(We're still on vacation but back soon!)
When you're an expat, suddenly many everyday events seem highly significant, if not symbolic. The first time you drive on your own. Your first brush with the law. The first solo shopping trip. That casual conversation with that random person that turns out to be the answer to your most pressing question. The first time you know more than the person next to you about where to find something, how to do something, how to get somewhere. Your first trip back to the motherland. The first time your kids refer to their new house as home. Your first successful dinner party/business meeting/vacation plan/whatever. Some of these events are more significant than others, of course, but even the littlest things often seem meaningful.
For example, recently, I made the switch to A4 paper. Yes, I am now printing on A4, not the standard US 8.5 by 11 inch page, but the more universally used 8.27 by 11.69 inch sheet.
And it feels really, really weird! I know, it's not like this is a big deal; I told you, sometimes it's the little things! While assembling these school application packets for the kids, I've had both of these sheets going, since the apps themselves need to be on A4 while the kids' former school reports are all on 8.5 x 11. Everything looks very messy to me, but there's really no help for it unless I decide to recopy all the old reports onto A4, which I am not going to do. We brought one ream of paper from the States with us when we came the first time and, even though we were running low, I just couldn't see wasting valuable luggage real estate by bringing another ream back after vacation. Plus I couldn't imagine paper would really cost that much here so I made the switch after we got back from our vacation. And it feels strange, I tell you!
Another new facet of expat life is the relativity of time. While we were gone this summer, our compound, which had been a virtual ghost town when we left, was suddenly populated with other families, so that when we came back we hardly recognized the place. And all the new folks kept asking me when we had arrived, assuming that we had just come. I found myself in the strange position of telling them "no, we've been here since Christmas; we've been here for months and months." It's odd to be a veteran resident after 9 months but that is how time works in the fluid lives of expats. The husband, who is coming up on a year here, was going through his list of colleagues who arrived with him and realized that several of them had left already. You never know how long you will be staying where are! But I do like being in a position to help lots of new families settle in and get adjusted. I'm finally realizing just how much I have learned since we moved here, when other people look on in wonder when I tell them about my favorite supermarkets or the back way to get to the nearest mall that avoids the busy roundabouts or the best brunches for kids.
I don't think I'm quite to the point where I would call Doha home if I were talking in my sleep, but I'm much closer than I was!
When you're an expat, suddenly many everyday events seem highly significant, if not symbolic. The first time you drive on your own. Your first brush with the law. The first solo shopping trip. That casual conversation with that random person that turns out to be the answer to your most pressing question. The first time you know more than the person next to you about where to find something, how to do something, how to get somewhere. Your first trip back to the motherland. The first time your kids refer to their new house as home. Your first successful dinner party/business meeting/vacation plan/whatever. Some of these events are more significant than others, of course, but even the littlest things often seem meaningful.
For example, recently, I made the switch to A4 paper. Yes, I am now printing on A4, not the standard US 8.5 by 11 inch page, but the more universally used 8.27 by 11.69 inch sheet.
And it feels really, really weird! I know, it's not like this is a big deal; I told you, sometimes it's the little things! While assembling these school application packets for the kids, I've had both of these sheets going, since the apps themselves need to be on A4 while the kids' former school reports are all on 8.5 x 11. Everything looks very messy to me, but there's really no help for it unless I decide to recopy all the old reports onto A4, which I am not going to do. We brought one ream of paper from the States with us when we came the first time and, even though we were running low, I just couldn't see wasting valuable luggage real estate by bringing another ream back after vacation. Plus I couldn't imagine paper would really cost that much here so I made the switch after we got back from our vacation. And it feels strange, I tell you!
Another new facet of expat life is the relativity of time. While we were gone this summer, our compound, which had been a virtual ghost town when we left, was suddenly populated with other families, so that when we came back we hardly recognized the place. And all the new folks kept asking me when we had arrived, assuming that we had just come. I found myself in the strange position of telling them "no, we've been here since Christmas; we've been here for months and months." It's odd to be a veteran resident after 9 months but that is how time works in the fluid lives of expats. The husband, who is coming up on a year here, was going through his list of colleagues who arrived with him and realized that several of them had left already. You never know how long you will be staying where are! But I do like being in a position to help lots of new families settle in and get adjusted. I'm finally realizing just how much I have learned since we moved here, when other people look on in wonder when I tell them about my favorite supermarkets or the back way to get to the nearest mall that avoids the busy roundabouts or the best brunches for kids.
I don't think I'm quite to the point where I would call Doha home if I were talking in my sleep, but I'm much closer than I was!
Thanks for helping this new person!
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