It has been a bit of a whirlwind as a whole week has already passed since we arrived. There have been moments that have felt like we had never left and others when we felt like everything is new.
On our first day, we tried walking at 10 in the morning. We were all dripping with sweat within a few minutes.
The biggest thing we have noticed is the heat! We had never been in the region in the middle of summer so the temperature was certainly a shock.
With the heat and a toddler we haven’t had much chance to explore the local area but we have been really pleased with what we have seen so far. We are currently living in a serviced two bedroom apartment (cleaning and linens replaced once a week) in The Pearl. Our living space is generous with a big kitchen, we have a balcony with a view of the marina. We are on the first and on the floor below has an indoor playroom, pools and gyms. We’ve been in the pool nearly everyday and have already seen an improvement in Little T’s skills in the water.
Mr T has been busy at work this week completing administrative tasks to apply for his residency permit, as well as starting planning for the start of school. The first day was a family day and we were able to tour the school and meet other families.
We’ve unpacked our three cases and are wondering what we will possibly do with the 40 boxes of shipping that will arrive in a few months! I have made a trip to IKEA for a few household essentials. It was a comfort to walk the familiar showroom floors but I did find some things were more expensive and they didn’t have everything I had expected to find. I have had to get creative for a toddler sized table, using the Latt side table and a wooden stool. It does the job and meals have been much more enjoyable with Little T at a table of his size.
Enjoying leftover nachos for lunch.
One of the things we looked forward to the most was the food and it has lived up to what we remembered! We have yet to begin really cooking at home and have been relying on food delivery service! We have had Arabic food three out of seven nights and it has been delicious. There is a Mexican place just below our building and we tried a rival to Fire on the Mountain called Lord of the Wings. Little T may take some time to warm up to the food, the first night we heard ‘yuck’ and ‘that’s not nice’ but a few days later he was enjoying a chicken sharwama.
Poolside snacking with bit of ‘yelmon ‘!
All in all it is a positive start. I am looking forward to life slowing down a bit so we can fall into a nice predictable routine.
-Mrs T
Turners Abroad 