt to find myself and identify my inner goals……..

11. Been there when my nephew was fresh born and still all red and wrinkly and heart melting

12. Saved money!!

That’s only 12 firsts …….. but it feels like a lot and I have only included the successes not the times when I have curled up in my bed and struggled because I am lonely and homesick.

Lonely being on the other side of the world to my fur children and husband.  My cat is 20 and I dream about her coming and saying goodbye and I am not there to stroke her head.  I missed my little nephews first smile and giggle.  I miss seeing the light through my bedroom window in the morning, filtered through the big cherry tree that we planted when we first bought our house and the grey silk curtains that we bought in Vietnam.  I miss  everything about home.

My sand pit goal will be achieved in the next four months and then it is home time, I can’t wait.