One month just flew by.....hardly noticed it as it slipped away.
I guess time flies when you're having fun...or when you're just super busy! Ha!:-)
Being home the first week was just like looking into the past, slipped right back into daughter/sister/niece role, and then when The Mr. arrived, I was brought back into the present...
I think I prefer the present. Apparently I acquired a new status and form of respect as the Mrs. of somebody!:-) Lol.
So all and sundry descended upon the Land of Cool Waters (a.k.a Nairobi) to be part of two people coming together as one.
Old relations, old stories, new inclusions, new stories....like a huge bubbling melting pot.
Old squabbles forgotten and forgiven...new ones in the making:-)
Whether we like them or not, as we all say regularly, they are our families.
But then again, do we think, what and who would we be if these individuals were not in our lives??
You see, granted, friends are the family we choose....and we choose them, because they have common interests as us, or they have similar ideals, outlooks, perceptions, thoughts, actions, words, dreams..........you name it....BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
So it's easier to be around them...
It's not a challenge...
It's not going to push us to the edge...take us out of our comfort zones...
Then there's family.....!
Half the time, you think, if i had a choice, this wouldn't be my family!:-)
You're born, thrown in with a bunch of people who may or may not understand you....or half the time couldnt be bothered to....
and you all JUST HAVE TO GET ALONG...SOMEHOW....
Right??
Riiiiiiiiiiight!
But isn't that the true test then???
These people who have been around you since time immemorial,
Who probably think most of the stuff you've done is dumb anyway,
Who cheered you whenever possible regardless,
Who fought you tooth and nail as you were taking steps towards jumping off a cliff......
These very same people.......who may not even LIKE you....but despite that, still LOVE you...
These very same people we always THINK we would like to replace.....
These very same people......OUR FAMILIES.
We wouldn't be us, if it wasn't for our families...be it the good, the bad, the ugly, or the real pretty.
They are the ones who truely shape us into what we are as grown beings.
They have nothing to gain, nothing to lose...but are still there regardless.
To my family...old and new....this is for you.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Unpaused........
So my lovely national carrier caused me to remain an extra four hours in the Gulf....just when I very badly wanted to get out of there....trust me, i was least amused...
Stuck....In transit.....
Airports are interesting places though..........a whole melting pot of people from all over the globe. Human beings, so diverse, yet so very much the same in so many ways.
So a journey begins, and then you get suspended somewhere for a time, waiting for your next boarding time, waiting to continue on with the next phase of your journey.
And in a funny way, such is life..........if you really think about it.
Have you ever had times when there were moments at a stretch where you were just sort of existing, stuck in some sort of limbo, finding your way, not really sure.....not really living???
Thinking.
Deciding.
Weighing options.
Analyzing.
Contemplating.
I moved from the life of a Ferrari on the superhighway, to that of a donkey ride, gently plodding along the dirt road. It seemed that i had come to a stop, not realizing i was still moving along, just at a different pace.
And more importantly, I was still moving along, just that the world had gone on pause.
Some people climb mountains....others take sabbaticals....others go sit in a cave somewhere.....I decide to move to the Middle East.....and my world went on pause.
Because of the change in pace, for a time it did really feel like i was just existing.
I think humans really are just creatures of habit...we don't appreciate change.
Sometimes we are just too scared of change, or of confronting ourselves, or of breaking away from the norm.
It took a while to realize it was a golden opportunity...
To think.
To analyze.
To plan.
To introspect.
TO APPRECIATE.
Through change, we grow....and when we grow, only then do we truly live.
And so today, as I zoomed around in my mothers car...going down roads all too familiar....walking through malls that i can navigate blind folded....appreciating all the sights, sounds and smells...all I could do was smile.
I have changed...but all around me still was the same.
It still was all there, just as I left it.
And that's what we all don't realize. It will always still be there, be the same, when we get back to it.
Like old friends meeting again.....my world is now unpaused.
Stuck....In transit.....
Airports are interesting places though..........a whole melting pot of people from all over the globe. Human beings, so diverse, yet so very much the same in so many ways.
So a journey begins, and then you get suspended somewhere for a time, waiting for your next boarding time, waiting to continue on with the next phase of your journey.
And in a funny way, such is life..........if you really think about it.
Have you ever had times when there were moments at a stretch where you were just sort of existing, stuck in some sort of limbo, finding your way, not really sure.....not really living???
Thinking.
Deciding.
Weighing options.
Analyzing.
Contemplating.
I moved from the life of a Ferrari on the superhighway, to that of a donkey ride, gently plodding along the dirt road. It seemed that i had come to a stop, not realizing i was still moving along, just at a different pace.
And more importantly, I was still moving along, just that the world had gone on pause.
Some people climb mountains....others take sabbaticals....others go sit in a cave somewhere.....I decide to move to the Middle East.....and my world went on pause.
