Less than a week until India....

Hi guys - hope everyone is doing ok. Life here is much the same with me - and I am still coughing (from my long lasting virus) - 7 weeks on - another two trips to the Dr and I think my latest steroid inhaler seems to be doing the trick! I have been attempting to exercise - still teaching of course - but it starts off coughing fits - so not been doing too much exercise really and desperate to get back into it!

Went on a trip to Nariyah the other weekend - I was a tour escort on one of the buses - we visited a market and then went for lunch and sat around Arabic style eating. It was a good, but long day. I even made it out that night - went to a Halloween party - it was ok but due to the 5am start for the trip I was home by 11.30!!!

I had another trip to the dentist to get a crown fitted - the initial visit was pretty awful but they are now made and hopefully I will have my new teeth fitted either Thursday or Saturday! I have also been busy in the week catching up with friends, running PAWS erands and getting spray tans done! We have the Marine Ball this weekend at the US Consulate so my latest orange glow is in preparation for that. One of the new girls, Nicola, is also a trained hair and makeup person so we are getting the full works this year! Looking forward to it...

Last weekend was also busy - we had Carol's retirement party - she has been a major part of PAWS for the past few years and is a big loss - she will be missed. Also went to another leaving party (there are alot of those going on at the moment) and Thursday to Bahrain for hair do, nails and then lunch at Trader Vics. Caught up with some Bahrain mates there, then came home, got changed and went off up to Sara for the Children in Need Charity Night. Had a good time up there too - catching up with folk. Friday James came over and we just did some running about and got some tea later.

There has been uproar this week as quite a few girls have been refused entry to the coffee shop opposite where I live. Basically, its a fenced off area with the Tandoori restaurant, Cafe Nejaar and the library all enclosed in there and you have to go past security to get in. Some of the security staff have been saying that the girls are not appropriately dressed even tho they had nothing out of the normal on for what we wear on Aramco (its not like we go walking around in bikinis - even though we are on camp - we are still respectful to some degree) - so its caused alsorts of issues but is, I understand, being dealt with. Aramco is, primarily, a camp for Westerners and what happens inside the walls of the camp is unique to Aramco. Anyway, I hear that things like this usually kick off every few years and then it dies down!!! Its just something else for us to get wound up about!!

Anyway, off to India next Sunday - going to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur - looking forward to that - it will be a cultural experience... and then after that its my birthday (where did that year go?) and 3 weeks after that I will be in the UK for Christmas...

Thats all for this time. Speak to you soon,

xxx