Reflections

As my adventure has come to an end, I wanted to do one final post, not about what I did this week, but about the experience as a whole (similar to what I wrote when I went home the first time at xmas!).

8 months…wow. It went by in a flash. I have been home for about 7 weeks now and a part of me feels like I never went which is really strange! People keep asking if I miss it and while I do, the 7 weeks since I've left have been jam packed with vacation, a move, birthdays, bachelorettes, weekends in Maine, etc so I haven't had too much time to really think about it. Anyway…some thoughts on my time overseas.

When the opportunity first came up I was immediately interested, even though most people thought I was out of my mind. I was looking for a change but didn't quite know what I wanted to do next (move, leave my company, etc) and then this fell in my lap. I never got to study abroad in college so this was almost like my study abroad except I was getting paid so I think it was better! I wasn't expecting to love the UAE as much as I did and I certainly wasn't expecting to make the connections I did with people. I figured I would meet people and have fun, but never anticipated the lifelong friendships I made, and the long list of experiences I had. Okay this is silly but I'm actually tearing up right now writing this. People that I talk to now are always surprised when I tell them it was the best 8 months of my life, but there is no doubt in my mind that is the truth. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Let's see, a summary….in my 8 months of ex-pat life I ended a 4 year relationship that I finally realized wasn't right and then fell head over heels, crazy in love unexpectedly with someone I think is right and got my heart broken for the first time. I learned a ton about myself, how to have patience and finally learned how to RELAX and live for the present and not always be in the future. Life is so much more fun when you aren't stressing about things you can't change anyway and this may be one of the biggest gifts I was given. I learned so much at work and enjoyed being challenged on a regular basis as I was completely out of my element in many cases. I was also promoted as soon as I returned to the US so that was exciting! I travelled quite a bit (4 trips to Bahrain, 1 to Qatar, 1 to Oman, 1 to London and countless trips to Dubai) and learned loads about other cultures (I can tell you that pants means underwear and thongs means sandals, a singlet is a tank top and snog is to kiss someone!). I went out a lot, danced til the wee hours of the morning and often came home when the sun was up. I was also introduced to the world of Middle East brunch….truly an amazing Friday afternoon experience!!! I got my butt kicked on the beach at boot camp for 3 months and realized how much I love being pushed to the max and how in shape you can get in a short time with something like this. I decided to call it quits after 4 years in DC and move to Boston to start over once again but completely on my own and hoping that this city sticks! I became a different shade (ie: TAN) and remained that way year round. I spent at least one day of just about every weekend laying poolside, being waited on and just relaxing. After 27 years I realized that manicures are nice to have and became addicted to having long, nicely manicured nails! I've always been into pedicures but manicures made me want to vomit so I think I had only ever had 3 in my life and just said I didn't care about what they looked like. Now I see how that was WAY easier because keeping up with them is a pain, but my friends are all very proud! I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane to celebrate my 28th birthday and will never forget what a rush that was. I also think being so far away brought me closer to a lot of my friends and family as it forced me to set aside time for phone dates and emails where as in the states when they are "close" I never put in as much effort. I saw more concerts in 8 months than I had seen in my whole life combined. Most importantly, I lived. Really lived. I gave up my annoying desire to control everything and just let life come to me and went with whatever I was handed. I left Abu Dhabi exhausted, but it was well worth it, you can sleep when you are dead right?

I will never forget the experience I had and am so thankful to my company for allowing me to go and to all those who made the experience what it was for me. You know who you are.

I'm hoping to make a return in November for Formula 1 (which is a year from when I started the journey!) and excited to see everyone again…plus by then Boston should be freezing and I may not get back on the plane when it's time to leave!

I hope you all have enjoyed the blog even though a lot of it probably wasn't nearly as funny or interesting if you weren't there in the moments. Now on to the next chapter of my life in Boston….coincidentally this weekend will be my first weekend here and I'm sure the adventures are about to begin!!!