October 6, 7, & 8, 2009
These past few days have been a blur of packing and repacking, weighing and re-weighing, making sure that none of our 6 suitcases are over 23kg. We had piles of “stuff” in the living room (towels, garbage cans, food, etc.) each going to a different person. We took all our left over soda’s and canned/jar food and gave it to the workmen here at the compound. I had one friend come over and go “shopping” in my cupboards before I started so she could pick things they would actually eat. I gave all my “blonde” shampoo’s and conditioner’s to my blonde Swedish friend and my hair gel to my Australian friend with the short spiky hair that is half red and half black (women’s hair products are heavy and our suitcases are full).
We’ve been to the bank, to Q-Tel (the telephone company) to turn off our phones, bought an Abaya and a Hijab - traditional black scarf worn on the head…(had to have one as a souvenir of my time here…RD already has his Thobe, Keffiyah and Agal), picked up prescriptions, dropped off a couple of antique chairs and a chest at “The Green Door” (where we bought them)…Ghassan will wire us the money when he sells them, had my blood drawn one more time at the hospital, had dinner with friends on both the 7th and the 8th (they took pity on us because they knew our cupboards were bare), and just generally ran around doing all the last minute things you have to do when you are leaving a country for good (RD was able to get all the paperwork finished so he doesn’t have to come back in December). We keep looking at each other and saying…”this is the last time we’ll be here, do this, see this person”…I didn’t expect this feeling of loss that has been creeping over me these past few days.
I thought I would be really excited about leaving Doha but I find that expected sensation severely tempered by the realization that we are leaving some really good friends behind. I am so glad we have the Internet; it makes the world so much smaller.
On top of that, I have really gotten used to the “ex-pat” lifestyle. I know I complained a lot but there are some real positives (Doha just isn’t one of them), most importantly the other ex-pat’s. The people who go ex-pat tend to have a bit more of an adventurous spirit, they like meeting new people, trying new food, seeing and experiencing foreign cultures. They all feel the typical 9 to 5 work week in their home country would be hard to go back to, and they have gotten used to friends coming and going, whether it’s just an extended vacation or for good. It’s not the lifestyle for everyone, and maybe not me on a permanent basis but it sure has been fun “trying it on” for size. I treasure all the new experiences, all the people, sites, smells and tastes of the past two years, and although RD and I were here together our experiences were different in many ways. He worked and had regular contact with colleagues, while I struggled on a daily basis to find new friends, to figure out how to find things in a country with no addresses, and to find things to occupy my time while I was alone.
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad:
whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive,
we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
- John le Carre
Who knows what the future will bring…for now we are going home to Montana.
October 10, 11, & 12, 2009
After arriving at Dulles Airport and renting a car we drove to the other side of the beltway to stay with our friends Walt & Thea (the people we met up with in Botswana). The traffic was a nightmare because we arrived at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon. I definitely do not miss that part of living in the city! We finally arrived at about 7:30.
After a day of rest we spent several hours at the Annapolis Boat Show. They did not have the brand of sailboat we are looking for but we were able to connect with a broker that had access to a used one we have been looking at over the internet. The good news – we really like the brand, the bad news – we have been looking for a 36 ft. and after being on one we realize we need a 38 ft. We really liked the guy who showed us the sailboat, so have asked him to be our broker and assist us in finding the perfect used 38 footer.
October 13, 14, & 15, 2009
RD dropped me off at my friend Peggy’s house on his way to the airport (he has a course in Florida for the next two days). What a joy to spend so much uninterrupted time with an old friend. Having not seen me in a while (and being an astute life coach and CranioSacral therapist with spot on intuition) she picked up on how much I have changed over the past two years living this “outside the box” lifestyle we have lived. She said I was much more direct, not as “black and white”, and more open to “not knowing”. I had felt these things myself but it was nice having it validated.
She did two CranioSacral sessions on me and I could feel my body just begging for more. I am really looking forward to doing this workshop as there is always some “hands on” kind of stuff.
October 16-20, 2009
I’m taking a workshop which combines Continuum (breath work and movement by Emilie Conrad) with CranioSacral Therapy (as taught by Suzanne Scurlock-Durana). I took an early version of this workshop about 10 years ago and absolutely loved it. As I mentioned before, I decided to take this course 11 days post-surgery and I am as sure now as I was then that this is exactly where I need to be.
Walking into the workshop was like falling into an old familiar “groove”, but in a completely different way of “being”. As stated before, I was always a “black & white” kind-of girl. That Lisa would have walked into and set her things down in a space next to someone, or in line with a row of people that was already forming. The new Lisa walked in and plopped herself down smack dab in the middle of the room, like an island. I suppose that’s why I wasn’t the least bit surprised when after “sharing” my experience after an exercise, which of course included my recent surgery, I became the center of attention for the next 10 minutes and was asked if I would be “a specimen” over the course of the week.
As the class ended I was thankful for listening to my intuition and bringing myself to this class…it truly was exactly what I needed. I think my outcome will be so much better for having been here these past five days. I am also thankful to Carol, the woman who graciously opened her home to three strangers for the duration of the class. Spending time with these three women, practicing together what we had learned in class, only served to make the experience that much richer.
October 21 & 22, 2009
Carol was going to a yoga class this morning so she dropped me off at the airport at 5:30 AM (thankfully, because I was worried about managing two suitcases and a carry-on with my 5# weight limitation). I arrived in Helena to find RD waiting for me in full “cowboy” regalia…a nice welcome back to Montana.
After 2 minutes of “settling in” RD started cracking the whip about getting my gear ready for the woods and sighting in my rifle. We are going into the Bob Marshall Wilderness, with Clancy, Justin and Dawn, for 8 days to hunt Elk and Moose. RD has been home since the 16th so he has all the food and gear (tent, sleeping bags, lantern, table, chairs, cooking gear, etc.) already packed and ready to go. The kids dropped off their sleeping bags, clothes and extra boots to add to the packs but didn’t stick around to help…typical. 
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