Epic Adventure - Antarctica!!!

I'm alive... I'm alive!!

Oops, been a bit MIA these last couple of months. Sorry about that! I'll try and do a sha-bang catch-up on things. My last blog I re-capped via pictures my BIG winter trip back home, to Colorado, to Argentina, and Antarctica.

Antarctica was a big enough adventure in itself that I didn't go into detail in my  last blog. I think the best way to "talk" about it is through pictures, as my friend recently did with a BIG trip to Carnval in Brazil (you know who you are!!). BUT I do have to say that Antarctica was truly an EPIC adventure, one of the BEST in my life. 1st it was the comfort of being back on the same ship that I went to the Arctic Circle with and having some of the same staff, I went through G Adventures (gadventures.com). Then it was meeting people from all over the world (although there were many many Australians) and sharing travel and life stories. There were 120 or so people on the ship and I although I made some friends, I tried to get around and meet other people. Well, one dinner I sat at a table with all 65+ year old people (mind you, although I was fearful of this before I went on, about 1/3 ship was people in the 20's and 30's, another 1/3 40's-50's, and the rest over 60.... a good mix. I thought it was going to be like 90% over 80 years old. Phew!). So one person was asking us who has been to all the great oceans in the world and then came the debate about what counts.... SEEING the Ocean, swimming in it, putting your toe in?? I think I have been to 4/5, but again, what counts? Then to basically keep the conversation going, I randomly asked the table "how many countries have you been to?" Ohhhhh boy, did that start a commotion! There was this one particularly high-pitched British lady that almost had a heart attack with this... we didn't even get our meal and she wanted to run to the big map in the common area to count them. THEN she kept on going around (rather loudly) saying, "Ellen and I are having a competition of how many countries we have been to!" Uhh... what? All I was asked was a simple question to make conversation! Well, being that she was 72, she had a slight advantage over me. I had lost my tally of country counting, but she counted 68 and I counted 58, which I was fairly pleased with... and Antarctica was both our 7th continent.

Anyhoo, at the end of the trip, all of us were asking ourselves how we would describe our trip to other people, and you really can't. YOU JUST HAVE TO GO!!!! It was really really surreal.... the beauty, the crispness and clarity of everything, the wildlife. There is nothing like having cute little penguins running around your feet and tripping over themselves, ha ha. When we had sunny days, ohhh my gawd, might as well be in heaven. Hearing the ice burgs crackle, the reflections of the mountains on the water. AMAZING! Truly. I couldn't get over the fresh air.... just breathing it made one feel rejuvenated and ALIVE! People kept asking me to compare it to the Arctic, usually people have preferences, and I really couldn't decide. The Arctic was more nature ... Antarctica had more wildlife, similarities in the nature (ice burgs, but in Antarctica everything was much more BIG and VAST! Truly epic, 360 panoramic glaciers, mountains, and it was more exciting to come across whales, penguins, seals, etc. What was even more amazing is that there is like 22 hours of daylight, the sun would set around 11pm to midnight and rise again at like 2 am. Lucky me I have my eye mask - don't travel anywhere without it!!!

I feel truly fortunate and lucky to have experienced the Antarctica and also to learn about things like the great exploration of the big race to get to the south pole (Roald Amundson and Robert Scott) and of course biology and life of the wildlife we were seeing. Especially the penguins, soo impressive what they go through (please watch "March of the Penguins" with Morgan Freedman narrating). We saw the penguins when they were protecting their eggs... they usually hatch around March and I was there in December. It was cool watching them through the process of collecting stones around their little nest to protect their eggs and also when they would battle against other penguins that were trying to steal their penguins, too too funny.

So below are a few of 23049823048230483204239 pictures I took! I'm in the process of making an online album... but at this pace, it won't be ready till 2014 (haha), BUT if you are interested in seeing it, email me and when I'm done I can email you the link (I'm making a photobook).

Winter 2012/2013

Hellooooo!

What I call "winter 2012/2013" is probably one of the best winters I've had in a looong looong time, "winter" being pretty much the xmas/New Year season. Last year I had practically just arrived in Dubai, not knowing anyone and being completely new to Life in Dubai, and needless to say, when the holidays rolled around, pretty much came and went, I vowed then and there that next year I was going to be home. I actually MISSED Christmas music... and even more so, the Christmas spirit, the hustle and bustle of the season, and just how most people seem energized and happy. Here it was just like any other day and most westerners went back home.

So off I went the very end of November first to Chicago then to Argentina then to Antarctica (which still sounds crazy to say) and then directly to Colorado for skiing and fun and then quickly through Chicago again, and then back to Dubai - pretty much 4 continents in just over a month. Phew! Needless to say it was spaced out enough that I didn't feel stressed out. Chicago was a bit hectic running around trying to see as many people as I could, tying in shopping, and of course going to my favorite places (I did a lot of eating!). There was plenty of down time in Antarctica, and in Colorado it was good quality family time (my sister came in all the way from Spain to all be together! Awwww). All and all, a good mix of winter wonderland. Funny thing is, I found Antarctica warmer than both Chicago and Colorado, ha ha. There it was a nice warm whereas the other places had that bitter cold. But it was a nice change from Dubai... and I actually realized I have not had a winter in 3 years! Last year I was in Dubai and the year before I was in Sri Lanka and all tropical places for the winter. I have to admit, as much as I love summer and warm weather, there is nothing like bundling up to a brisk winter day :-)

The trip was nostalgic for many reasons, of course being home, but also being on the same boat (then GAP Adventures, now G Adventures) I was 3 years ago when I did the Arctic Circle trip (Norway, Greenland and Iceland) and then definitely Colorado as my family has been going there for almost 30 years and there are sooooooooooooooooo many memories from there.

