Monday, August 30, 2010

Big news??? Perhaps...

So the wait continues. We have been given a piece of almost dried toast and some water in the form of a piece of information. Apparently 402 tickets will be sent out today leaving on Wednesday through Sat! Absolutely crazy. Well it's good news since I finally started some kind of packing today. My closet is nearly empty and I have two suitcases open on the floor with stuff actually in them. Amazing I know....yea I'm a bit of a procrastinator. I hope for the best but am not too shocked when it doesn't happen. Well I'll get back to packing and obsessively checking my email for a ticket 'cause we now have to confirm immediately upon receipt. This adventure is going to be one for the books...I can feel it in my bones. I will post again soon. Insha'Allah it'll be about my trip to the airport or at least having a ticket. Till then this song keeps me sane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmyUkm2qlhA

Thursday, August 26, 2010

And the Waiting Continues

So the weekend when I was supposed to depart at the latest has arrived but I have neither a visa nor a ticket. It's a strange feeling...I have a mixture of relief and anxiety. On the one hand my finely honed procrastination skills have been very active, in that I have yet to do any substantial packing for this move so YAY! However, there are moments when I feel like a huge practical joke is being played on me. I've quit my job, told almost everyone I know of this move at the end of August and yet here I still am. No ticket, no sign of a move before perhaps the second week of September. I am not alone in this however and that is one of the many saving graces in this process. I also have to thank my parents, particularly my Dad, for raising me to understand that just because things are done a certain way here in the US of A that does not mean the rest of the world operates on the same schedule. This also helps me to rest a bit easier...which is difficult for a person such as me who enjoys time lines and being in or believing that I am in control. I also must remember that this is Ramadan and things will move even more slowly than usual. Also my nerd sensibilities have had me reading gulfnews.com and I have come to understand that in the UAE there are thousand of people applying for visas at this time. "You are not the only one who wants entry into this nation" I must remind myself. I know that as badly as I want to begin this journey I will miss so many people here when it does begin, so I'm going to try and take as many deep cleansing breaths as possible, try to relax, let my sister shop in my closet till her heart's content, watch my PopPop and Haven grow and learn about the world around them, lay in my parents' house whenever I feel like it and just enjoy the life I have here.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Wishin' and Hopin' and Thinkin' and Prayin'

So I have come to the realization that the this adventure, though greatly desired, is taking a major toll on my psychi and body. I've never been one who likes change...at least that's what I've always said yet looking back at the choices I've made over the past 6 years I've done nothing but constantly change. I've moved so many times I've stopped counting. I've gone from spending every other Sat at the salon to ensure that every strand on my head is bone straight to embrassing every nape, coil and curl I was born with. I've had surgery and medications that have forced me to change the way I live my life. I've gone from stary-eyed young married woman to bruised divorce. I've changed the population of students taught from small town kids, to inner-city kids to middle class kids all with crazy parents of varying degrees. So really thought I was prepared for the space between...the change. I'm beginning to see my control oriented side rear it's ugly head. Yes! I am very excited about this new venture but what I've come to realize in the past few weeks is that with all the changes I've gone through the past few years I've always had some type of control. That wonderful notion kept me calm. It allowed me to sleep at night confident in whatever it was I was doing. This change however is a whole different animal. This animal is as slow as molasses in January.This animal is quiet yet causes me to lose sleep nightly. I know I know this is something I wanted, applied for, flew to Atlanta to get but now that I have it don't know if I can take it. I want to say that I trust that everything will turn out fine but I cannot. I am a realist and though I pray for the best I plan for the worst but in this case I am unable to do even that. I know of only one cure for this anxiety I feel but am powerless to administer it thus here is sit wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin', plannin' and dream my ticket will come...

Saturday, August 14, 2010

The Adventure Shall Soon Commence

So welcome to my blog. I'm a bit late to the party but until now I had nothing worth blogging about. So what has changed? Well...a lot has changed! In a few days I will celebrate my 28th year of life then a few weeks later I will change my  world as I know it. Yup, I'm leaving the good ol' USA for the unknown wonders of the UAE or the United Arab Emirates! The Gulf. The place where so many fear and wonder about. The desert where the average temps can run 113 or more. A place where women are asked to cover the natural curves bestowed up them by God and heritage. A place where I will now not a soul. And I can't wait!

Why undertake such a move some wonder...the truth is I have always had the itch to travel-that's a lie to LIVE abroad. I want to be completely immersed in a culture that is not my own. I want to know what it's like to be surrounded by a language that is in no way similar to my native tongue. I want to know what it's like on the other side. I want to explore and test my ability to adapt. I want to give of myself in ways I didn't know I could. I want to teach without walls. I want to know how others do things and why(why-the question of every good Lutheran).

I have been blessed with a wonderful set of parents who have equipped me for this journey through life. I have also been blessed with siblings who give unwavering...a well somewhat wavering support :)

Well I'm waiting for that "golden ticket" as it's come to be called among some and enjoying the time I have left with my loved ones.