A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

Getting a haircut: - There's a lot of hair on the floor, but I look the same Grocery shopping: -The fruit and veg look "plastic": picture perfect, no dust, no dents -That's the most beautiful onion I have ever seen! -The minced meat doesn't smell meaty, the chicken doesn't smell chickeny -Is it me, or does this taste really good? Other shopping: -12 euro for a bottle of body lotion??? -53 euro for a haircut...AND I look the same?!? Watching TV: -Set to English with French subtitles please...If no English, then with French subtitles

I overslept this morning, thanks to our uber-advanced alarm clock. I got it years ago for S' birthday. It projects the time onto the ceiling - very useful, no fumbling in the dark. It even receives the precise time from radio signals; this worked in Angola too. But last week, when I took it out of the suitcase, I was dismayed to find that the LCD digital display was out of whack. Thought maybe it didn't like the French voltage, but this should be the same as the UK. Then thought maybe it was because I had left the batteries in but in reverse. Or that it had been thumped at some point. So I left it alone. Last night, decided to give it another try. Plugged in it and whey...! Back in business. Managed to set the time (the clock's manual is in the shipment). Turned the projector on. Went to bed, feeling chuffed. This morning, I was half an hour late for work because the time had been reset one hour behind, because of the damned radio signal! S had noticed but didn...

Here's a tip. When looking for an apartment in France, be careful if the heating is "collective", even if it is included in your rent... because it will be under the complete control of the landlord, who's only legally obligated to keep your apartment at a minimum 19 celsius!

...et nous avons déménagé! We have arrived and we have moved, yes! Finally, after one month in a hotel, we moved into our apartment. Our shipment should have arrived in France a few days ago and we should take delivery of all 75 boxes (hopefully!) next week. Needless to say, as with moving anywhere, it's been stressful. ESPECIALLY after S' bosses threw a spanner in the works on his first day: Congratulations, buddy! You've got a new job in Singapore! When can you leave? I kid you not. So we are going to Singapore in less than six months. Both of us were very disappointed about leaving France so soon. Especially since we'd spent so much time buying stuff for the flat and were starting to get excited about our new life here (must admit, had some reservations initially). S even had the apartment Asian-ised, he somehow got the maintenance department to put in a little "bum gun" in the WC! ...So if anyone needs info on how to return/cancel stuff from IKEA or ...

With everything that's going on, no more air freight from Yemen so our schtuff is going by sea. Our container will make its way to Hodeidah port on this truck...and off it goes, insya-Allah!

Another thought: Be careful when packing leather jackets - if they get creased, those creases will be hard to get out! (I nearly cried when I unpacked my leather jacket in Angola, even though the packers had put it in a coat box with other coats)

Taking a break from the packing. Thought I'd share some tips on how to prepare and pack for moves to difficult countries, based on my personal experiences of going to Angola and Yemen. Since I don't have children, I couldn't give you good advice on kid-related issues. A few months before the move, try to find out from friends/employees in the destination country: What is and isn't available, and what they recommend bringing. If the plugs/voltages mean that you can't bring your electronics (different voltages) or if you need to buy plug adaptors (just different plugs). If the voltages are different from your base country, I wouldn't advise getting voltage adaptors because apparently these "die" after a period of use and you may still risk damaging your equipment. If there are daily/regular power cuts, in which case it is recommended that you get a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for your computer equipment and high-end electronics (TV, stereo system, e...