On Saturday evening, I dropped a hire car off at Ibn Battuta mall, and was surprised by a strong feeling of nostalgia. In my first few months in Dubai, when I arrived ahead of my family, I rented a studio in Discovery Gardens, and several times a week walked the length of Ibn Battuta mall (that is from Andalusia to China) on the way home. On Saturday I was reminded of my feelings in those times, feelings that have since been lost. I was excited by the adventure of a new job, a new city and new possibilities. My bank account was fuller than it’s ever been, and the next few years looked great and comfortable. In some ways, I was also hypnotized by the glamour of Dubai – I would have a nice car, new clothes, a lovely apartment and settle down to a period of stability, treating my family to a whole array of new experiences. Sometimes I can be very shallow.
That all feels like another era, though it was at most 1.5 years ago. My time in Dubai has genuinely been enjoyable, I’ve lived in two wonderful homes, and I had a few adventures. But things didn’t quite worked out as expected. It took six months for my wife and girls to arrive, and several months of stress after that for them to get their residential papers. The summer was spent chasing education opportunities/uncertainty, which finally left both girls studying elsewhere (and on different continents to ourselves and each other). Barely had my wife arrived and the house filled with furniture, when it became apparent that my entire division would be shut down, and we’d have to move on. Dubai rents took up a large amount of my income, as did air travel. And on the personal side, I’ve been disappointed that dreams of writing music and fiction, having children and improving photography and video work have come to little. Arabic has been largely a failure despite costing numerous hours. Much is personified by my little used iMac.
Still, it’s been a good period. We’ve settled into church quicker than expected and the last six months has seen some wonderful opportunities to serve there. We’ve made good friends, some of the best in years, and my wife’s English has gone from zero to decent. The girls have made progress in their studies, I’ve been able to pay back a good chunk of my mortgage, and running the marathon was a high. At work, it’s been both enjoyable, and my writing/editing skills have improved considerably (despite what regular readers of this blog may think).
The next job posting will be an adventure (they always are). But hopefully we can settle down in some form as well – more personal productivity on my side, more stability and less travel on the family side. And a baby wouldn’t be a bad idea either.