Sunday, September 21, 2008

Ramadan

It's Ramadan where I'm living now. I'm not finding it difficult to cope with (especially as I'm not a muslim and I'm not fasting!). I just need to make sure I don't eat/drink in public. However, the way I'm feeling this week is a kind of social/emotional Ramadan. It's hard for me to sum it up though. I moved here willingly, I actually like it here but I think that everything has finally caught up with me, now, after a month. What have I done?!

TOH is back in UK for a couple of weeks to sort out visa issues and I'm here, in a huge apartment. Alone. I'm finding it difficult. I'm used to having lots of friends around and going out often, socialising, meeting up with the people I like to be with. Now, I go to work, I come home, I eat, read then go to bed, without seeing anyone. I often nip out to the shops for milk or a phone card, just so I can speak to someone in between leaving work and returning to it the next day. The TV here is totally hopeless. I watched the whole of series one of "Heroes" in a few evenings on DVD. I loved it and now I'm whistfully imagining what super power I'd like to have and how I'd use it.

I'm an outgoing, sociable person but I'm finding it tough. The only places to meet others here are either filled with older, sturdier (dare I even say stodgier...?) people or brutish, knuckle dragging sports fans with sweat patches and unnaturally red faces. Neither my kind of scene at all. What to do?

I know that it's just a phase, that I'll adjust and eventually feel settled, but right now I just don't know where, or even if, I fit in.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Buffet

Ok. Just got back from another buffet brunch. This one was great although a bit unplanned as we'd popped out to the Iranian souk to get some plants, and felt a bit peckish on the way home. It's definitely my last buffet brunch for a while though. Really. I mean it.
The Iranian souk was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting crowded little market walkways with lots of bustle and noise. It was quite the opposite. It's on the edge of the port with sea views, all in one line and hardly anyone there. Admittedly it was 36 degrees C and it's ramadan, which means most stores don't open until after sunset. The Iranian souk (as opposed to a hundred other kinds of souk that there are here) mainly sells plants of the thick, shiny, rubbery leaved variety, with a few ferns and orchids here and there, pots, vases and there is a huge kitchen/tupperware section - who knew Iranians would be so keen on keeping the freshness in?!

I'm loving the sound of call to prayer here. This afternoon I was out on the street, on my way to put a down payment on an apartment, when the call started and the streets were filled with the sound of melodious prayer. It really makes me realise I'm living in a totally different place with a totally different culture.

The apartment I'm moving to has a small rooftop pool and a gym. This is a huge relief (and also cause for slight inner panic) as I need to start getting fit. The aforementioned brunches have led to the addage of quite a few pounds - something that's apparently quite common in new arrivals here. So. Off to the gym I go. I do have some inspiration though, as the trainer who works in the gym is a total hottie. This means I'll be popping upstairs frequently for a bit of eye candy. Just need to remember to actually do some exercise whilst I'm there...

My new job is fine but it's all unfamiliar and alien and I feel uncomfortable not knowing anything - especially as I'm the boss. Hopefully it'll feel better soon and I'll be confident in what I'm doing. Before any of that happens, I need to feel confident in driving to work. The driving and traffic here are absolutely shocking. My drive is out of the city and into the desert. Romantic notions of scenic dunes and mindblowing sunsets were soon shattered when I got out into the rock strewn, blasted landscape of flat desert stretching as far as the eye can see in every direction. Hmmm... The sunsets from the city and the beach are much lovelier.

I still don't have my own lap-top or pc and probably won't have until my stuff is shipped. The new apartment is only a temporary measure until we find somewhere with rent that isn't equal to the GDP of a South American nation. That could take a couple of months and then it'll take another couple of months for my stuff to arrive. Living out of a suitcase is only fun if you're on holiday. Sigh.