Y'all, I want SO SO badly to have a good outlook on life right now. I want so much to be taking in every second of this adventure and just squeezing the heck out of it. Living in the moment, laughing at each crazy turn, so on and so forth, but it's just not happening. I am struggling to find moments in a day to "carpe" and I sure as heck am not carpe-ing a whole entire diem.
So here is the truth:
Right now, this SUCKS! I know that I won't feel that way for forever and for that I am grateful but right now finding joy is an all out battle. It's hot here, like miserable hot. It's ironic, because ATX got hit with a heat wave about the time we got out here (2 weeks ago). The temps back in Texas were pretty much the same as they were here in Bahrain, but there are 2 huge differences. The first is, electricity does not cost in Texas nearly what it does in Bahrain. If we still lived in Texas, we would have kept our AC pumping and just not spent as much time outside. NBD. Here in Bahrain, electricity is CRAZY expensive. We hear stories of people who spend so much on AC trying to keep the house cool that it would have been cheaper for them to leave and go on vacation. CRA-CRA! I am scared to see what our first electric bill is going to be. One of the big reasons I agreed to come here was all the travel opportunities, but we can't travel if we don't have money left after paying our electric bill. So, it's barely cool in our house, it's tolerable, that's it. I would be curious to know what temperature other people keep their houses. If there was a way to check how much our electric bill was 10 days into the month of July (our first full month) that would make me feel better (or cause an all out panic attack, it could go either way), it would give me something to go off of but to my knowledge, they are not that organized here so instead I have a constant battle in my head; would I rather be cool and comfortable and risk paying a fortune or would I rather sweat it out a little and hopefully save some money (maybe even enough for 1 plane ticket, a round-trip ticket to Turkey right now is about $350, just saying). The second difference is in ATX the temperature will go back down, here in Bahrain we are just getting started. This week in ATX the temps are back in the 90s, still hot but cool enough that the kids can go play outside in the evenings. Here in Bahrain it's not even noon yet and it's 100, feels like 108. The low today is in the high 90s. It's even hot swimming in the cooled pool. We have been told June, July and August are the worst. It's July 10th, I hate wishing away time, it feels like a waste in this one short, precious life but come on September, you can't get here fast enough. I have all the blinds in the house pull down trying to keep the sun out and the cool in. I feel like we are alone, secluded in this hot foreign country.
Upon arrival we found out that just as we were coming, most expats were leaving. People who live here from America and the UK generally leave and go home during the summers (because it's hot and it's cheaper than staying here and paying your electric bill). Mostly, I feel bad for my kids. There are not many kids around right now, they are bored and lonely. This will not be a fun summer for them, not the best introduction to their new country. We went to the pool every day that first week and did not meet a single kid their age. When we asked on our housing community Facebook page we were told that most people consider it too hot to go to the pool. Too hot to go to the pool. That's my reality right now.
I remember when we we tried to look at cost of living calculators for Bahrain, it seemed like over all it would be a little cheaper than Austin, TX. That my friends is a lie. It's so freaking expensive out here! Moving on from the cost of electricity, let's talk anything entertainment wise. All the indoor jump parks, arcades, whatever else for kids are not cheap. You could go broke here in a hot second trying to keep your kids entertained during a hot summer.
I could go on, but I won't. You get the idea.
There you have it. That's the honest truth of where I am at. I am laughing, don't get me wrong. I laughed at myself for buying Arabic coffee and trying to make it in my French Press. I laughed (internally) at my poor husband when we tried to go get our CPR cards and they would not let him in the building because he was wearing shorts. (When going to government buildings in Bahrain, wear long pants. Tip from an insider.) But I am also crying (ok, not really, but internally maybe), and wishing for the United States where they charge everyone the same amount for electricity and I can wear tank tops.
This too shall pass.
Right?!
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