There are lots of reasons why I love living in the UAE but
I am slightly ashamed to admit to one of them: I get much more "help"
here than I did in the UK.
"Help"? I hear you ask, “what do you mean?” Well, I feel shameful saying it- I suspect partly because I know I have developed “ex-pat brat” syndrome - but basically, I don’t need to do any of the menial tasks which, frankly, have never given me any joy (or I have never been very good at!): cleaning, ironing, packing my shopping, unpacking my shopping, washing my car and even putting petrol in my car.
If the car needs petrol, I pull into the petrol station and utter the phrase “full special please” then, a lovely little man in blue will come and fill up my car and clean my windscreens. No cash? No problem! The card machine is brought to my car window, interrupting my listening to the radio only briefly.
"Help"? I hear you ask, “what do you mean?” Well, I feel shameful saying it- I suspect partly because I know I have developed “ex-pat brat” syndrome - but basically, I don’t need to do any of the menial tasks which, frankly, have never given me any joy (or I have never been very good at!): cleaning, ironing, packing my shopping, unpacking my shopping, washing my car and even putting petrol in my car.
If the car needs petrol, I pull into the petrol station and utter the phrase “full special please” then, a lovely little man in blue will come and fill up my car and clean my windscreens. No cash? No problem! The card machine is brought to my car window, interrupting my listening to the radio only briefly.
It's only been 2 years, but and I don’t think I can even remember how to switch on the hoover or iron and I have trouble finding cleaning products in the house- this is all thanks to my lovely maid, Sheryl, who comes once a week.
I must admit I find these things wonderful after struggling to pack my shopping fast enough in Asda, people in the queue “tutting” behind me. It's not that these things are so terrible to do yourself, just so much nicer if someone does them for you.