Gimme a break

I am a problem solver at heart. I seek information. When I don’t know something, I look it up. I ask someone. I like to know about things.

This has been immensely helpful in our relocation to the Middle East. There is so much conflicting information everywhere, and we have had no support from the company. I am still sorting through visa and residency issues…which is technically the company’s responsibility. After a bit of floundering, I am quite proud of what I have accomplished in terms of getting us settled down in Bahrain. Jeff works very long hours; often there are flight delays, so when he comes home, it is either 3am, or 7pm and he has been awake since 3am. So whichever shift he is doing, he is exhausted and therefore pretty useless when he comes home. This is a new job, a new career for him, and I can imagine it is pretty overwhelming, so I take care of everything else so that he can focus on it.

What this means is that I have become the source of information for relocating here, being the first to do it. I understand that all the other pilots families have not arrived yet, so they’ve yet to deal with the day-to-day issues of moving to another country. A couple of wives have come to visit, and a few pilots planning to relocate here have visited. We’ve had some overnight guests, many daytime guests, and each one is bursting with questions. This is understandable—I am still bursting with questions, although I’ve already found many answers. But… I am a little resentful. They are getting their answers so easily… from me. I am so tired of answering the questions about how much things cost—housing, internet, phone, groceries, furniture. Of course people want to know—you move to a new country, you have no frame of reference. I did all the legwork and comparison shopped for everything—you know how long that takes? I worked my butt off to learn about this place and didn’t know a single soul in this country. I didn’t have the advantage of having a friend who could show me the ropes. Every answer I have was hard-earned through each false lead, each dead-end I ran into, every drop of sweat, all the kilometers logged in the rental car while my back ached from driving with this big belly!

I have about 6 weeks to go before the baby arrives (if it is on time) and I’d like to concentrate on preparing for that. In the meantime, I am entertaining guests and being a counselor to nervous wives and a cheerleader to a husband who is going through a rough time and exploring Bahrain and researching for resources. I am exhausted. Everything is coming at the same time. Ordinarily I love being the hostess. I love helping people and if they have questions or problems, I love helping them find answers and solutions. But not now. I am just too tired. (Would you like having a grown woman dumped on you at the last second, babysitting her for two days- someone who is very nervous about moving here- who is scared of the “black-colored people” and Indians? Get over it, lady! Oh how Jeff owes me…)

I really wish I didn’t feel resentful. It feels like I’m being selfish. I’ve even suggested that I be the relocation liaison for the company since I’ve already done all the work, so that at least something positive can come out of this. This being a screwed-up company though, this was seen as an outrageous proposition. I am a big believer in being honest with yourself, and at the end of the day, and these are the feelings I have. So be it. Now it is off my chest and I can be done with complaining.