Monday 30 June 2014

Sitting in Bahrain Airport the other day.......

Sitting in Bahrain Airport the other day, waiting for a flight back to Riyadh and sipping on a cold beer, that old familiar feeling returned that I know so well, here I go again back to Riyadh, starting back to another year in the Kingdom, and reflecting on how transient and different and sometimes  lonely life has become in the last few years…

July 2011, I left Ireland to take up a posting on a remote Military base in Afghanistan, Its now three years later, I’m working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and life is so different to what it was ten years ago
I can only describe the last few years as a mixture of adventure, relief, grief, a sense of a transient lifestyle, sometimes loneliness, always interesting but to be absolutely frank, a world completely turned upside down from where I was ten years ago.

Back in 2004, I was married, I had just set up my own business, I was Dad to a two year old son and was anticipating the arrival of a second , was about to go on holiday to Lake Garda in Italy which turned out to be a fantastic trip abroad that summer. I can still remember having Daithi perched  on my shoulders heading off for pizza in the warm evenings.

This is not where I now compare life to the present day and bemoan the cards I’ve been dealt, that is of no use to me or indeed to you the reader and I actually  believe I’ve been fairly  fortunate,  though the ride has certainly been rough at times and like many things, some aspects are positive, others not so.

The Financial meltdown from 2008 was a massive blow to Ireland, and its repercussions are still being felt, though there are now signs of recovery in parts, primarily the greater Dublin area and also Cork. This is certainly to be welcomed, though I personally would have concerns about other Irish towns such as Limerick for example where recovery is somewhat slower and I belong to an industry that was effectively wiped out and will take some time to recover properly back home.

My experience of the years from 2008 to 2011 was of running a business which was less than five years old and seeing turnover literally collapse by 80% in two months, Its only now when I look back, i appreciate how dramatic that was for business owners up and down the country and the effects it had on families and local communities, right up to this day and beyond in the form of failed businesses, unemployment and for many of us, emigration.

When I finally gave up on the business in 2011 after doing as much as I could possibly do to keep it alive and to also re-invent myself for other roles, it came with a huge sense of failure, that you have let your staff down, your family down, you deny it and try to battle on, but it’s actually a huge sense of failure which can lead to a dark place if it’s not addressed.

Emigration has been a way back, a sort of redemption, a return in confidence, not something I had anticipated in the first year when based in Afghanistan and with confidence, comes perspective again and a new focus on the future. I have recovered a lot of lost ground financially thankfully, and have relocated here to Riyadh since 2012 with an Irish Company and I have much to be grateful for and which I am.

The change is challenging, there is very little one can do about it other than adapt. Here in Riyadh, its very transient, people (particularly ex-pats) come and go fairly regularly, Its incredibility hot,( 43 this week), it lacks a sense of place for a lot of us and its culture and societal norms can take a lot of getting used to by comparison to other near-by countries. I have formed new friendships and relationships, I’ve sadly lost others, but life is going on and there is much to look forward to also. My boys are growing bigger and smarter, the banks now write polite letters to me (wasn’t expecting that, and to be honest, I don’t take it too seriously either), I get more time off than I used to in my own business, I’ve visited a lot of countries I never expected to and have come to understand the Middle East so much more than I did before, and on the other side, yes, It’s been a struggle at times, I really do miss home and look forward to the day when I can return and re-establish a life in Ireland. Now there’s something to look forward to.

"It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes, What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions" - Jim Rohn




Wednesday 18 June 2014

A few things I miss from Home….


I am just about to commence my fourth year away from Ireland and am already into my third here in Saudi Arabia, where does the time go ? Its been a time of great change for me both personally and professionally and I’m often asked what I miss most...

My Sons
The recent trip to UAE with Daithi & Oisin was amazing and we all enjoyed it hugely and it won’t be long before the next trip back to Ireland for a trip to West Cork, but of course, it doesn’t replace the school homework, eating together, going to the movies and regular “tickling fights”, though we do our best to catch up on those when I’m home !



Talk Radio
I’m always struck at how little radio exists here in Riyadh, everything from music to chat show, yes, there are some but very limited and certainly don’t replace some of the shows I used to listen to back home, "The Last Word" with Matt Cooper was a favourite of mine in the evenings , with great discussions on current affairs, sports and the odd wacky interview with a “Healy-Rae” about pot holes or drink driving or Kilgarvan hosting the World Cup as an alternative to Qatar…

The Pint
Saudi Arabia is a “dry” country so I really miss the Friday evening Pint of Guinness, or a few watching Munster in the Rugby or Clare in the hurling….



Tay
When I was a child, there was no coffee and even when there was, it was in a jar and tasting “horrific”, however there was always “Tay”, and copious amounts of it for every possible punctuation in the day, for every chat, or break. You can get Tea here of course its just not the same as Barry's Tea or the like which we were all reared on back home. The suitcase on the return journey to Riyadh is always packed up with at least 80/100 teabags to see me through to the next juncture. 


Friends

Though I have made many new friends here in the Kingdom, and we do socialise as much as we can, It just doesn’t replace meeting friends you have had for many years. I left Ireland later in life like others as a result of the economic problems, it wasn’t ever my plan, so I've left behind many good friends and I struggle to catch up in person on trips home and relying on Skype and Facebook is just not the same as meeting in person and finding out how things are with them.

I'm sure this list could go on and on, its just a few of the things that I miss, some small and some far more significant......