Back to the Motherland: 2014

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Finally!

Holy crap it's really happening. I have a healthy mix of relief and disbelief - relief because, well, holy crap it's really happening...and disbelief because I'll believe it when I step foot in my new apartment in Kuwait. I'm sitting in the airport now and there are still any number of things that could go wrong so I'm leaving space in my psyche to deal with that if necessary. I'm still going to let myself get a little excited, though, because it's H.A.P.P.E.N.I.N.G.

My seven-country tour ended at the beginning of May. It was a whirlwind, and I now have status with multiple airlines and a few hotel chains. I stayed in Oman for a total of 4 weeks, which was enough time to make it feel homey and for me to collect some great new friends. {Oman is an amazing place and everyone needs to go there - it will change your life. It's hands down one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and I haven't even seen all of it yet.} After Oman I spent a week in Abu Dhabi helping my colleagues prep for the Secretary of Commerce Pritzker's visit. I talked to her for all of 8 seconds but she said she'd heard of me so it was totally worth it.

My flight from UAE to Casablanca, where I spent 2 1/2 days, is worth noting because the entire experience was so horrendous: (1) I got to the airport at 6am only to find that my flight had been reserved but not ticketed. (2) My bag was overweight (shocking) and Emirates has an exorbitant rate per extra kilo. (3) Emirates is also very particular about carryon baggage weight, and mine was more than double the max (is anyone surprised?) so they made me check that, too. {I'm not going to divulge how much I ended up spending in extra/overweight baggage fees, it's too embarrassing.} (4) After sprinting to the gate to barely make it onto the plane, I sat down to find the earphone jack completely missing from my personal entertainment system. Someone had apparently ripped it out of the seat. It's an 8 hour flight and I was really looking forward to watching at least two movies. #firstworldproblems. (5) They forgot my vegetarian meal. But I'll stop complaining because after Casablanca I got to go to Cairo...

I spent two weeks in Cairo and it was amazing as usual. Except for the part when I was working from the desk in the embassy that was supposed to be mine. I MAY have been fighting back tears for a few minutes when I sat down, but after that I was too busy to think about it. (Besides, I try to make it a general rule to not be the girl who cries at work. I mean honestly.) Work went really well, I collected a whole new crop of friends, and spent more quality time with family which is always a huge plus. I will say this about my relocation: I am grateful the lack of a "situation" in Kuwait allows me to travel in non-armored vehicles.

After Cairo I backtracked to Kuwait for a week, then headed to the tiny island country of Bahrain for two weeks where I collected more great people. And I also worked really hard. {Some folks tease me when they see my pictures and say "yeah, looks like you're working really hard." Would you rather see pictures of me in meetings and of my desk and of me in more meetings? Didn't think so.} After Bahrain it was back to Abu Dhabi for a week, and then Amman for 10 days. It was really nice to see TREES after spending so much time in all those sandy places. I didn't go to Petra or the Dead Sea because those deserve more time than I had, but I did get to catch up with an old friend, and I will absolutely be back.

I rounded out the adventure with a weekend in Muscat (see note above about Oman = amazing) and a few days in Dubai. The trip was fantastic and exhausting, and it turns out I got back and realized I missed DC. A lot. Which brings me to right now...

It took over two months once I got back to DC to get everything sorted out (various clearances, visa, pack out, etc.) but it's finally happening. I'm going to miss DC and everyone in it AND I am super excited to move into this next phase of my life. The limbo, the waiting, the uncertainty - it's all over. The limbo was my normal for so long that it's sort of strange to not have it anymore. Strange and awesome. Limbo sucks.

It's been almost four years since I decided this job was mine. FOUR YEARS. Talk about persistence/the epitome of being stubborn. Deep breaths, one thing at a time, everything is as it should be.

Kuwait, here I come!

{for visuals, please refer to the last 5 months of my Facebook feed - I'm about to board a plane...}

Monday, February 10, 2014

it's officially official...I think

I got good news today: the paperwork that needed to be signed got signed by the people who needed to sign it. I'm officially moving to Kuwait! But here's the thing: everything that has transpired over the last year has taught me to not get excited or disappointed about anything until it actually happens, and I've conditioned myself so well that when I did get the news today I didn't feel much of anything at all. A friend of mine said it's because deep down I knew Kuwait is where I was going to end up the whole time. Either that or I'm still protecting myself, making sure to keep on an even keel until I'm physically unpacking boxes in my new apartment in Kuwait. Pretty sure it's the latter. But let's not focus on my emotional numbness - the paperwork has been signed! We're one step closer!

