The blog has changed and so have I: still likely to be a wee bit on the angry side of things but there’s likely to be a slightly different flavour..
Let me explain. Until two weeks ago I was resident in a small northern town in the UK. I was a local councillor and fed up. My partner lived and worked in Dubai. This initially mutually beneficial arrangement (he seemed to need to get out of the UK, we needed more money and we were fed up with each other. Frankly) had worked for a while but diminishing returns were beginning to feature. Absence had made me appreciate his qualities and we’d fallen in love with each other again during the separations. So I made the difficult decision to stand down from the council, and I’m now living with my husband in Dubai.
I lived here for 7 years, a decade ago and a great deal has changed in that time, including me: I’m now a parent to grown-ups who really don’t need my help with living skills anymore (or more accurately, they don’t want them), I’ve reconciled myself to not having a world shattering career (or as things stand, a career) and I’m a wee bit more cuddly (both metaphorically and physically). I still get really really angry at the way the world works, but as long as I have a vent (e.g.. this blog) I can handle it.
Dubai has changed too: it’s much much bigger and probably more diverse too. Escapees from various international hot spots are very much in evidence (particularly those involved in the Arab Spring). It’s got a great deal more sophisticated and shows some signs of being a mature city. It’s not perfect – nowhere is – but it’s got some attractive virtues and work arounds for its faults.
I’ll be attempting to document my feelings about the process of settling back in and my new adopted country.
Today? It’s fucking raining, for craps sake.
stranger in a strange land 