Back in the sandbox!!!!!

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you without a dope beat to step to."

Well I'm back and ready for another exciting year in this place called Kuwait.  Technically I've been here for close to two months but never found the time to update my blog.
It was another tough summer for me, dealing with paperwork and costly medical procedures but with prayer and persistence my paperwork is done and I have Kuwait Civil ID. With all the hassle it took me to get it, I may stay in Kuwait longer just to get my money's worth.

To my friends and family that actually ready post, I miss you and hope that you come visit me one day. I have plenty of vacation days open for next year. I'm booked for this school year. I waste no time getting my travel plans in order. Adventure awaits! I love the movie Up.

I'm not going to waste time talking about work and my new students because it's the same no matter where you teach and who you teach. Plus between the NSA and Kuwait's Misintry of Communication program I don't want to say anything to jeopardize my freedom or my money.

I'll do better at posting on a regular basis, Inshallah. This message was brought to you by a special request.  I didn't know what to write but I promised the reader that I would post and I'm a lady of my word.

Peace in the Middle East!!

Almost famous

A friend from my old morning news days reached out to me and wanted to share my story with others. I hope my journey inspires someone to step outside of their norm and do what they love. My loves are teaching and traveling. 

http://www.shetrippin.blogspot.com/2013/08/from-tennessee-to-kuwait-journey-of.html

Don't ask because you won't get the answer you want to hear.

The first question I get from friends and family is "when are you coming home?" That question is easy, my flight lands June 21st. The question that I can't answer is "how long you plan on staying overseas?" If I give a true response some people may take my answer the wrong way. For some reason my truth hurts other people's feelings. If I give a lighthearted response, that will give people false hope that I'm not staying long.

OK people here is the deal. I plan on staying overseas as long as I can. When Kuwait gets tired of me or when I get tired of Kuwait, I will begin a search for another overseas teaching position. Don't get me wrong, I miss the hell out of my family and friends and I guess they miss me too. But truth be told, I don't miss teaching in America. These Kuwaiti kids and system ain't all that either but it's a work in progress.

What's back home in America?
Of course my family is there. I've lived with or near my family for at least 26 years of my life. My immediate family lives in one state. I want them to branch out and explore a section of the world and if it takes me living overseas then that's what will happen. I want my little brother to be able to say he's been "XYZ" before a certain age. I want my parents to see Paris or Prague. I want my future children to know more about the world than the state they were born in, that's if I have children in the states anyway. You can't blame me for wanting that and if you do blame me just know that I don't really care  :)
My friends are also in America. Yes I love my friends to the Moon and back and I hope they love me enough to get where I am coming from. Hopefully one day we can meet at an "only seen on TV" spot and vacay together.
Husband??? Didn't have one and I wasn't close to getting one. I'll find one along the way. He might be here already, Inshallah (God's will). Same with having children.
My house is in America but truth be told I'm over being a homeowner. That is an overrated experience if there ever were one. As long as I keep a tenant, I ain't got no worries.

Anyone that claims to truly know me knows that I am a Travel Channel junkie. I love to travel and learn new things. Being here puts me a short and cheap flight away from whatever I want to see. I've seen just about everything in America and you only need to go on a few cruises to see the islands. Because we all know that  you don't have to see them all. At some point they all look, sound, and feel the same.

I am suppose to be over here saving money instead I'm paying off debt I stacked up while in America. So whenever I do make my triumphant return home, I'll be debt free except Sallie Mae and my mortgage company. It's also kind of hard to save when I'm getting a different passport stamp every other month.

My fingers are getting bored so I must say Good Day...I said Good Day!!!!

Overseas Bubble

Note to readers: I started writing this post on February 8 but delayed the posting.

I think that everyone that travels away from home has a list of fears. My list consisted of mostly "what if" type of questions. What if I don't like it there? What if I get fired? What if my house catches on fire? What if...? You know a long list of things that rattled around in my head that kept my mind occupied. The last and seemingly most important question was "What if someone in my family dies while I'm overseas?" Of all the questions I've asked myself, that was the one I never really wanted to find out the answer to.

Now I am face to face with a complex and painful answer. Most people would easily say they would jump on the next flight out and be with their family during this time. I said the same thing 2 months ago when my coworkers and I had a similar conversation and we each came up with a short list of people that would travel home for in the event of their passing. Most of our list were pretty standard: mother, father, grandparents, and siblings (depends on which one). Seriously, someone said that it depended on which sibling it was that passed away that would warrant a trip back to the states from Kuwait. But when you are thousands of miles away from home and money is not stockpiling in your account you have to make such concessions and that is a brutal part of life overseas.

Since September, I've been living in an "overseas bubble". That simply means I've been living my life not really to concerned about what was happening in the states. I would call home once a week, email family and friends, send messages on Facebook, and G-Chat but didn't have a real connection to what was happening because I wasn't there. So nothing that occurred in the states shook me to the core until Thursday (Feb 7th) morning.

Thursday (Feb 7th) was a typical end of the work week day for me. I always start the day the same way each morning with music, so my headphones were still in my phone when I walked away from my desk for a few minutes. When I returned, I saw that I had four missed calls from Mom. My heart dropped because I knew that something horrible was waiting for me on the other end of the phone. As I tried to call her back, I got two emails from her saying "Call Me". At that point I don't know which was moving faster, my heart or my fingers. After several unsuccessful attempts to call her back, we finally spoke to each other. Her first question was "Have you been on Facebook?" I was shocked by the question but quickly replied no, but that was not completely true. Just moments before arriving to work I logged on only to post "Question of the day: Where should I see Mrs. BKC?" That was me being in my overseas bubble again. If only I had taken a few minutes to scroll down FB after posting I would have seen my cousin's post related to what my mother was seconds away from telling me. "Well", she said in a tone only reserved for sad news, "momma passed away earlier today." I held back sobbing long enough to hear the details of what happened then I broke down crying like a baby. All the while two of my students stood near my desk in shock that their teacher was balled up in a chair crying. And just that fast my overseas bubble had popped.

More on the aftermath later, I gotta watch Scandal now.