lizzet

 Where were we?.....welcome back ..... 7. Independence What independence? It's extremly hard to be independ, life is more to depending on others, i'm the kind that can sit in the park and read a book, write my blog, so long as theres good weather! The kind that can really enjoy themselves. Own time is available but not enjoyable, you cant just sit alone in the park, its awkward and scary! Just sit there alone all covered! Picture that! you can go to the malls alone but you feel abit strange after 30 minutes, you don't know if you walk into religious police and stuff! Plus you got to take a cab so it's always cheaper to have friends along, just for some sense of security, life's sad when you don't feel fully capable! Not for all but for me and my kind of people. 8. Prayer Time! #sigh# 11am Ring...ring... Salam aleikum... Blablablabla.. For english, press 1, sorry, all our agents are out for prayer, please call again later! When you are in a shop at 330pm trying t...

Wow! It's been 9 months of my 1 year contract in Saudi! I have to say i applaud life for showing me my survival base and how far i can stretch, I did not give up, even though i felt like it so many times.  This journey has changed my view of life! It has given me an opportunity to be thankful and to not just take things for granted! I have seen and learnt that the world is extremely unfair depending on how you view things and where you come from. The things i deem unfair and crazy are someone else's gratitude, having lived here for that time has given me a lesson that i would never get from any other place in the world.So if you ask me if its an ideal place for you, read through and make your decision. These are my personal views, i will try and give it all due fairness... 1. Money/Holidays/Shopping 98% of expats in SaudiArabia are here for the money. For a country so strict and closed, they have to give that extra boost to attract employees. Second, they are too rich to go to ...

When you are born in a small town in central Kenya, swimming is not a considered sport when you are growing up! It is not a need, it's unnecessary, expensive sport considered for the rich! So I only got to learn to swim in a pool as an adult,and I will not swim in a pool if my toes won't touch the floor! I need to know I can stand in case of anything that could lead to drowning hahahaha, or let's just say it's for the sake of my sanity! They tell you that it's all in your head, and you know it's in your head but how do you treat your head! wee.better safe than sorry? The only way I will swim in a deep pool is only when my partner is in it or the diving squad is around and in uniform:-) When I set out on a boat trip deep in the Red Sea, my plan was not to snorkel, my plan was to wear my bikini, lie out in the yacht, eat, drink(water I mean), take photos and act rich at least for a day. Bikini under the abaya, wide hat, sun glasses, all my sun block lotions,...

I tell you, it was a good day! We borrowed my friends husband for the day, rented a car and he had no choice but to drive us all day! Thank you Sami, it seems you had to fly all the way here for us to get to go on a road trip! We could have helped you drive but well.. you understand...! oh don't be so shocked! We also took the wife with us, but only because she was the one carrying the marriage certificate and my look and the name in that certificate don't match!, our other friend wouldn't have passed that test either. We set out insearch of a lake! The fact that there is a lake in this desert that I haven't heard of in the last 6 months got me excited! I love water bodies, and they are scarce in deserts! On our way there, we saw squad bikes and the inner child was allowed to come out, mine though was still asleep! They woke me up early on a Saturday but it was worth it!  After the children had played for an hour, we continued! Set with google map and directi...

I am  annoyed right now, i mean! do people just  decide to have some fun and test the fire alarm without giving residents notice? You don't want to know the scene that i was, with my 4 knots (matuta!), shorts and tatas not secured! i shot out like them Kenyans in Beijing, by the way, congratulations! some of these moments when we are all proudly Kenyans!. I see the fire escape stairs on a daily basis but today for some reason they had been moved, i couldn't find them, i was like a scared chicken not even knowing if am running towards the Fire!, and the Fire, fireman i mean was standing there smiling and telling us to calm down it was just a test! What! i could have thrown him 4 floors down, anyway, i made my small noise like a kikuyu woman, and while at it, i realized that my state was not at most appealing, face down, walked back to my room, i was shaking for at least half an hour after that, i am not the kind of people who think of facing death fiercely, i would rather not ...

