Home is....

not just where the heart is....

We have just got back from a surprise visit to Kenya for Shams cousin Bhavins wedding (we had sooooo much fun - there will be a seperate blog post for it!)... it was so nice to see Shams mum, dad and brother - and of course other members of the extended family.
As we had suspected, saying goodbye again was just as hard - although knowing we will see them again in a few months should have made it easier - it didn't.
Having said that, we are both glad to be home. Yep, Sydney feels like home (even though its really cold!)
I have to say its taken me by surprise - especially because I have been feeling particularly unsettled without a job and the uncertainty of the residency application etc.
Don't get me wrong, we are both still having the occaasional wobble when it feels like everything would be easier if we were back in London, but then we remind ourselves that this is where we hope to have our future...

So, for me, home is definately where my heart, head,and more importantly, dreams are!

Keeping in touch

I recently had a conversation with one of the other expats about keeping in touch with people at home... we decided that we were both surprised at who we did hear from... the people who we thought we would never lose touch with are the very same people we have hardly heard from!

Since we have been here, I have spent a small fortune on cards, learnt to use Skype as an accepted form of communication, and of course, started a blog!

Now, I know lots of people read this blog - some of you even subscribe to it! Please, please, please let us know what you are up to and whats going on at home - I miss the gossip!!

So, whether its an email, a Facebook or Twitter message, a card or a Text... don't be strangers!

x

Sydney stone... as in 6.35kg!

"Oi fatty - what you been eating?!" That was pretty much the first thing Shams sister said to him when she visited last week! I put it down to the fact that he has shaved his hair so looks more like a pea head... but Sham then came out of the bathroom to check if the scales were right... and if the tracksuit bottoms and tshirt he was wearing might add a stone to his weight!!

They say weight gain is a sign of contentment... I say weight gain is a sign of too much beer, cheap take aways, a compulsory pie on the way home from a night out and his wife finally learning to make yummy indian food!

It is all balanced out at the moment - we walk a lot due to not having a car, and Sydney is quite hilly so its pretty hard to avoid a cardio workout almost everyday! Sham is also playing football once a week with Arsepool United...the team that is made up of the husbands and boyfriends of my friends. He also manages some golf and even an occasional game of basketball!

I on the other hand, have lost half a stone since we have been here and have developed some muscles in my legs!! My fitness level is still pants, but I am certainly moving more than I have for a long time!

so, we are eating more here, but are also getting more excercise... that can't be bad can it??

Oh, I forgot to mention the British Draw in the kitchen full of goodies B brought us... Wispas, Toffee Crisp, Hula Hoops, Prawn Cocktail crisps.... oh dear!!