Alas, the best way to talk about my trip is .... PICTURES! Here are some of my faves:

Our close family friend Angie wanted to meet up and just mentioned she liked this tapas place by my parents apartment.... in  honor of my sister. Well, she turns up with this picture of her and so Natasha "sat" with us throughout the meal AND we ordered this flight of sangria, which happened to be 3 drinks, so we even had a drink for her. I guess you just had to be there, but it was soo soo funny. So this is Angie, her daughter Claudia, and Natasha, "in spirit." :-) 

Surprise, surprise! My dad surprised ME by showing up with this brand new special Tesla Model S car! It is fully electric and basically he has been waiting 2 years for it! It was soo nice to ride in it and literally, one of those cars that people were looking at us while we were driving around the city (and take note of the big o Xmas tree and Chicago Tribune tower in the background. Awwwwww). 

Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Argentina... a ski lift for hiking, not skiing.

I had done this exact same route 3 years ago when I was here in Ushuaia, Argentina. Brought back some nice memories of my Patagonia trip :-) 

Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Argentina

Beautiful view! Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Argentina

Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Argentina

Fox! Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Woodpecker! Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Love the colors!

My goofy sister, Natasha :-) New Years Eve in Vail, Colorado

Sniff sniff... my sister and I NYE in Vail, CO

The family! (minus my brother, booo that he couldn't make it)

Hmm.... I wonder where my sister gets it from! :-) 

Our New Years group in Vail, CO

Nice family shot in Vail, CO

Hehehe.... I think I do this every year I've come :-) 

We HAD to do a glamour shot together! Natasha and I in Vail, CO

Awesome to reconnect with Natasha :-) 

More Vail, CO

Natasha looooooving the "freshies" snow :-) 

Awww! How lucky am I that my parents are in such good shape to STILL be skiing! 

Vail, CO

Aaaaaaaaand... back to Chicago. Fortunately had just over a day to re-acquaint myself with the Chicago! 

My parents downtown apartment is like a luxury hotel to me.... this is the evening I was leaving, sniff sniff.

Okay, I will (hopefully) soon do another post with Antarctica pictures. There are just sooo many fabulous ones, I'm having difficulty even finding pictures to represent what a magical and epic place it is! Stay tuned :-) 

Happy New Year! 2013!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Wow, I was just thinking how much has happened this last year. I have a LOT to catch up on, and sorry that I've been MIA lately. I just arrived back from my 5-week vacation, and before and during were totally crazy.

I'm now sitting in my apt... and it's quiet. Very quiet (and barren. Note to self - improve on my decorations!). These last few weeks I have spent minimal time by myself and it's been fun and busy, and now.... well, my post-travel blues are already here! Usually it takes a day or two to settle in, but sigh, it's here now and I just got home today. I will soon be writing more blogs about more details of these last couple of months, but for now, being that I am reminded that the title of this entire blog is "My Life as an Expat," I will write about that. 1st thing is.... Home. Is my home Dubai? Is it Chicago? Many people I met, especially the ones that I have been here awhile, understandably call their expat home their 'real' home. They have established lives here and being further and further away for longer and longer periods of time does make it seem distant.

BUT, I will vouch now that Chicago is my HOME and always will be by HOME. During this trip, which by the way, I traveled 4 different continents in 5 weeks (Asia (Middle East), North America, South America, and Antarctica), I had some downtime to digest all of these things, and I realize how much I love Chicago. This past year in Dubai has flown by and I'm glad I did have this time to reflect. Yes, I have gotten used to life here and definitely am content and comfortable. However, what stimulates me are family and friends that provide me love and support, and it was just soo sooo great to be with them. But also, diversity, culture, nature, equality, and freedom. Chicago has all those things, Dubai does not. Don't get me wrong, Dubai has great characteristics and I do feel very fortunate for being here, but it's no HOME! And I NEED those things.

So basically, I came to some executive decisions. Before I came here I was definitely leaving things open, "whatever happens, happens." For example, to move someplace else internationally or just decide to stay here longer. Well, of course those things can happen, life is unpredictable, BUT as of now my work visa ends Dec 2014.... this will be 3 years total in Dubai, which I think is a fair amount of time, it may be my time to leave. I really REALLY REALLY love Chicago. When I was in Colorado, which is TOTALLY laid back and very very VERY casual, I kept thinking, almost shockingly because I had forgotten, "wow, Colorado is just sooo soo casual! Almost too much. This is pretty much the exact opposite as Dubai. Exact opposite. I need to find a happy medium." And then my sister blankly said, "Chicago! Chicago is that place." And it was too too true, and that is what I need.

