Dears,

This falls in the category of being neither here nor there.

The weeks are flying by. Why? I believe it may be because I am in two places at once.

My brain is still geared to the weekly schedule in the United States, where work takes place Monday through Friday. The weekend is Saturday and Sunday.

But here in the UAE, where my body resides, the work week is Sunday through Thursday with Friday and Saturday being the weekend.

On Saturday evenings, I feel cheated out of an extra weekend day. (Although I’m NOT working right now which means I don’t actually need a weekend. Indulge me.) Sundays come quickly but pass even faster. It’s like Sunday doesn’t really exist. Monday comes and we’re back on track. Tuesday and Wednesday seem normal enough. Then, voila, it’s Thursday and the weekend is upon us! Friday feels like we’re playing hooky.

On Thursday evenings, this hiccup in reality gives the impression of a four-day work week. But on Sunday mornings, suddenly you feel faced with a six-day work week. You are wrong on both accounts and you are unsettled by it. Every other Thursday or so, you even find yourself thinking hey, I have a three-day weekend, why don’t I fly somewhere just for a short holiday? Then you snap out of it and you have no idea what day it is.

The only place where time stands still is the treadmill, which I’m running on for an hour every day except Friday. Oddly, those 60 minutes feel like 120. But once I’m off the treadmill, I have an imagined extra hour in my day because I wasn’t actually on that god-forsaken machine for two.

Here’s how it all boils down: We’ve been in Abu Dhabi for nine weeks. In nine more, we’ll be flying back to the US.  Wether you’re there or here, we’re both at the half-way point now.

Hump week, as it were.

Love,

Nancy