A big fat SORRY!!!
Posted by drifter on January 3, 2011
I am not going to apologize for my absence….again, rather, I will explain my absence for the last 5 months.
You may remember some time ago, well my last entry in fact, that I told you I was applying for a job in another country within the Gulf. Well I am pleased to inform you that I got that job and so I started a new, yet very challenging chapter in my life. After a lot of tears, I decided to take the job I was offered in Kuwait and commute to Bahrain every weekend in order to see Adi who was the main reason I moved to Bahrain in the first place. It strikes me as odd that I decided to move when the whole time I was living in Bahrain I constantly complained at him for ‘dragging’ me away from my beloved London. I also surprised myself in my decision as I am completely and utterly obsessed with Adi and have always found it quite difficult to spend 5 hours away from him, never mind 5 days a week. But of course if I look at this in an ‘adult’ way, he didn’t really drag me away, he merely offered me the opportunity to explore new horizons in life and consider new and exciting adventures that we would not have experienced had we stayed in London. It just so happened that an amazing opportunity cropped up in Kuwait, and so here I am. After 5 months of having to adjust and settle into the new set up, I finally find myself in the position to start writing again and share with you my many stories, and believe me there are many stories. So, I may no longer be living in Bahrain full time, but this doesn’t mean I am no longer Lost in Bahrain. In fact, I feel more lost and disorientated as when I was living and working in Bahrain full time. I am continually looking for ways or opportunities that may tempt me to return.
The one great thing about working in Kuwait is I can now say whatever I want about the company I used to work for in Bahrain. However, as much as I would love to divulge every last juicy bit of gossip about this family, I won’t, purely because I still have ties with Bahrain and would be scared to be banned! I know the travel ban thing imposed by important families who you may have annoyed somehow is probably a rumor, but its scares me none the less and I would never risk the chance to be in Bahrain every weekend with Adi. But I will say this; my experiences with the family I used to work for and the things I had witnessed during my time with them did influence my decision to leave greatly. I could no longer bare being witness to their awful treatment of their staff and their blatant disregard of other members of the human race. I marvel, yet vomit, at their ability to get everything for free yet giving nothing in return, this also translates to ‘screwing’ people over. I could no longer be witness to the grown men crying because their salaries are late, they want their passports back, they want to go back ‘home’ or even worse because their measly 55BD salaries leave them hungry and unable to feed themselves let alone their families back home. And I have lost count of the amount of times I have been propositioned in the office by sleazy friends of the male members of this family with silly chats up lines such as ‘I would love to see your drawings some time’ or being asked to describe what I look like when one of them calls the office. No. I had to leave. Every day I spent in that company meant losing a tiny bit of my self esteem and when I woke up each morning with the dread of going to work with the continuous feeling of wanting to vomit, I knew I had to leave. And so when I saw an advertisement for a fashion designer for an International retailer who had a head office in Kuwait on all of the UK fashion recruitment websites, I nearly fell off my chair. Firstly, the job looked great and I knew I had all applicable experience. Secondly, I couldn’t believe this company had an office in the Middle East. I immediately applied for the position and was asked to complete a project the very next day. To cut a long story short, I did the project, they loved the project, I had a telephone interview, they offered me the job, I visited Kuwait, they showed me my office, I cried goodbye to Adi and I started my new job 6 weeks later. I will bring you up to speed with my life in Kuwait in the coming posts.
I had considered giving up this blog, purely because I feel I can’t dedicate the time. However, I had continuous requests for updates on the blog and when I think about it, I feel like documenting my experiences here in the Middle East is a ‘therapy’ of sorts and has helped me a lot with settling in. Also, a few great things have happened as a result of this blog; I have been on American TV (this will definitely be in the next post!), I have been asked to develop I-Phone applications about Bahrain (something I had to decline since I was no longer in Bahrain full time) and I have also received many encouraging and heartwarming comments from readers. So in a nutshell, I am back, I will continue to document my experiences and I only hope that you will continue to follow my blog.
