I'm not sure if I can say Happy New Year now that we're a third of the way through 2018 but my blog has been filled with crickets, tumble weeds, and cobwebs so I'm going to take my fresh start beginning now.
As a writer who has been suffering from writers block in general, sitting down to write this blog hasn't (as you can tell) easy. I started at least 3 different blog posts. What changed this time was I realized I don't need to give you some long back story trying to explain why I haven't been writing. Mostly because there isn't one. I let life be an excuse when, in reality, that's what I want to be writing about!
So let's move past the "I'm sorry's" and "I'll never leave you agains" and get on to the recap, shall we?
January:
I got to spend Christmas and New Year's at home with my family which was an incredible blessing, I'm sure I feel my own brand of homesickness from time to time but I've consistently felt comfortable in Kuwait and have enjoyed learning and living in my new city. New Year's Resolutions of course came in to play. Some of mine included reading more this year (with a clause that 24 books must be ones I have not read before), traveling to at least 5 new countries, running in 5 races this year. The last resolution got started quickly as shortly after returning to Kuwait some Gaelic Football friends and I ran a Spartan Race, and a 5k obstacle race within 2 weeks of each other. I was proud to have run my first Spartan Race, especially after seeing my inspirational younger sister run one at the end of 2017. My attempt to start January off strong was definitely a success.
Februrary:
Was the count down to half term which ended up being a lovely long weekend in Abu Dhabi/ Dubai with some amazing women my flatmate met while traveling in Thailand over Christmas. These Boston ladies (it's a small world, I know) were extremely kind and fun and it was a joy meeting them. I got to spend a day in Dubai: touching the sky via the Burj Khalifa, staying by the Marina, enjoying drinks on the beach, and brunch the next day by the ocean. Back in Abu Dhabi my highlight was sight seeing the Grand Mosque: a beautiful and breathtaking building filled with world records and a million intricate details.
March:
A low point energy wise. School was/still is very demanding right now. Several reports and portfolios to be completed for each student as the year begins to close. Took a little while for the time management skills to kick in but I'm confident my hands will be free by the time Ramadan begins. Mostly March's focus was Gaelic Football. We have our final tournament coming in mid April back in Abu Dhabi. I have been extremely thankful for the family I have gotten out of a sport I had never heard of before coming to Kuwait.
As much as I'm looking forward to spending the summer at home, rocking my summer camp job and getting to rest and relax before year two, with the end of the academic year in sight it's become quite obvious how there may be people, friends, I may never see again. It is more common than not for Kuwait to be an "in and out" place. You stay for a year or two and move on to the next. The idea of finding kinship-- like what I found in Gaelic, and then saying goodbye in a year or two, is something worthy of pause. Most who come here understand the vibe, the expectations, but you're numb to it until you're the one asking friends to remember to text, message, and write after they move to their next job abroad.
Sometimes nothing about where I am or what I'm doing feels out of the ordinary. I'm just a human living in Kuwait teaching English. Sometimes it's almost poetic how much I am learning, how clear what I would and would not know had I chosen to stay in the States is. I am so thankful. Period.
I attempt to stay true to this blog for at least the remainder of the academic year, hopefully through the summer as I share my experiences with young people searching for their options, wondering just how many there are.
Open ears, open mind, open heart.
Shannon