I revel in having the time to do some swimming training. I decide that the worst of the sun will have passed by 5 pm so three to four times a week I swim 4 kms mostly doing backstroke. One day, weeks after arriving, I notice sun damage from my activities and vow that with all the samosas I am eating I will have to exchange swimming for gym.
It is suggested to me that I will meet other expats in the air conditioned comfort while exercising and watching cable TV. It sounds good but I soon realise that not many people use the gym. I go at different times and finally catch someone to talk to. Fortunately she is pinned to her machine with earphones which she patiently takes out to have a lively chat with this new expat.
She explains that she too is on a "dependant visa" but if people ask she says she is studying. She explains her struggles to get a work visa while her partner works weekends and long hours. Apparently peoples' attitude change when they realise she is not gainfully employed.
My writing keeps me fairly busy but not as much as I would like.
I return to an expat organisation looking for ideas. Volunteering seems like a good idea and I seek to explore options. I visit the hospital across the road and they invite me to a function they are having to mark breast feeding week. I feel strange, new and my efforts to find out what time I need to arrive prove difficult. I contact an organisation called Orphan Care but they do not return my emails.
Undeterred I try Mahjong and realise that I have a bad attitude to the rules of the game and the other members could well do without my opinions which so far I have managed to keep to myself. How long I can keep myself in check is not guaranteed. I exit gracefully to try my hand at something else.
What will it be next week? Surely at some stage, I will have to keep to something...
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