Wasn’t I surprised when my five year old came home from school with the question, ‘what half am I mom?’ I know I’m one half Irish, but what other half?’ Goes to show it takes more than a name with fada to instil identity. The question arose when in class they were discussing where they…
After a long wait, the news finally came, my four year old was accepted to start school. Like all momentous moments in life, I remember exactly where I was when I received the call. I was outside the Supreme Education Council building on the C Ring road, clenching my teeth and banging my head against…
It’s the third time in as many weeks that I’ve heard of couples returning from Dubai after only a few weeks with dreams and hopes shattered. Picture the scene, Declan’s career as a civil engineer has slowed to a slugs pace and Derbhall’s once glittering Marketing position is now no more than a three-day-a-week office…
It comes round to the time of year again when summer must end and the trip back to Abu Dhabi to serve another term is nigh. Ninety per cent of expat wives in Abu Dhabi and around the Middle East travel to their native countries to escape the too-hot Arabian summer months. For many it’s…
For the “school year people”, like myself, that exit the UAE the instant the last school bell rings in June and don’t return until the day before school starts, it can feel like punching time. Similar to working in a job where you feel under-utilized and under-stimulated, you can seek small solace in the fact…
Queuing for the night flight from Heathrow to Dubai with three kids, four hand luggage items, I get a growing sinking feeling about the availability of the inadequate bassinette. Far from considering myself a seasoned traveler however, I have had of recent years intensive and extensive experience in travelling with children both old and young…
After a long wet summer in Ireland I can confirm that the only cure for homesickness is a trip home. Setting off from Abu Dhabi, the rose tinted glasses in hand, one looks at the summer with brimming enthusiasm looking forward to all the jovial family get-togethers, adventurous family days out in activity parks and…
Happy to leave the glare of the Middle Eastern sun for the summer period, I appreciated the refreshing drizzle which was the backdrop to our decent onto Irish soil, or landing strip as the case may be. The damp mist, the fresh temperatures and the cool Atlantic breeze which serves to give everything that vividness…
A shopping trip with the girls wouldn’t have in the past been my idea of a great day out but when the trip was to Dubai and was sure to include a posh nosh lunch and the chance to swan around the glitzy Dubai shopping malls I couldn’t resist. One of the pearls in the…
Back in the glory days in Ireland when the Celtic tiger breathed life into Ireland and inflated not only economic growth but also our expectations and quality of life, we enjoyed custom made designer kitchens, Canadian hardwood floors and Italian leather sofas. Everyone suddenly became experts on the differences between porcelain floor tiles and carrera…
thereluctantemigrant 