Friday, January 20, 2012

Reasons for the BIG move..


1. This job opportunity for Paul is HUGE. It is a different field of law that he has been wanting to get into but due to the economy in the U.S. & his current law background would be impossible to attain. Experience, experience experience! & international experience is the icing on the cake.
Even though I have to give up my career for the time being, I am more than happy to be given the opportunity to stay home and be a mother (even though I have discovered that being a stay at home mom is HARDER than just going to work)  This is something I would have not been able to do if we decided against the move. 

2. SAVE SAVE SAVE. We will be able to save so much more $ for our future. Retirement, children's education are just a few of the HUGE future expenses.  

3. Tax break. Yes, working overseas gives us a HUGE tax break. I mean HELLOOOOOOOO keep most of what you earn rather than giving it to Uncle Sam? I'll take it!!

4. Life experience. How cool is it that we get to say, ya we lived in Kuwait at some point in our lives? Not a lot of people get to do that.

5. Travel. Due to it's geographical location we will be able to do lots of traveling (we hope).  We LOVE to travel so this is a great opportunity for us. Not sure how it will be with a baby but if there is a will, there is ALWAYS a way.

6. The U.S. economy...SUCKS. I'm glad we have the opportunity to leave it behind until it gets better. Ride out the storm as I say.

7. WHY not? I mean really...we can always come back right?

I'll add more as I remember.

















Wait what?! Your moving to Kuwait?! Your joking right? WTF WHY! No really...

This has been the reaction 99.9% of the time when I tell people I'm moving to Kuwait. Yes it's random, crazy, adventurous, scary, bizarre...but let me tell you why...or shall I say why not?

& the story begins...

This isn't something we thought would happen. Not something we looked for, hoped for or even dreamt of...it kind of just fell into our laps & it's one of those things we just HAD to do. When I say WE, I refer to my husband Paul & I. I consider us as one & many times will refer to us as WE. Everything we do, we do as a team.  So even though this is my blog, I will often be writing as WE.

OK, so let me explain the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, & HOW. Warning, This may get long & boring but I gotta explain!! You have to have the background of the story right?

This all started sometime in May. Actually I remember the exact time, just not the date. We were on our way to California for my cousin Areens wedding. We're driving to the airport when Paul receives a call from a recruiter. She introduces herself, tells Paul that she has his resume on file & was hired by a firm to fill a position in Kuwait as an attorney. As I'm listening to her speak about this firm & position I laugh in my head. Kuwait...hahaha ya right!! This Bitch is crazy! Anyways, she asks if Paul would be interested in interviewing, he looks at me & we both kind of just look at each other & are like, hey it doesn't hurt to talk to someone right?  BOOM...and the ball gets rolling.

SIDE NOTE ( I am 4 months pregnant at this time)

Not sure the exact events that happened but it goes something like this.  Maybe 2 weeks after the initial phone call a meeting time was set up. Someone from the Kuwait office would be in town & an interview was set up. Paul goes to this interview. I'm pretty sure it wasn't very formal, kind of just a meeting after work at a coffee shop or something like that. Meets with one of the partners (Phil I believe) & they kind of just discuss the type of work, the life in Kuwait, the experience, blah blah blah. Whatever was discussed in that initial meeting got Paul's attention because he comes home to tell me about it with a sense of excitement & intrigue.  Who gets excited & intrigued about a job, right?  Ummmmm in my head I'm like Kuwait? Really? I mean Dubai OKAY but Kuwait? I knew NOTHING about Kuwait. & the HUNDREDS of hours of research begin.  We need to be informed & educated right? I HAVE to be supportive right?

2 or 3 (can't remember) more interviews/meetings were set up. Each time Paul came home to tell me about it he was more & more wanting to do it. The more research we did, the more convinced & comfortable we became. I mean we did EVERYTHING we could to know what we would be getting ourselves into. We talked to so many people, researched so many websites and digested so much information.  One of the biggest assets we have had so far is an old friend of Paul's (Rami) who has been in Kuwait for years, has lived, breathed, worked & experienced Kuwait. We are so thankful to him for all he has done & helped with.  And then the offer came....

I'll never forget that day. It was around the first of July. Paul received an e-mail offer. We were in the parking lot at Target when we opened it. CRAP, we have 7 days to accept or reject. Really... 7 days to decide our fate?! And the countless hours of sleepless nights begin. What if this, what if that, what do we do with the house, cars, our FAMILIES! FRIENDS..omg omg omg omg OMG we're having a BABY in 3 months!!!  I panic & have major anxiety. Yet a sense of excitement & a once in a lifetime opportunity calms me. I've never been so emotionally drained...wait... yes I have as in 3 months I give birth to our first child, say bye to my husband 20 days later & begin packing our life away in the States. How I managed to do so much in a short amount of time with a newborn still amazes me. Without our family & friends help & support I would of literally had a nervous breakdown. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?

Seriously I could write a book on how much stuff has to be done to prepare for a HUGE move like this. And til this moment we are still doing things. So now I bet you are wondering what on earth made us decide to go...




















So...Who is the REAL Housewife of Kuwait?! & What's her deal?

Ehm ehm ehm...an introduction please!!!

My official name is Jomana Fakhoury Saba...it should be Jumana (Jewww-maa-naa) but my parents are weird for spelling it that way. I'm over it. I am 29 years old, married to my darling of a husband (when we are not fighting) Paul Saba & we just had our first baby on 10-11-11. She is our heart, soul, reason for living. We named her Victoria Salam Saba, I've nick named her ViVi & she's just SO DAMN CUTE!!!

My BABY the day after she was born!
ViVi <3

Proud Mama!
I was born in San Bernardino, California & grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
Rancho is a GREAT place to live & I miss it everyday.  I am the oldest out of 5 children. Yes 5!! Now that I have a child of my own, I can truly say that my mother was CRAZY for having so many children. As crazy and difficult to have so many children, I loved having such a large family. God willing I can have a large family of my own. I keep going back & forth as to how many more children I want..depending on the day LOL.  I have 2 sisters & 2 brothers & LOVE & adore them all. I'm super close to my family & are so lucky to have such a COOL & supportive family.  I have a bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.  My career background is in insurance & finance. I am taking a break in my career to be a mother, full time wife & The Real Housewife of Kuwait! 

I met Paul in the summer of 2008 & our courtship led to marriage fairly quickly. We were engaged on March 28, 2009 & Married on November 14, 2009. I love him. I can truly say we are meant for each other. We compliment, supplement & support each other. He is my best friend. Well he shares that title with my sister Hadil..hehe

Our Engagement Party 3-28-2009
Our Wedding 11-14-2009
With my marriage led me to my first BIG move. I left the dreamy life of California for the not so dreamy life of Farmington Hills, MI. But I have  met some AMAZING people here, made some great memories & LIFE LONG FRIENDS. I miss you guys already. 

I am getting ready for my next BIGGER move. I'm moving to Kuwait!
So whats the deal...

I decided to Blog about my move, life overseas, experiences & whatever else I felt like. I think it will be cool to look back on my adventure & document it. 
My life has been so crazy these past 2 years & can only imagine how much crazier it's going to get. I can't believe how much has happened in such a short time span. It's been a lot of ups & downs but am thankful & blessed. 

Paul has been in Kuwait since October 30, 2011 getting everything all ready for us. He left when ViVi was like 20 days old and we are reuniting as a family in Michigan on 1-27-2012! I'm so excited!! God I can't believe it's been so long!

EEEK!!