Ramadan is coming to an end, which means that the Eid holiday is near. There is an excitement in the air as people begin to discuss their plans for the end of Ramadan. The days are longer and hotter and the humidity is starting to grow. The air is heavy and sticky, and all of these elements combined make it the ideal time to take a break, a vacation, a holiday from the sand, the desert, and the dust. A holiday from the sweltering heat. WE. NEED. A. BREAK. Before moving to the UAE, I never really went on vacation like I do now. Sure, I would take breaks here and there, I would even take the occasional week off, but I really did not feel that I needed to get away like I do now. The thing is, sometimes what you think is a vacation is anything but.
When you live abroad and you go “home” for a vacation, it often isn’t a vacation. In fact it is anything but. Driving from point A to point X to see people really sounds amazing at first. There is that immediate sense of gratification when you make the plans, as you know you are making a concerted effort to reconnect with those you left behind, and the reconnection keeps you grounded to the place you call (or called) home, however once the moving around and driving and climbing in and out of cars, and waiting for people because they are late, and you think that YOUR time is the only time that matters because you have just flown half-way around the world… once all of that begins you realize you would much rather be doing something else. Perhaps doing nothing at all, as it is your vacation, and you need to recharge. But if you were to do something else or simply nothing at all a deep sense of guilt might start to settle in. You might start to think that you are neglecting people and by doing so they might forget you.
It is a vicious circle – it was never ending, and we are still trying to find the balance between staying connected and recharging. It has been 5 years, and we are still walking this fine line. Someday we might not be going back and forth, but for now we will try to embrace the insanity of it all and attempt to get a few days vacation in the end.
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