Merry Xmas, Happy New Year

Well, I am back in Australia (and have been for 2 weeks!) and we've had our first Christmas home since our big move to Dubai.  Firstly, the Xmas celebrations have been excellent and we had a lovely Xmas Day and Boxing Day with the families.  Both of the days being probably some of the best Xmas get togethers we've had.

Other than the Xmas events themselves, we have been incredibly busy catching up with family and friends.  We have seen as many people as we can and we still have some meet and greets to go before we head home on Sunday and whilst we are very tired, it has been well worth it.

Unfortunately, the Sydney weather hasn't been too kind on us with lots of rainy days, but we have ticked off most of our things to do before we head back to Dubai... I know that I am yet to get a Chocolate Thick Shake yet :-)

Its also been odd coming back to Sydney.  After being away for 10mths, I thought that things might have "changed" but the reality is that we have slipped into Sydney and it doesn't feel like we've been away.  The people are here, our friends and family haven't really had any dramatic changes in their lives and everyone has welcomed us warmly.  We have the "what's it like?" spiel down pat but its still enjoyable to tell people about Dubai and the great life we're having over there.

Also, as it is customary at this time of year, you do look back on the previous year and what happened and you look forward to the new year and what you want to achieve.  For me, and for all of us, 2009 has been probably the biggest life changing year for us and it also has been incredibly rewarding.  2008 was a horror year in which the dam burst but I am very proud of me and Niki and the girls because we have really changed tact in a huge way and have made alot of changes that have all been for the better.

And I don't just mean the physical move to Dubai, but that in itself would also be the biggest thing we have ever have happen to Niki & I since the birth of the girls.

We have made many new friends in Dubai, but we have also retained the good friends of Sydney and in short 2009 has been brilliant.

So, what for 2010?  Well, we are over the "hurdle" of the move and have settled into our new life... so I guess 2010 will be the year of travel and enjoyment.  I personally want to drop the 25kgs I have added over the past 3 years and spend more time bettering my health but also as a family, we're looking forward to the new experiences that the world can give whilst still keeping the home roots of Australia close to heart.

I know that this blog has suffered a bit in 2009 and perhaps its a sign that the therapeutic need I had to vent my spleen has dropped a bit... but Lime Kettles will enter its 7th year  next year and will continue on.  I hope that the readers of this corner of the Internet, both friends and strangers, continue to read and post the odd comment that you're out there :-)

So to you readers, I hope your Christmas was also great, that 2009 was kind and that 2010 will be better than any other year!

Cheers
Clay

Greetings From Sydney

Well, we made it to Sydney!  The flight was excellent and I found the Etihad economy to be a little bit more roomy than the Emirates economy class.  It was my birthday during the flight, but I considered sitting down to watch movies and TV shows for 14hrs not too bad a way to spend the day.

With the flight being 14hrs but leaving in the morning, it was hard (impossible) for me to sleep but the girls got 2-3 hrs at the back end of the flight.  Niki and I didnt sleep a wink and we landed at Sydney at 7:30am local time.  We got our luggage in about 30 seconds after clearing passport control and we were out and hiring the car and on the road very quickly.

I got back into the groove of right hand driving on the left side of the road very quickly but I was really frustrated by all the traffic lights and the slowness on the freeways.  Have been here 5 days or so already and am still frustrated by the bad driving habits of Sydney-siders, the way trucks seem to have a god given right to the fast lane and ridiculously slow speeds on the freeways.

And being away for 10mths doesnt sound long, but things have subtley changed... I really noticed things like the trees on the M4 motorway being taller (at the M7 interchange) and the odd new roundabout or traffic light.  Also, the odd shop or business in the local area is gone and replaced with something else.  Just little things...

Have met most of my cravings already... have had my coffee from the local deli which is the best coffee in the world in my opinion, have also had a chocolate milkshake and last night I had a milk bar hamburger with egg and bacon.  Also, had lunch with my parents on Sunday and Niki and I shared a massive seafood platter (at Nicks Seafood at Darling Harbour) and I got my craving for decent seafood out of the way as well.

Also have had some decent Aussie beer - Carlton Draught, VB etc - as I have only really had Corona's and Heinekins in Dubai.

We have been very busy too... have caught up with both our parents (we're staying at Niki's parents place) and have caught up with Niki's brother and sister and their families, have seen many friends already and I managed to pop down and watch my old cricket team play for a couple of hours as well.

The kids are also seeing their friends... Kate has actually gone to her old school today and is spending the day in her old class.  Brooke tonight is going to see her dancing friends and has a sleep over arranged with her best friend tonight.

So, all up, its very busy but its been good to catch up with friends and family.  Alot of people are asking about Dubai and seem genuinely happy that we're enjoying it... perhaps even a bit surprised that we are!  There are alot of stereotypes about the Middle East and we're doing our bit to quash those.