Because of the change in pace, for a time it did really feel like i was just existing.
I think humans really are just creatures of habit...we don't appreciate change.
Sometimes we are just too scared of change, or of confronting ourselves, or of breaking away from the norm.
It took a while to realize it was a golden opportunity...
To think.
To analyze.
To plan.
To introspect.
TO APPRECIATE.
Through change, we grow....and when we grow, only then do we truly live.
And so today, as I zoomed around in my mothers car...going down roads all too familiar....walking through malls that i can navigate blind folded....appreciating all the sights, sounds and smells...all I could do was smile.
I have changed...but all around me still was the same.
It still was all there, just as I left it.
And that's what we all don't realize. It will always still be there, be the same, when we get back to it.
Like old friends meeting again.....my world is now unpaused.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Bitter Sweet Goodbyes
"You speak English!!!"
And that was the day i made my first friend in the desert.
You see, it had been over TWO months now, and i really had not spent quality time with another human being other than the better half.
I had made the random acquaintances, but these were people so far removed from my reality, that we might have as well have been living on different planets.
Many times i really thought we did.
People who did not understand why i wanted to study and work, or earn my own money, or drive myself around for that matter. I mean, why would you want all that when you can have everything done for you??
That was the rationale that didn't quite seem to connect with my own gray matter.
Two weeks after arriving in the desert, I broke down like i was at a funeral. And that came with the realization that the ONLY person that i had spoken to at all in those two weeks, was the very same person that i went to bed with every night.
The better half was at a loss of what to do. Poor thing. He didn't know how to stop me disintegrating......to make it all better.
The hugs did help however:-)
One if his best suggestions was that I join the women's gym!
Hurray!:-) Somewhere where i could meet people, and give me something to look forward to everyday.
After one week of constant uncomfortable stares (I was after all, the only dark skinned woman in that place and hence supposedly out of place)...and a super language barrier, it was like a voice from above, my ears couldn't believe it....
"You speak English!!!"
That one sentence changed my whole life.
And so like a little lost puppy, I was now found, by my own kind.
To my utter surprise, there were loads of Non-Arab English speaking ladies, nicely tucked away in villas with high walls.
Suddenly, I could breathe again:-)
Real human contact.
They took me into their world, and i ceased being a bystander in their society. I was now part of it all. And what a ride it was!
To say that i felt like a nurtured baby when i was with them is an understatement.
And these bunch of voracious ladies saved many from a literal insanity spree.
To be able to give your opinion without crushing fragile egos....
To be able to laugh out loud till you're out of breathe....
To be able to dance like a scarecrow without a care in the world....
To be able to hug someone and feel the warmth in their hearts....
To be as free as a bird for a limited time and space.
They were my true oasis.
And as i parted from them, my heart ached, for they will never truly know how much love and appreciation I hold for them.
My sisters in the desert....This one is dedicated to you.
And that was the day i made my first friend in the desert.
You see, it had been over TWO months now, and i really had not spent quality time with another human being other than the better half.
I had made the random acquaintances, but these were people so far removed from my reality, that we might have as well have been living on different planets.
Many times i really thought we did.
People who did not understand why i wanted to study and work, or earn my own money, or drive myself around for that matter. I mean, why would you want all that when you can have everything done for you??
That was the rationale that didn't quite seem to connect with my own gray matter.
Two weeks after arriving in the desert, I broke down like i was at a funeral. And that came with the realization that the ONLY person that i had spoken to at all in those two weeks, was the very same person that i went to bed with every night.
The better half was at a loss of what to do. Poor thing. He didn't know how to stop me disintegrating......to make it all better.
The hugs did help however:-)
One if his best suggestions was that I join the women's gym!
Hurray!:-) Somewhere where i could meet people, and give me something to look forward to everyday.
After one week of constant uncomfortable stares (I was after all, the only dark skinned woman in that place and hence supposedly out of place)...and a super language barrier, it was like a voice from above, my ears couldn't believe it....
"You speak English!!!"
That one sentence changed my whole life.
And so like a little lost puppy, I was now found, by my own kind.
To my utter surprise, there were loads of Non-Arab English speaking ladies, nicely tucked away in villas with high walls.
Suddenly, I could breathe again:-)
Real human contact.
They took me into their world, and i ceased being a bystander in their society. I was now part of it all. And what a ride it was!
To say that i felt like a nurtured baby when i was with them is an understatement.
And these bunch of voracious ladies saved many from a literal insanity spree.
To be able to give your opinion without crushing fragile egos....
To be able to laugh out loud till you're out of breathe....
To be able to dance like a scarecrow without a care in the world....
To be able to hug someone and feel the warmth in their hearts....
To be as free as a bird for a limited time and space.
They were my true oasis.
And as i parted from them, my heart ached, for they will never truly know how much love and appreciation I hold for them.
My sisters in the desert....This one is dedicated to you.
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