Oh, To Feel Normal Again!

We are working in Kuwait, surviving, but not having much fun yet.  The surviving takes too much time and energy.  We have been trying for weeks to furnish our empty apartment with inexpensive furniture. We desperately need some storage so we headed out early to the Friday Market.  This is a large area of vendors and you can find just about anything there.  I've been told that the prices are good if you are willing to haggle.
As we walk around I find myself feeling exactly like a fish out of water: no energy, hot, gasping for breath and having the panicky feeling that I am lost.  I don't belong here.  I have no interest in the shrink-wrapped furniture and TV sets.  No one is looking particularly helpful, a man is following us around like a tail, and we have no way of getting these items home except by taxi.  Jon senses my disinterest and suggests McDonald's.  This is his way of giving me something familiar, air conditioned and a chance to catch my breath. I just want to go to IKEA, be done with shopping and go home.
IKEA isn't much better.  It is another mall with high prices, little service and lots of people. I contemplate taking a nap on one of the show room beds while Jon makes up his mind of which set of shelves to buy.  My job is to bring Jon back down to earth with the question, "but will it fit in the taxi?"  And then we got our first break... after calling our local taxi driver called Abdul, we found out that he has a jeep and could transport us and our furniture boxes back home for no extra cost! We were thankful.

My normal reaction to days like this is to find something that makes me feel normal again. Usually it involves cooking a favorite dish, or enjoying my favorite drink.  It reminds me of better times and by its sheer familiarity I can feel normal again.
Today I had no time to cook, I had booked a hair appointment at a salon nearby.  This meant that I had a 15 minute walk through sandy streets, avoiding both the heaps of trash and the gaping holes of the constructions sites. I passed a cricket match and an Indian couple in the middle of a fight. Sweating, and with sand in my sandals, I skirted the bulldozers and the mosque which was just announcing 3 pm prayers. I don't belong here.  I am a stranger in a foreign land and I don't feel normal.

And then I stepped into ECLIPSE beauty salon and met Bella. "Welcome, maDAM!" She literally ran to greet me, sat me down and said enthusiastically, "How can I help you, maDAM?" and she meant it.
Bella is Filipino and I am truly thankful for the 240,000 Filipinos who work here in Kuwait. They make my life easier and brighter. Always happy, they do everything they can to be of service.
Bella sat me down, put my feet up, started the massage chair, and washed my hair with minty shampoo. I started to feel normal again.
She continued to pamper me over the next hour and she will never know how much I needed that pampering. I let her take care of me and started to reconsider that $3000 Hilton Spa membership.
Back home Jon suggested we go home to the states for Christmas.  I know how he feels, he wants to feel normal again, by sharing familiar things with those who make us happy... relax and feel taken care of.
Here in Kuwait we just haven't yet found those activities that bring us joy, and relax us in the way the old and familiar ones did back home. We haven't yet found the people who remind us of who we are and where we come from. That will take time.... and a gathering like yesterday's Canadian Thanksgiving celebration seems odd to us, but I know exactly why all those Canadians make a big deal out of it. We all need a bit of home with us where ever we go.