And its only the first week of three!

Apologies

Sorry for the lack of posts... i have had a few comments on "arent you updating" so, just as a placeholder, yes this is still a live blog but I have been busy.

I did actually make a post the other night summarising our Eid / UAE National Day holiday last week complete with pics, but for some reason Blogger crashed and I lost it all.  It was late at night and I didn't get back to it.

So, yes... I will try and post some pics up of our Ski Dubai experience, our first Greenfield Community Xmas party, some latest pics of our house etc.  We are however flying back to Sydney on Thursday morning UAE time for our Christmas Holidays in Sydney.  Will be in Sydney Dec 11 - Jan 4.  We're all very excited about heading home.

C

Cat Update

Weird!  After less than an hour after posting the post below, Charlie the Cat returned!  I took the garbage out and he was sitting by the garage door.  A bit skinny and very hungry, but he is back home with us after 4 or so nights away.  He must have got locked in something and was let out... thats the only explanation we have.

Missing cats and dollars

We're on Eid Holidays at the moment... I am not sure what the second Eid holiday represents (the first was the end of Ramadan) but we're off for a week with a combination of Eid holiday and UAE National Day public holidays.  I am not back at work until Dec 6.

However, we are a bit upset at the moment because Charlie our cat has gone missing.  He's been gone I think 4 nights now... he ran out the door to go to the bathroom on Tuesday night and he never came back.  He has been outside before, he wasnt a completely housebound cat, but he has never done anything like this before.  He was always outside in Australia as well... So at this stage, we cannot help but think the worst.  We have posted flyers at the supermarkets, pet stores and vets and also around the neighbourhood and the area we live in has alot of gardens but is flat and the traffic is minimal and slowed by alot of speed humps.  So I can only think someone has nabbed him.  Its very sad.

Also, there is at the same time alot of press about the government owned Dubai World defaulting on its debt payments and sending the world financial markets into a spin.  Alot of people seem to be thinking that this is a bad thing for us here in Dubai, but its actually a bigger problem in the western world as many of the US and UK banks are geared to the hilt in the property development here.  For me personally, I am employed by the Abu Dhabi government, who's liquidity is not in question, and am probably going to benefit from cheaper rents when my lease is up for renewal in March.  The real issue is that Dubai World owns alot of Australian assets including nearly all of the Australian Ports and there was even talk about the Ports being impacted and that the end result could be industrial action again in the Stevedoring industry (who remembers the Patrick / Chris Corrigan strike issues of a fair few years ago).

But back to Dubai, we're doing OK... its always a worry in the back of the mind, and this article is very applicable to me.  Traffic to work is getting heavy!

Expat Survival - Friends Required

When I came over here in February, one thing I was very surprised (and grateful for) was the generosity of new friends who were basically strangers.  New country with archaic ways of getting things done meant that to get simple things sorted (power connected, cars, furniture etc) you had to ask people "How?" and also on many occasions those same people physically helped me out.

Initially my only contact was a fellow Australian family (Catherine & Peter + kids) who I was aware of via Niki because they had lived in our Sydney suburb and our daughters were in the same class... and they helped me out tremendously in those early days from everything to giving me a home cooked meal on occasion through to lending me a drill.

Well, its come complete circle as tonight I am helping out a new expat at work who has been here for a little bit and his family are coming over from the USA next week.  He was telling me how he is struggling to get a bed sorted for his daughter and that he needs to pick it up and put it together... he of course has nothing other than a leased Toyota and some kitchen utensils.

So, I am tonight going with him to pick up the bed from the furniture shop in our 4WD and I am then lending him my drill, alan keys and shifting spanner so that he can put the thing together.  It was only 6 months ago that I had borrowed Peter's drill and tools to do the very same thing.

When you relocate countries, its surprising what small details (like having some basic tools) can bring you unstuck and you have to rely on the kindness of other expats to help you out.  In turn, that results in people being very generous, giving and social.  I am continuously amazed at how we have been able to meet and socialise with people when in Australia, making friends is a much slower process.

It's kinda nice....

Golden Boot!

Well, as posted in my last post, Kate made her debut for her school soccer (or football as they call it here) on the weekend and to my great surprise, Kate's team won the 4 team tournament with 2 wins and a draw, didn't concede a goal and she herself scored 3 out of the 5 goals her team scored and scored the most goals in any of the teams!

We were very surprised but also very happy!

Of course, as a proud dad, I snapped the following pics of her in action:

Warming Up

Throw Ins

Lining up her first goal!

Giving Coach Ben some tips ;-)

Trying to round the Al Raha keeper...

One on One with the Keeper...

Happy with the trophy!