Dear Kenyan sexual minority, The world has watched as your president  labled you as a non-issue! Even if he said his government is committed to Human rights for all its citizens, it's not for citizens like you... Even if you wake up every morning, spend all your day at work, pay your taxes, help your communities, contribute to charities, help out the poor, so long as your sexual orientation is not straight you are a non-issue... Even if he said he will commit to protecting the girlchild and support women, if you are a woman of sexual minorities, that was not for you, you are a  non-issue...  But, hold up, hold up those pills you are about to swallow, hold back the rope.. No don't jump over the bridge cos you know what? You are an issue, that's why that question came up, cos there was an issue.. An issue being ignored and banned down because of many other issues including religion and cultures.. You know what, there are lots of non-issues in the history of human rights tha...

Okay Single ladies, lets just get one thing straight, being single does not give you the title Miss independent and being the actual Miss independent doesn't guarantee that you necessarily have to be single. This is not an attack on single women but truth be told am tired of hearing this term "am single and don't need anyone!" and then go on to tell us how you are miss independent because you have no man around to keep you on your toes, you can do whatever you want without having to be answerable to someone. You have the wrong idea about your status as a single woman. Not being single does not necessarily mean that there is someone on the other side barking out rules and orders, it could simply mean there is someone on the other side waiting to hug you after a tough grey day, waiting to make you a cup of tea after you get home from work, someone simply to share this journey with. Don't look at us married women or us in relationships like we are not ind...

Where is home? My trigger to writing this blog comes from the stares i get and the kind of amazement i see in people's eyes when they ask me where home is and i mention a country i was not born in.The quick thought that runs through their heads that is clear on their faces and for those whose words run faster than their brains, who actually look at you like you did not understand them and go again like, 'i mean, where do you come from?'. The dilemma is on most of us who have left our native homes and found or made a home out of our native. There are no Kenyan nurses working in this institution so i am tired of people assuming that i am American or British because that is where most black nurses are from. There are South African nurses but i look nothing like a South African and no one has even asked me if am South African. The moment i say Finland, there is this vibe i get from people's spirits, facial expressions or body language. A funny ignorant American guy was qui...

When i walk past all the black long Abayad women all covered up with their tight Hijabs, i long to know who/what lies beneath the Abaya! What lies behind those eyes. Before i came to Saudi, i used to think i could look into someones eyes and dig out their happiness, dig out their sadness. I know, sister magic! What a shrink! But thats mostly because i could still see the whole face, the shape on their lips and the wrinkles or fine lines on their faces. We all have some ability to see through people especially the people we have grown close to.  I walk past strange women now and through their eyes, i can figure out their innocence, their anger, their worry, their happiness. Their quiet character in public doesnt help much to uncovering them but sometimes it feels like we are not in the same world. And for sure we are not, i mean how can you be if all i have under my Abaya is a bikini and all they have is piles of clothes that make them look twice their size! I wonder what they see u...

3 months! Wow! I remember penning down, I mean typing my blog at the beginning of this trip. Times goes! Yes indeed! And now am on my way out for holidays. i am done with the mighty 90 days probation! This was a period they challenged us, checkedoff our skills, pressured our small heads with unnecessary information and you were not allowed to leave the Kingdom! By the way, i have no understanding why its a Kingdom. Whwn i think of Kingdom! Saudi doesnt come to mind. There's something about feeling stuck once you are told you can't get out!  but the conditions are done and as agreed! I can now jet out and in as I please! Feb 2015: taking on the journey. Well.., what did I miss most? Like I even have to ask! When you live in such a country, governed by strict Islamic law and where women have to be under male figures, you bow..I mean, even when you want to remove your own uterus! You cannot do it until your husband grants you permission!and the sa...

