Summer Reflection
I know that this post is supposed to be about my adventures in Dubai; however, I figured that I would share some summer fun and reflections about coming back to Colorado Springs after 10 months in Dubai.
As always, enjoy.
I was anxious about coming home after spending 10 months in Dubai. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew that my life had continued and that the lives of my friends had continued moving forward and I wasn't sure how the 2 were going to match up.
The flights from Dubai all went off without a hitch. There were no problems with connections, flights, or time. I am hooked on paying a little more for the economy plus seats. It was great to have a little more more and extra space to stretch out my legs. There was no one next to me on the flight from Frankfurt which was wonderful.
I never got that feeling of "home" when I returned to my apartment in Dubai, and I was wondering if I would get that feeling when I walked into my house. Nope! When I walked into my house it was just my house not my home. Of course - what was I thinking. This is not my home. It is my house. It was not decorated with my items nor was my personality present. It is Sam and Kyle's home. They have it decorated with their belongings and personality. A new adventure will be to discover home when I return to Dubai.
I have been spending the summer in the basement of my house. I have been very comfortable if cool. I find that the basement is my cave and I have enjoyed nesting in my cave. Sam hung the quilts that Audrey had worked so hard on completing. The quilts are created out of t-shirts and sweatshirts that had belonged to my mother. Seeing them on the wall has flooded my mind with memories and has given my cave a very cozy feel. Thank you Sam for adding such a welcoming touch. (I'm wondering if I can hire Sam as my personal decorator when I return home. He has such an eye for decorating.)
I have enjoyed getting together with my friends. No worries there. We have picked up just where we left off. It has been so much fun hanging out with them and catching up with there lives.
I was counseled by some of my Dubai friends about what to expect when I returned home. Some of the info they shared was right on. I listened to them, and have taken cues from my friends and have shared about my life in Dubai when the opportunity has presented itself. I have enjoyed sharing tidbits about Dubai and sharing in the reactions.
I remember my first day back when I was running around completing errands. I was walking through Target and saw a cute patio set. I stopped looked at it, and said that is cute and it would look good on my balcony, and it is cheap - it is only 245 dirhams. Just as I was ready to put the patio set in my cart I realized that I was Target and not Carfoure, and that the price was in dollars and not dirhams. I decided that 245 dollars was a little too much for the set and that I had no use for it.
I don't know how many times I have opened up my wallet and gone to the side that has my dirhams instead of dollars and have been confused between the 2 currencies. My coin purse has 3 different types of currencies: Dirhams, Euros, and U.S. I'm sure the cashiers think I'm a real ditz when I dump out my coins and go through them to find the right one.
I have satisfied all of my cravings. Within 24 hours of returning I had a green tea frappicino from Starbucks; peanut butter M&M's; and a charro from Costco. I think I may need a couple more green tea frappicinoes and another charro or 2 before I leave.
I had a friend ask me if there was anything that I was missing from Dubai. My answered was, yes. I am looking forward to having my Lebanese/Arabic brown bread, bread from Spinney's (I'm not too excited about the bread here I have to go to a speciality store to get good bread.) And I am craving Forino's black cracked pepper baked potato chips.
I would have thought that the emotional roller coaster ride would be over by this time. However, I was taken by surprised by the ride when I returned for the summer. I spent a couple of days wondering if I wanted to return to Dubai. I was home seeing all of my friends and falling back into a regular routine of karate training, yoga, visiting with friends - and did I really want leave all of that again. As I processed through my emotions I realized that my home was not my home so I would have to find a place to live, and I would have to find a job in order to support myself, and really how often would I get together with my friends. Yes, it would be easy to roll back into the comfort of routine, but I chose to do something different. I want to continue to challenge myself and to have the opportunity to see more of this incredible world.
I am excited to return to Dubai. I'm looking forward to another year of adventure and travel. I am very interested to see how my emotions this year compare to last year. Who knows what the next 11 months will bring in my life. Will I stay in Dubai for a 3rd year; will I move to another part of the world; will I call it quits to the international life style? I'm not even sure of the answers to the choices that are ahead of me, but I'm looking forward to the journey. (I'm not looking forward to the packing that I need to do in the next week.)
Stay tuned - another adventure is about to begin.
