My Island Home...

(Entry 2... scroll down for first entry)
For those of you who don't know, I am now living in Dubai. That's the middle east, 15 hours away, 12,048kms from Sydney, 5 movies, three meals, lots of sand, 45-50 degree heat, Saudi Arabia to my left, Iran to my right and the Sultanate of Oman only an hours drive away. The land of hummus and tabbouleh, where camel milk is drunk in coffee, a place where it can be 45 degrees outside, yet -2 degrees on the in-door ski slopes at the Mall of the Emirates, a place where you can get matching diamante decorated white goods including fridges, washing machines and air conditioning units, a place where brands count and Ferrari make laptops to match peoples cars, a place where Corollas are modified to have Lamborghini doors, a place where you don't lose your license if you speed and a place where it is illegal to have alcohol in your home yet you are able to buy 5 litres duty free at the Dubai airport which is twice the amount allowed in Australia- yes, this land is now my home.

We live on The Palm. Lured, perhaps by the location, but who wouldn't be? For those of you who don't know, the Palm is an artificial island built in the shape of a palm tree. We live on the trunk which is lined by a beach and looks over the Sheikh's palace and his private guest island. After living in London, this was the destination of choice- it was one of the first places we saw when we got here and when I saw there was a bar by our pool, it sealed the deal. Its an amazing place to live and very beautiful, but really I am looking forward to being able to tell my kids one day "once upon a time, mummy and daddy lived on an island in the shape of a palm..."- Still on the look out for Posh and Becs, though the beat on the street is that they were given their villa on the Palm, and it wasn't their holiday home of choice- so I dont get to see them all the time as I had hoped. Hey, its good PR - if you've got the money to do it, why wouldn't you?

The world through sandy eyes...

And so it dawned upon me when one of my cousins, who could be my brother given the whole 'my mum's brother married my dad's sister' jibe, asked me "so how's London going" that it made me think that maybe it's time for another family newsletter. Since the last one, a new phenomenon has taken the world by storm- its known as the world-wide-web, and what better way to broadcast to friends and family alike, the weekly, nay, daily happenings in the life of Terence of Arabia. So, this will not be a family newsletter in its usual form, it will focus simply on the life and oberservations of Terence of Arabia, age 28. Likes: dachshunds, pavlova, meatballs (no cheese please), yum cha, symmetry, airline lounges and a cocktail in a pool. Dislikes: cold fingers and toes, people who tailgate, people who always have to have the last say after I've already finished the discussion, ginger and heights. For the record, she doesn't live in London.

But before I start on my new adventures in Dubai, I just wanted to raise a family issue- what happened to the transfer of gossip in my family? Information that once travelled at the speed of light and spread in pandemic propotions? When did this generation (thats x, y and xy)break down the gossip network that our Italian fore-mothers spent years cultivating? Don't get me wrong, I like it this way- I prefer that the local newsagent doesn't know I am home-sick or that Mr Struzzichini at Boronia Park shops doesn't know I had a bout of gastro, but I am merely saying that I am shocked, sincerely shocked. It is at this point I would like to thank my mum for fighting the temptation and refraining from broadcasting my life to the world. Thank you mum, JLo or as your new followers in the fruit shop call you- "Big Mamma".

I know its likely that gossip also may not travel far if its not particularily interesting- but sometimes the truth is hard to take. I also know that I haven't been too good at keeping contact- I tell you somehow there aren't enough hours in the day for an unemployed lass, and updating your facebook status is so 2008. So I am hoping this will keep you all up to date and allow you to see the world through these sandy eyes...

Mum, there you go, I promised I would write in my journal. Now you can read it everyday.