Sorry, did you expect the blog to be in Finnish. Voi että! It would take one year cos my Finnish writting skills are as good as my arabic! Imagine me writting a blog about coffee! bizzare! Never thought i would but of late i've been missing the smell of coffee in the mornings, i have come to accept that its divine! That smell! In my house! In our coffee rooms at work! It just brightens the day! And for many,  that first sip could be good or bad news, ask me first hand cos a good cup of coffee determines my partners day and that affects mine as well, so as she sips her first sip! My heart is in my mouth, and when theres a smile in her face after that sip! I settle, and my heart drops back to place because Alas! we are gonna have a good day! Yes.. I see all of you wives, husbands, girlfriends , boyfriends and kids agreeing with me! High five to us who mitigate after seeing that smile... You know what i mean! Ha! What is it about that smell? It intriges me, its like a ...

Thankyou, Minna/ brightoneagle for Nominating me for a Liebstar award! I am honoured! Even if its an award that exists only in the internet, given by bloggers to other bloggers in aim to discovering small bloggers, i am truelly happy, because comeon! Even if my blog has over 3000 views, i wasnt actually sure if viewers do read it! For a random stranger, living all the way in Japan, to access a blog written in the MiddleEast, by an African woman who lives in Europe! I have to say internet is doing us justice as much as its the major cause of unhappy parents to what their kids have access to! I am glad we can share our views on life and get to read from others too. Anyhow, once nominated i have to follow the rules and give my honest answers to questions posed, and also pay it forward and nominate other small bloggers for this award which means alot to us who understand. So here are my answers and as honest as they can be:  1.  What is your favourite quote? To be honest, I have n...

Welcome back for no 2. Did i say i graduated and went looking for a job? Actually i lied, or my mind was faster than my brain, i had not graduated, i was done with all my school work and was writting the last paper, my thesis! Demn that thesis was stressfull!. I had decided i will take a month, sit home and get that thesis done, but this woman loves money,..well, who doesnt? So i did my online application for ICU and anesthetics and booked myself an interview! I got well dressed, put up some make up and some lipstick!. No, its not what you are thinking, i didnt even know a guy was gonna interview me! You crazy head! What you thinking? And no it wasnt red lipstick! I walked in again and recited my cv, then sat looking at this man, who figured i got good Finnish from what i had just said that he started asking serious questions, like what my goals are and what i can bring the the table! Njambi!.😨, weringie ne rwa nyarere( its up to you!).  Knowing a language does not necessarily mea...

Last week i had a young, chatty 7year old patient who was very engaging in conversation! She even asked where i am from not that she knew where Finland or Kenya is but nevermind, she knew Sweden so i just told her we neighbour them! Everyone knows Sweden! Aarrgh! Anyhow we were talking about how her british accented english highlighted my day, made me feel like a super Nurse! I know i am a great Nurse! Talk about blowing your own Whistle hahaha, but really i got really great appraisals from my former bosses that i carry with pride! But that day  i felt like a super Nurse knowledge wise and physically! You see, there was not abit of language barrier! Not from the Healthcare givers nor receiver! I took up my First job at an old people's home at only 6 months in Finland! Haha.. Yea i can hear you laughing! I had memorized my cv in the Finnish language! I did not even understand what i was saying, but i walked into that office, told out about myself! Recited everything out like a poem,...

I  came across this advert on Facebook and my brain boiled up! My first reaction was why? Why would anyone pay 2000 ksh and VIP 4000 ticket to sit and chitchat about natural hair? I mean whats the VIP ticket for cos if you can afford 2000 for hair chat event!, you can truelly afford 4000.  After much amazement and thought, i figured they are up for a tough task! And well intended for that matter, so just forget my first paragraph!, except for the prizes! It should have been free, because only a certain class of women can afford that and if you are trying to encourage a majority.. Well.... I imagine their intentions are to encourage black women to go back to their beautiful natural look and to come,see and find some encouragement on going natural and letting out their Jezebel! I mean their AFRO's! What is so special about black hair that women are being encouraged to keep it natural! To be honest! Nothing!The problem is, you will hardly find 1 out 10 women walking the streets i...