January 15, 2012
I’m “home”sick

Today’s been really tough. It’s been an emotionally brutal day. I’ve just been going through the day in zombie mode and just thinking about everything.

I’ve been missing moments and things and… yeah. Some made me sad and others made me smile and the ones that made me smile made me feel even worse.

This is all so hard.

I talked to my sister for a while and that distracted me a bit but not really. Ibby ‘talked’ to me for ages and that was incredibly cute. He’s growing up so fast and is at that incredibly cute phase kids go through before they turn in to monsters.

I’m going to try to distract myself by going to the mall with my house mate and then for a three hour walk like yesterday.

3:45pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONyEozR97
(Notes: 44)
  
Filed under: homesick miss missing hard tough zombie thinking distract mall walk ibby nephew cute monster 
November 27, 2011
It was birthdays galore at home this week…

My sister-in-law (she turned XXX), one of my nieces (Ayesha turned 3), and one of my nephews (Yahya turned 7) were all celebrating birthdays within a week.

I’ve been watching the videos and pictures - there are literally hundreds - uploaded from the various celebrations and I’m missing home an insane amount because of it.

I can’t get back soon enough.

I might share some of the pictures with you guys!

8:10am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONyCUEX4X
(Notes: 10)
  
Filed under: birthday home homesick celebrate celebrations video pictures 
June 19, 2011
The end is in sight…

I’ll be going home soon. There are only a matter of weeks to go and I can already taste my sister’s cooking. Today I’ve been in Riyadh for eight months and ten days. Being this close to the finish line, and having way too much much time on my hands, means that I can already visualise my return home. I can see my brother and sisters coming to the airport to pick me up. I can see my nieces and nephews running to me to give me hugs and shower me with affection. I can already feel the chill of the cold English air in my bones.

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8:34pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONy6FBdCs
(Notes: 5)
  
Filed under: homesick family travel riyadh saudi saudi arabia home friends brother sister finish end is in sight end camera 
May 14, 2011
Running

I love running. Just because I don’t run as often as I used to doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the act of running. I’m a runner at heart. I think I always will be. Saying that, since I’ve come to Saudi Arabia running has certainly taken a back-seat form my daily routine. So much so that it’s almost vanished. Well, today I took a first step towards it coming back and all those feelings associated with running have come flooding back too. The best thing about today’s run was that it gave me some much needed time to think.

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8:44pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONy57BA3y
Filed under: run running exercise health fitness weight loss saudi arabia heat hot think contemplate God homesick 
December 28, 2010
It’s my birthday!

It’s a really strange day for me. I love all the people who take their time out to get in touch with me and wish me a happy birthday but it’s sometimes tinged with me thinking about my mortality. Still, there are far more smiles than moments of introspection. 

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6:27am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONy2Kg0c1
Filed under: birthday old weird homesick saudi arabia steak smile happy sad 
November 19, 2010
Feeling lonely

A couple of days ago I wrote here that I was feeling a little bit homesick and I think the main reason for that was the fact that I was away from home and it was Eid. Another reason that I didn’t really talk about but is almost just as crucial to that was the fact that I was feeling pretty lonely.

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3:39pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONy1WWeC1
Filed under: lonely travel isolated homesick Eid travel 
November 16, 2010
That dreaded homesickness…

It has struck with a vengeance. I’ve battled it pretty well for the last month and a week but today my defences broke. It’s hit me pretty hard and I’m pining for home right now.

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7:31pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONy1Uywm6
Filed under: homesick homesickness saudi arabia riyadh england eid eid ul ahda eid mubarak travel dubai bahrain 
November 16, 2010
28. A photo of what you ate today It’s Eid. If I was at home by this time in the day I would have eaten about 3 or 4 times already. I would have had rice and chicken and deserts - oh my God, the deserts - and so much more. It’s a feast on Eid day normally with waves of food coming at you over and over again. I’m not at home though. I’m in Saudi Arabia. Breakfast for me… a bowl of cereal. Don’t feel bad for me though. I’m planning on eating out at some of the better local restaurants this afternoon and evening. I’ll add some pictures to this post as the day goes on. It won’t be the same as home but it’s better than nothing.

28. A photo of what you ate today

It’s Eid. If I was at home by this time in the day I would have eaten about 3 or 4 times already. I would have had rice and chicken and deserts - oh my God, the deserts - and so much more. It’s a feast on Eid day normally with waves of food coming at you over and over again.

I’m not at home though. I’m in Saudi Arabia. Breakfast for me… a bowl of cereal. Don’t feel bad for me though. I’m planning on eating out at some of the better local restaurants this afternoon and evening.

I’ll add some pictures to this post as the day goes on. It won’t be the same as home but it’s better than nothing.

11:05am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONy1UouiU
(Notes: 4)
  
Filed under: 28. A photo of what you ate today my story in pictures Eid Eid Mubarak saudi arabia riyadh home homesick feast cooking eating cereal 
October 18, 2010
Missing home…

There was always going to be a point where I was going to miss something about home and today was that day. It’s a weird feeling and I think it’s the type of thing can needs the smallest catalyst to take root. It’s gotten me thinking about how different things are here as well as the people around me.

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5:48pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZVTONy1G9TH7
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: home sick homesick missing home travel foreign land family friends manchester united man utd man u mufc time