Beach walks

One of the few things I'll miss about Kuwait is definitely the beach walks in the sun!

Friday sun

Yesterday I spent the day at the pool sunbathing and swimming again yay! It's a shame for Laurence on a Friday because everyone is off work, enjoying the sun and he has to work but on the upside he's off on Sundays so had the pool to himself!

The pool can get very busy and I'd prefer one of the quieter ones but the water doesn't look as nice in them. It's nice to be at the busy one for a while, and it's fun watching all the games and kids on the pool. Yesterday someone put a full size blow up canoe in the pool for them to play on so that provided some entertainment!

Before & After

Laurence has been eating healthily since we were in the Philippines and walking more since we moved here and we recently realised the extent of the results!  Laurence found a photo of himself at his leaving do for moving away and compared it to a pic of himself on his birthday.  He's wearing the same t-shirt which adds to the effect.  See the difference below...well done Laurence!!

St Patrick's Day

I am just getting round to writing about last weekend now!  On the Friday we were invited to a St Patrick's Day BBQ on the complex which was really good.  The guy who organised it is from Peterhead but he has a New York accent as he lived there most of his life.  When he first introduced himself as Scottish I was a bit dubious! lol.  It was nice to meet the neighbours and it's amazing the vast array of nationalities all working in Kuwait.  I think Laurence & I were the closest thing to Irish people there! We went along in the evening for some BBQ food - which was fab- and chat.  

The following day was a scorcher so we spent it sunbathing and swimming at the pool.  It was great, like being on holiday! There was a Filipino lady having a birthday lunch by the pool with her friends so we were invited to have more food with them and birthday cake yum! It's a nice, relaxed homely atmosphere as everyone is very hospitable.  

I am hoping the weather is as good this weekend so we can go back to the pool. It's been raining today though so hopefully it'll brighten (and heat) up.  Next weekend we're going to Dubai so looking forward to that!

Laurence with Brian, the host, from Peterhead/New York

Homeward bound

We have now booked our flight home! Woohoo! I finish work on the 20th June so we leave Kuwait late Friday night (21st) and arrive early Saturday morning on the 22nd. It's a good flight we got. We're flying KLM and it's quite a quick journey, with only a one and a half hour connection in Amsterdam. The downside is that it's a night flight which means I'll be awake for about 24 hours as I can't sleep on planes!

We're really looking forward to coming home although I do think it'll be weird after being away for what feels like forever!

I do like to be beside the seaside

I have an amazing view in the morning of the sun rising over the sea while I eat my Cheerios :) It's stunning on a clear, calm morning. It was really hot when I got home from work so I sat in the sun reading for a while then went down by the water to watch the waves. The sun must be very strong because even though I've got a base colour from the Philippines and I had factor 10 on, my arms got quite red! In Laurence's break we went down to sit on the beach again and then for a paddle, it was great. It's such a blessing to live right on the sea. You can't beat the sea ;-)

Happy birthday...

... to Laurence :-) We've just come in from going for a nice walk and a Pizza Hut for Laurence's birthday. I got him some lovely new aftershave and some trainers so he could go on his walks :) Unfortunately we were both working today but I brought him a chocolate marble cake home so we've all been enjoying that.

We were just reminiscing over pizza about what we were doing for Laurence's last birthday. Neither of us could remember!! But then we agreed last year was a crazy year. Then we thought about how this year's been unusual too so far and next year's going to be very different for us.....we will be three instead of two!!

Hairdresser experience

I went to get my hair cut yesterday as it had got ridiculously long! The longest it's ever been! Laurence and I walked to a hairdresser we saw a sign for across the road and eventually found it in a block of apartments. It was a strange set up. We walked into a deserted hairdressers and Laurence was promptly hustled out! Of course we hadn't even thought that here the hairdressers would be strictly segregated. It wasn't until a Kuwaiti woman came in with the full hijab and veil on that I realised of course men wouldn't be allowed in the hairdressers because the woman have to take their veils off. It's easy to forget about these cultural rules/differences. The Filipino lady who cut my hair was from the city of Davao, where we spent Christmas :) So, after the initial hiccup I was happy to get a lot of my hair chopped off. The sun had actually made the bottom of my hair brown while the roots are black so I was informed my hair was two different colours! I am rid of the two-tone look now :)

Sunny Friday

I don't have a lot of news these days :( Life here is not quite as novel as the Philippines! We are settling nicely into our new place. We've only been here a week but both agreed that it feels longer because we feel at home. It's very laid back and such a big flat we're not all under one another's feet. We have our own space but it's nice to have the option the have a chat with Susan and Anthony in the evenings. They're both very nice and easy to live with. I am sitting in the living room writing this, listening to the birds (and call to prayer!) The window is open overlooking the beach and the pools so I can hear the waves and see the occasional speedboat whizzing by! There are butterflies all over the complex, the sun is out and its a lovely warn 20+ temperature. I'm glad we arrive home in the summer as I am very much accustomed to the sun now!

It's an idyllic location for our last few months here. Laurence has been doing a lot of walking along the beach and the promenade and there's a lovely walk down to the marina and a really nice mall. I feel like we're closer to to healthier lifestyle we had in the Philippines than when we first arrived here. It makes all the difference in Kuwait, living on the coast rather than the city. We are both making the most of our time here but really looking forward to going home. I still miss the Philippines a lot but I don't think I'll be too sad to leave Kuwait! Lol. It's great in the meantime though, work-wise. My job is very easy and relaxed.

Baby Deary

We went to the clinic this morning and I was delighted that I was able to get an appointment with the midwife, have some tests done and get a dating scan! I had expected to be told to come back for another appointment after initially speaking with midwife. There are sooo many clinics in Kuwait though, I get the impression they are not very busy which is great. It's only across the road too. I'm glad to have now set the ball rolling with appointments and the midwife and the nurse I saw were lovely.

It was amazing seeing the baby on the screen and hearing the heartbeat. I was surprised at how much it was moving about! The midwife said everything is normal and going good and I am to go back at the end of the month.

New bed

We finally managed to track down a bed yesterday. The lady who's maid we first tried to buy a mattress off actually had a bed for sale so we snapped it up. I was so relieved. It's a lovely big solid wood one too.

Still no bed!!

Unfortunately the pump for the air bed we borrowed was broken so we weren't able to use it! We only realised when we got in from shopping at 10pm as we'd wanted to let it charge as long as possible. That meant we had to sleep on the couch last night. Thankfully it's a huge corner sofa so we had a long section each :) So we still have the challenge of finding a bed quick. The maid downstairs was gifted a double mattress so we're trying to get hold of her to see if she'll sell it. She doesn't use it so here's hoping.

Aside from that we walked along to the marina last night which was lovely. There are restaurants and coffee shops all around it and there are fountains and water falls. The water features are all lit up and there lots of nice yachts. Apparently there's a music and light show with the fountains so we'll have to catch that sometime!

We also found a fantastic supermarket. It seems to be the equivalent to Waitrose as they sell some of their brands but we were so glad to see some familiar brands too. It's funny the things that appeal when you've not been in the UK for a while. If its familiar then you want it, even if you'd never buy it at home :-D

Waterfall in background at Al Kout Marina

Fountains in background

One of the many familiar brands - phew

My dinner - chilli beef and noodles. Very nice but a bit too hot for me!