Friends in 'need'

As the temperature dropping into lower degree the weather starts getting cooler. No more hot breeze, no more humidity. It is now very pleasant to go outside for a walk or just to have a fresh air. This is certainly not a big deal if you live in a tropical country. But to have such a lovely air like this on these days in a dessertly area where we currently stay, it is surely a ton of blessing. Unfortunately there is not any playground or some park where the kids can go to play. What we have is a two story mall, a common pool for everybody living in the area (series of apartments and villas) and a green golf course, which luckily I can see all of them from our nice little apartment.

The swimming pool is the main view from our dining area. I follow almost every activities carried out in that place. I can even memorize almost everyone who comes for little swimming or sunbathing, including their timing. I am not a stalker but I can not help to not looking into that area and see what is going on. The fact is most of them are mothers. Not only mothers, but full time foreign mothers with babies. I can tell this from the timing they spend in the pool and the kids that are always with them. And this is a small piece from our neighbourhood that I can get myself related to. I am a foreigner in this country, I am a full time mother with two kids, I am just what they are in that way.

These mothers, they do not mingle with eachother. Each one of them has their own favorite spot where they pull the pool chair to, lay the towel and just be there for hours watching their kids splish-splashing. However, despite their individuality in one same area, I would love to be part of that. I can sense a small chance of getting some friends in that pool, not only for me but also for the kids. Just small yet worth to try.

So I go there once or twice a week. Get the kids along with me. My goal is not only to give my self a friend but also to give my kids some friends. But, sadly to say...no matter how common our situation are, getting friends is not as easy as flipping hands. It is very hard for me to start a conversation. Mostly is because the distance between pool chairs. Also I have to keep my eyes on my kid that is in the swimming pool. The only friendship that I am getting is as close as saying Hi and How are you when we pass on eachother. That's all. And for the kid, my 2 years old son has no problem in interacting with other children, the only thing is that there is language barrier. But kids are always kids. They just get along like that even though they don't speak in the same language.

Now that the weather is cooler in the afternoon, everyone starts coming on mid-day, which is a problem for me because mid-day is so sunny. Not only sunny, but literally hot-baking-burning sunny. I don't like it. I don't like getting tan, I don't like getting sunburned. So now that the chance has gone downsized a little bit, the question is: how am I going to conquer this sunburn issue to be able to extend my chance of getting some mothers friend.