Rebecca grew up in the UK but currently resides in Dubai – a city I would really love to visit one day. Rebecca stumbled upon my blog about a month ago, which is how we got chatting! This young woman has had a lot of wonderful opportunities which brought her to where she is today, and I have to say she definitely has her whole life ahead of her.

I’m a 23 year old wife to David, editor, writer and expat and the owner of Revkah. I grew up in Leeds, United Kingdom, in the comforts of our Yorkshire family home. I moved to Liverpool for my university education, and then made an even bigger move to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with my architect hubby. Now I write about living as an expat in Dubai both professionally and on my personal blog!

You have hot pink and yellow spotty socks. Love them, hate them, put them on your hands or put them on an elephant’s ears?

Oh my, I’d absolutely put them on my hands. I have a three year old niece who has a wild imagination, and I often like to entertain her by putting socks on my hands and play sock puppets. It’s hugely entertaining watching a child have a full and comprehensive conversation with four fingers and a thumb.

What country have you never visited but believe you will fit in there perfectly and thoroughly love?

I’d have to say Australia to this one. Simply because the expatriate inside of me is eager to experience a country where a huge population of Britons have upped and moved to, to build their futures. Plus it’s a country filled with history, exotic animals, huge bungee jumps and sky diving so it sounds like my desired adrenaline-filled place!

What was an ‘a-ha!’ moment you had as a child – or if not as a child, as an adult – that makes a humorous and almost embarrassing story now?

I wouldn’t say they’re so much “a-ha!” moments, but my brain does tend to make up words that don’t really make sense when I’m trying to get my point across. My husband and family call them “Rebeccanisms”, and have even threatened to make a short book out of them there’s that many. For example, I remember as a teenager my mum hit the car brakes while approaching some traffic lights, but my iPod fell out my hands and I exclaimed “oh no, it’s killerfied! Not sure exactly what my brain meant then.

Oh, and I was convinced that Walt Disney was not a man involved in animation who has won over 20 Oscars at a quiz night one time. Yeah, I bombed on that question. I thought it was too obvious..! Duh!

What one company have you, or would you, instantly boycott, and for what reason?

I boycotted the local garden centre back in my home town of Leeds in the UK for quite some time; my little sister was terrified of animals, and the garden centre always, always had a cat laid sleeping near the tills at checkout. Not to mention my mother and I also have cat allergies. I once asked if they would move it, as my sister was in distress, but they wouldn’t. It was the cat’s home, which I respect. But I could never quite understand why they were not able to put their customer’s needs first; isn’t it safe to assume that quite a lot of people could be allergic to cats? Or scared? I don’t know.

If you had a broken vinyl record player, an empty suitcase, a giant cushion and a bag of filling beans for a beanbag, how would you entertain a talking purple cat?

I’d assume that the cat was purple because it had accidentally fallen into some sort of horrible sewage water, which would ultimately earn it its nickname, ‘Smelly Cat’. As a result, I’d feel compelled to transform into Phoebe Buffay with my broken vinyl record player in the empty suitcase for easy transport. Then I’d lay the giant cushion down for Smelly Cat, and I’d gently place my bottom on the bag of filling beans – pretending it was a beanbag. We’d both relax while I serenaded the purple cat with the song, Smelly Cat.

We’d both have a bath afterwards, of course.

If you could add or take away one day from the week, what would you choose?

I’d take away Wednesday. Living here in the UAE, Wednesday generally has no meaning. I mean, Sunday is the start of the week. Monday still has that Monday feeling for all of us who still consider Monday as the start of the week, despite having lived in the UAE for so long. Tuesday is hump day over here in the Middle East, Thursday is the weekend. And then of course, Friday and Saturday follow and nobody hates them because they’re weekend days! So Wednesday. I’d take away Wednesday.

Would you rather walk on dry warm sand, or walk on wet sand with the ocean flowing between your toes?

Wet sand. Every day. I’m blessed to live only a few minutes’ walk from the beach here in Dubai Marina so I get to lather my toes up in wet sand and sea foam as much as I please!

Would you rather have long toenails or long fingernails?

Long fingernails – I’m a fan of the classic French manicure, so the longer the better. Helps me to reach those notes on the piano, too.

Would you rather give up the internet for two weeks, or have no mode of transport (except walking) for two weeks?

This is a difficult one for me to answer; having no Internet would mean not being able to Skype my family or friends in the UK for two whole weeks. On the flip side, having no mode of transport except walking would mean I’d have to haul my backside through the desert and back every day to get to work. I suppose I have the means to call and text my family and friends via my phone contract, so I’ll say I’d rather give up the Internet for two weeks. Because walking in forty degrees centigrade heat for longer than ten minutes is nightmarish.

What animal would you love to have as a pet that isn’t a common pet?

This might earn me some frowns, but I’m talking hypothetically. I remember as a child asking Santa Clause for a pet dolphin, as my dream job at the time was to be a dolphin trainer. I was obsessed with dolphins – I still have a love for them, but I no longer have dolphin t-shirts, pens, bags, headbands etc. But yes, obsessed. Anyway, I vividly remember asking Father Christmas to please dig up our back garden, deep enough so the dolphin would have enough room to swim. I clearly thought it was perfectly doable at such a young age. Of course now, I understand that it is completely NOT appropriate or right to dig up a garden and let a dolphin live there.

You are wearing an expensive pair of shoes, are carrying an expensive bag, and you are wearing an expensive floor-length dress, too. For argument’s sake, you love everything you are wearing. You are dressed like an absolute princess! Everything is sparkly, your dress and bag are white, and you are walking through a city where everyone is dressed up. You are carrying no money but a pink panther dressed in a black suit taps you on the shoulder and asks you to give up either the shoes, bag or have your dress cut to a length above your knees.

You know I have to be honest, I Googled what a pink panther was. I had images of a pink fluffy big cat approaching me on the street. Moving on from that embarrassing admission… I’d happily allow him to cut my dress to above knee length. After all, you may be able to see the expensive pair of shoes much better! I’m assuming I’m in Dubai at this point, at which shortening a dress would be beneficial to maintaining my body temperature, too. I’m practical, you see!

If the pink panther asked you to have coffee with him instead of giving something up, would you accept?

Sure why not. Like my Father says, it’s not what you know… It’s who you know.

You are riding in a small boat and there are many leaves in the water with different types of food on them. There is a hole in your boat and the boat is slowly filling up with water. You need to eat something off the leaves to stop your boat from sinking but you have few choices: a lemon, a jalapeño and a raw egg. Which one do you eat?

Lemon. Every time.

If you had to colour your hair a different colour to what it is now, what would you colour it?

Oh, this is difficult because I love being blonde. I recently toned my hair grey, however. So if I had to choose, another colour I’d love to try would be a teal. You know like when Hilary Duff dyed hers? She looked like a mermaid!

Last but not least, what is one thing you wish you did before moving to the UAE?

One thing I wish I had done? Lost weight. People really aren’t lying when they say you put on the infamous “Dubai Stone”. Or in my case, two. It’s so easy to get caught up with the ease of ordering a take-away here because everything delivers. And I mean, everything… McDonald’s, Nandos, KFC, even Yo! Sushi. So now I’m two stone heavier and I can’t get my wedding ring off. So my target over the next few months is to lose that additional weight.

You can catch Rebecca at:

• Revkah.com