The first week of this four-month, seven-country tour was in Kuwait, getting to know my new city, my new office, my new people. The second week was in my beloved Dubai, same hotel, same room as my last stay. I got the most amazing welcome home (and it really did feel like home) from the staff - lots of hugging going on. Dubai is my playground and I played a lot that week. I also worked a lot. But I played a lot, too. And now I'm in my second hotel in two weeks in Muscat, Oman...not because I'm physically incapable of staying in one place for more than a week (although that might be part of it), but because it has nicer bathrooms than the last one. Since this is the longest stop I have on this tour - four whole weeks! - I want to be comfortable, and nice bathrooms are my benchmark for comfort. It's the little things. The embassy community here is amazing, and the country is absolutely gorgeous. Mountains, oceans, and deserts all in one little country.

Now I'm going to talk about something I've been avoiding for a while because I'm still very much in denial that it happened: my dear friend Mary Martin died a few days before I left DC last month. Mary will always be one of the most inspiring people I've ever met - she suffered no fools, and showed boundless love to those she cared about. On the occasion of my 30th birthday, soon after ArtStream's first annual gala (where choice words were used by some to describe yours truly), she sent me this:

"As I am almost twice as old as you are I have some advice on the Bitch dilemma faced by fabulous women everywhere. Bitch is the term used by feckless momes to describe women who are smarter, better looking, more competent and fearless about actually getting the work done. Embrace it as a complement...When they let you know they think you're a bitch, feel proud because even they know you have just saved them from themselves. Rock on!!!!"

She said a lot more in that note but I need to keep some things for myself. ArtStream will always be in my heart for so many reasons, but especially for giving me Mary. I know she is no longer here on this earth but she will always, always be with us. Deep breaths, one thing at a time, everything is as it should be.

The Gulf as seen from the shores of Kuwait.

This is a giant Omani frankincense burner. Seriously.

Gamels.

The fabulous Mary Martin.

Monday, January 6, 2014

worst. blogger. ever. (and Dubai is amazing)

The whole point of this blog was to keep everyone (including my future self) updated on my goings on in the motherland. And guess what I didn't do - not once - while I was in the motherland: write a single blog entry. So here's the nutshell version of my 5 weeks in the desert.

To recap since it's been a while: management sent me on a TDY to the US consulate in Dubai last November/December to keep me busy while they continue trying to find me a new home (more on that later). Actually getting to do my job for real was a remarkable experience and showed me quite plainly that all this waiting has been worth it. I worked a LOT making up for lost time and it was fantastic.

My father timed a business trip so he could be in Dubai for my entire first week there. He showed me around town and did all sorts of touristy things with me - the fancy mall with the indoor ski slope, the dancing fountains in front of the tallest building in the world, the palm-shaped island in the middle of the Gulf, that building shaped like the sail of a boat, the third-largest mosque in the world in Abu Dhabi, one of those desert "safaris" - I can't remember when my father and I had so much fun together.

I spent my second week in Casablanca leading a training program that had been planned long before my TDY. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy and I didn't really get to see much of the city, but at least I got to go to Morocco! The night before I flew to Casablanca I got to go to a reception for the Dubai Air Show aboard the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman...quite possibly one of the coolest things I've ever had the chance to do. Everyone should take a tour of the flight deck of an aircraft carrier at least once in their lives, just saying.

Thanksgiving weekend was extra long for us since the following Sunday/Monday was UAE National Day (the country celebrated its 42nd birthday - also unclear as to why it was a two-day celebration but hey, why not). Since I was already on that side of the world, I took the opportunity to go to Cairo and see the family. The city feels different than it did the last time I was there, pre-revolution(s), but it was good to be back nonetheless. I especially enjoyed meeting the 4 new family members that have come onto the scene since my last visit. They're the cutest, seriously. I also got to party with my cousin Sahra - she showed me parts of Cairo I've never seen and shared her super cool friends with me. Very good times.

Back in Dubai for 3 weeks, I hung out with my GW friend Priyanka who lives there now, made some great new friends, loved a little, worked a lot, and made Dubai my own. That city has ruined me for every other place. At least it's only an hour flight from Kuwait, my new home. Like how I just casually threw that in there? My limbo is (allegedly) over!

I came back to my home base in DC (thank you, thank you, thank you Chris) for a week and then headed to Florida for Christmas and New Year's. I loved every minute of it except for the part where I got the flu that turned into the bronchitis I now have. Seriously though, I got to catch up with dear friends and spend lazy days with my ladies...and little man Murray. Heaven. AND Lindsey and Dave came to visit! Mom and I also managed to rescue a smaller blonde version of Murray we saw wandering the streets. We let him spend one night with us but let's be honest, it's Murray's house. Period. Blondie is in a good foster home, don't worry.

Up next: I'm heading out in a couple of weeks on another series of TDYs - over the course of the next 3 1/2 months I'll be in Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Casablanca, Cairo, Bahrain and Jordan. Then I'll come back to DC, pack up my life and move to Kuwait. At least that's the plan...we all know how that goes. I'm thinking of having a one-year anniversary party of my original going away party last April. This time for real. Maybe. Deep breaths, one thing at a time, everything is as it should be.