Goodbye Kuwait!

I woke early and messaged the woman who looked at my flat. She hadn’t spoken to her husband, but yes, she’ll take it. I contacted my new employer, despite not signing the contract. She assured me Oman was stable and said she’d look into flights. She got back to me, the airport was closed, we can’t book. Yes you can I said, and they did. I’m leaving at 10pm so I have 10 hours to pack up my apartment. It’s crazy but given I have had no work for a month and am freelance, I’m leaving to get paid employment rather than lose this opportunity, for who knows how long it’ll be before I work again. Sent a WhatsApp to a few friends to come say goodbye and help me pack. My dear friend, M, pictured, came right away and together we got my bags packed, moved the kitchen stuff into my room and emptied cupboards and drawers in readiness for the removalist in some date in the future. Hugs and tears when he left. A big part of my life in both Cairo and Q8. Had to cancel my rental contract, organise the new tenant to talk to the owner etc. N came with lunch, people came and left, or messaged. More hugs and tears. So sudden for all of us. Grateful for the kindness and support of many. More farewells and then headed to the airport at 6.30pm. Tired, crying, overwhelmed. I’m leaving! My lovely caretaker waved goodbye, he’s been there since day 1. I’ll miss him, and despite the language barrier, we get along well.

The airport was busy, the queue was long. A friend called and we chatted, we’d not been able to say goodbye.. My plea to avoid excess baggage was ignored. Where is your return ticket? You need one, especially now. A quick dash to the travel agent, then excess baggage. Back to check in and on my way. Cleared immigration quickly and joined the queue to board. It took a while and we left late. I arrived too late in Doha to make the connecting flight but we’d been moved to the next one. First time with Qatar Airways, it won’t be the last.. boarded at 2am.. arrived 4.30am.
Goodbye Kuwait; there will be some special people missed very much.. but I’m ready for a change and a challenge. The good friends will always be there. What a day! But I’m lucky to have this opportunity in these oh so strange times.