I Love/Hate This Place

Well, here we are again...with major world news unfolding before our eyes.

And here I sit again.

Wondering why I decided to write a blog about humorous things I find in the Middle East when the last few months have been a little less than humorous around here.

The other day {it had been one of those days!} I had to force myself to make a list of all the things I love about living here. {Anyone ever have those days?} I'll share some highlights:

• school uniforms {never any clothes drama in the morning!!}
• fresh squeezed lemon with mint drink
• seeing religion play an important role in everyday lives
• sea side living - slow pace
• sun almost every day of the year
• the people I work with whose lives are being changed
• friends from around the world {our gatherings look like a session of the U.N.}
• the lack of temptation for consumerism  {because there is not a whole lot to buy here!}
• nutella {it literally tastes good on anything}

okay - so a lot of my list has to do with food

but there are many more things...trust me!

Now unlike the picture my happy happy funny funny blog portrays, I also hate living here in many ways. You wanna hear them? {tell Pollyanna to go in another room for a minute}

• we live under constant stress and anxiety because of language, and culture, and raising kids in a foreign land, and driving, and working, and terrorists, and...
• recent world events have torn our hearts out, infuriated us, built up compassion, and made us want to puke all at the same time
• we will never understand all the nuances of the culture we live in
• we always miss our friends and family
• cryptic warning messages from the State Department {which all became clear last night}
• we have suitcases and stuff and houses all around the world {I must be part sheepdog as I exhaust myself trying to herd everything all the time}
• and the biggest one this week: Will and Kate postponed their honeymoon! Is there no end to the bad news on BBC? She was going to be my best friend. Boo.

Well, this has been a long ramble. And if you are still with me, you probably expect me to end this with some great quote about how trials and struggles build character and wisdom {which they do and I know they will}.

But I have no such quote.

My only solution right now is to try to find the best thing in my pantry to spread nutella on and have a little feast. Gotta run!