Reflections after 5 weeks

On Saturday we head home for a couple of weeks which should be fun. Not really a holiday since we both have loads of meetings and I will be going into the office for the first time in 5 weeks since I've been on permanent holiday! I'm longing to see my family, friends and work colleagues, especially since I'll be able to share my birthday with my mum and we'll be able to take John's mum out somewhere special to celebrate her 80th which is at the beginning of October. The Eid holiday fell just right for us as everyone will be taking a few days off next week to celebrate the festival and the end of Ramadan so it's allowed us to take a longer trip than we'd originally planned - we've still managed to fill all of the time though!
So being very focussed on achieving things I've naturally been reflecting on what progress I've made since I arrived here. Well I've got the apartment more or less habitable with most furniture and kitchen equipment up and running and it's starting to look a bit more like home. Today's hiccup with the satellite had me wondering but it's all fixed now so we do have TV, telephone and all the main things you need to live comfortably despite the fact that I've singularly failed to get the internet connected.
I'm finding my way round the city with ease - more or less worked out where things are and how to get to places by bus and taxi or on foot and which shops to go to and the best restaurants - someone even stopped to ask me the way yesterday and I was able to tell them once I'd remembered which side of the road they were driving on! I've also developed a great affection for Abu Dhabi and I'm very proud to live here.
Professionally I've had three serious job interviews and have more meetings fixed up for October so hopefully I'm making progress there. I've made lots of lovely new friends which is quite amazing for me as I rarely have time to make friends with people who are not family or directly connected to work so that is a major step forward.
I hope that when I return I might have a functioning bank account though the jury is still out on that one!
Most of all I do feel that I am beginning to get a handle on the culture in a place which is moving forward so incredibly fast. Someone quoted something to me yesterday which I think is very relevant 'never forget that this is a developing country which looks like a developed one' - a handy piece of advice. Whilst people from the West worry a lot about human rights, the position of women in this society and freedom of speech my own experience is that this country is working really hard to improve in all of these areas and, whilst they aren't there yet, or likely to get there tomorrow, there is a will to learn and to embrace change that we could all learn lessons from. The people here are so keen to help out it brings tears to your eyes. I was coming back from the supermarket with loads of bags on an extremely overcrowded bus this afternoon. There was no room to move and getting off was almost impossible. The guys on the bus passed my shopping between them to allow me to get to the exit with all of my load - it was a wonderful experience. I must have had four conversations over the last few days with people about the importance of enabling women to realise their potential and take their place in the world of work and society so it's a topic on everyone's minds and I do hoep it's something I will be able to help with in some ways.
So quite a lot achieved but an awful lot still to do. I'm not in a position to comment as to whether I'm achieving my true purpose here - to make John's life easy and happy whilst he focusses on changing the world but I hope I am and he'd be unlikely to disagree, knowing me as he does!
Whilst I am dying to see my family and friends again I am not alogether sure about coming home just now. I am finally starting to relax and embrace Insha'Allah and settle down so I hope by coming back I don't find I have to start again at the beginning but hopefully not.
I see that I've also managed to make more than 20 postings on this blog in the few weeks I've been here so perhaps I can count that as one of my achievements!