So here it is! 2012, which 1/2 the year took a lot of personal adjustments and ups and downs, to the 2nd half being steady "ups." In 2013 I just want to make the most of my life here, if I just have 2 years to go. I want to travel more, I want to have fun, hopefully make and find opportunities at work, and do unique things I won't be able to do at home.

Let's see what happens!

Happy New Year!!! And as always, Health and Happiness! :-)

Holidays and Health

Holidays
One thing I can't complain of in Dubai is the holidays. That is one BIG o advantage of being out here. When I think about the States and our little days off, literally less than 10 (New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanskgiving, and Xmas day) it is a meager 6 days off, it makes me appreciate these days off I am getting here. It's not just 3-day weekends, it can be 4-5 and more. Loooove it! I have to admit the 1st half of the year can drag a bit because of the LACK of days off, but then wah-la, the 2nd half comes along and the days off keep coming. 1st we had Ramadan which technically isn't days off, but we're working 30 hours instead of 50 for the same pay, and umm... that might as well be days off. :-) After Ramadan we had the 1st Eid, which was 4-days off (I used that to go to Serbia). Then 2 months after the 1st Eid comes the 2nd Eid, where we get ANOTHER 4-days off. That was just a few weeks ago and I used it as a stay-cation, which was awesome - caught up on admin stuff, SLEEP, and rested the wearing body. NOW, this weekend (again, just a few weeks after this last Eid) we have Islamic New Year where we get a nice 3-day weekend. THEN in just another couple of weeks there is "National Day," which is yet another 1-2 days off. How awesome is that? I'm again using this Islamic New Year as a stay-cation, well-needed one because in 2 weeks, exactly 2 weeks, I am on a flight home to CHICAGO and have a lot of random things to take care of before then because I'll be gone for like 5 weeks. Woooo hoooooo! 5 weeks? Yes, you read correctly. Because of all these random days off and some comp days I've accrued, although I am physically gone for 37 days, yes, 37 days, it actually ends up being 22 working days. Yesssssssssssss! Life is good.

Health
Well, life can also be NOT good.  So just a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to one of the docs here and more out of curiosity, was asking if I should/can do a MRI of my back. I thought it would be interesting to just see what it looked like 1-year post-herniation AND something to show my dad (radiologist). He asked me, "why? Is something wrong?" And I said that NO, it was this time last year that it went away and I have been 110% since then. He kinda laughed it off. Well, I think I jinxed myself. I had just done a very strong 12 mile run that morning and then right after did my routine of stretching by going to bikram HOT yoga. I was doing a pose which is actually my least favorite and I thought to try this extra move that I have tried before but usually don't do because I don't have the correct form, and then BAM! TOTALLY got this major spasm and sharp pain in my back. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I almost died. I had a flashback of the trauma I went through last year. I breathed through it and thought it was somewhat "lucky," if you can even say that, that this happened in a hot environment where my muscles are totally relaxed. It sounds Nazi, but this studio doesn't allow you to leave, so I took it easy the rest of the class and ONLY did poses that I knew would be good for me and help. It definitely didn't feel as debilitating as last year, but was still upsetting because I was doing so well AND that next weekend had back-to-back races I have been training for for months. "Fortunately," the next day I had work and consulted one of our spine docs who put me on the pain med of Arcoxia and I laid low and did some PT exercises and stretches and again, reverted myself back to a being a patient. ALL of the docs, myself included, say swimming is good for backs, so the next day, I was feeling more or less the same, central low back pain, and went for my Masters Swim Club, he he, and of course the 1st flip turn and push off the wall my back kinda spasm'd a bit. Uh oh. I then had to focus on core tightening for the rest of the flip-turns and after swimming it did more or less feel better. Not to bore with details, but slowly yet surely as the week went by, the back pain resolved, and although I am a horrible patient because the doctor I saw and this other spine doctor (and my parents, shhhhhh) were like "NO RUNNING!" I tried to convince them otherwise with a lot of  "but, but" and they all did the ... "NO RUNNING!" So what did I do? That next weekend as I felt 99.9% better, I ran the 1/2 marathon as I had planned (did one of my better times! YEA!) also did right after that bikram yoga (but didn't do that one pose), AND the next day did this 10K run/1.6k swim - ALL felt fine and I now feel back to "normal." Smart decision? Anyone's guess, probably not. I'm self-diagnosing it as a muscle spasm, BUT the one smart thing I am doing is getting a MRI early next week "just to see" (and because it's easily covered by insurance here) AND am going to go to PT myself. The spine is NOT something to mess with and it is a GOOD wake up call to NOT take your health for granted. I know it doesn't sound like I am being responsible for my health, but I'm going to continue my activities till I leave, then will officially take a rest the 5 weeks I am home. I swear! :-) So lesson has been learned!

On another not-related note, I don't know if I will get another update in before i leave, probably not, so it might not be till 2013 when I re-visit my "Life as an Expat" blog, so HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone just in case!!! See you then!!!