Thanksgiving Maidan Hawalli, Kuwait 2009

Sorry that this post is out of sequence. I saved it as a draft and not a post when I originally wrote it...

The weather is colder here and it does rain. The rain however is dirty water and leaves everything coated in a dingy brown. I was very excited the first time it rained until I discovered this. I think that if the rain cleanses the air that way then my respiratory system must be subjected to some pretty aweful air quality. Dust from the sands and pollution from the cars (yes, they still drive all the SUV's and gas guzzlers here) makes a significan impact. I had heard that Kuwait has the largest carbon footprint of all Countries. I wouldn't be surprised. It is a very small country with a very large population and an even larger automobile population.

Kuwaiti culture is very curious and surprising to me. I really didn't know what to expect before I came and I'm not even sure if words could adequately explain it. My "Western View" has trouble interpreting it because while parts are very Western in appearance, other parts are so foreign to me that I have difficulty maneuvering through what seems to be acceptable practice. I have to continually remind myself  "This is not the US" and that I should not have expectations that I would have in the US.

I went to Dubai last weekend and voluteered at the Race to Dubai Golf Tournament just for a change of pace. It was a pleasant enough, experience. I was surrounded by Europeans and Americans and I felt like I was picked up and plopped down into a different culture or Country altogether. It didn't give me much time to explore Dubai, but in my journeys around the city I was certainly struck by the vastness of the incomplete and seemingly vacant construction  and road projects everywhere.  The hundreds of monolithic towers that have construction cranes sprouting out of their innards that are vacant shells with "To Let" signs posted everywhere. Business are vying for your foreign currency. I myself didn't have much to contribute. I returned to Kuwait to see the press release stories of the financial crisis in Dubai and how it was hitting financial markets around the World. It was fairly obvious to anyone passing by, so I was surprised that this was such a shock. I guess workers there have returned home in droves. I was told by one cab driver that a year ago it would have been difficult to find a hotel room for any price or a taxi to go anywhere. I learned to maneuver fairly easily while I was there as I relied a lot upon the very nice metro system they have, however many of the metro stations are not completed either.

I didn't really take many photos because Dubai reminds me of a giant "Movie Set" I was wanting something more authentic and real and to me it is the prototype for "the tallest", "the biggest" "the grandest"... I guess I have to go to Oman or Syria or Jordan for "Authentic" I have been told, or to Abu Dabi for culture and art. Dubai is a place to see in the same vein that Las Vegas is a place to see.

Friday Dec 4th

I just got back from brunch. We went to a restaurant called Sass at the Radison. It is extremely nice. It is close to the Embassy and a place where a lot of business and government travellers stay, so there is quite a bit of security.

A group of us go to various restaurants on Fridays each week and it is a nice way to start out the weekend which for us is Friday and Saturday. We do it European style in that we usually spend a few to several hours just talking, asking questions, and sharing experiences, stories etc. I really look forward to it each week. I like that there are veteran teachers who can give you a sense of balance and insight into what you might be going through personally with the culture shock, teaching challenges etc.

Now I am back at my apartment and while I have tons of school work I could be doing, I have decided that I should not be giving all of my time to the school and that I need to indulge myself in my little piece of life that goes on. My apartment can be very isolating also, so I am up for some sort of outing and adventure. I am not sure where I will end up, but feel the need to get out.

The weather while it is changing and too cold for the natives is very enjoyable and pleasant to me. I like that I can get out and walk. I like the feel of the brisk air. It is a good time to explore, because you can actually be outside for lengthy amounts of time. I do miss the change of seasons. Indian Summer in Colorado is usually gorgeous. We had quite a lot of rain last week. I was talking to our High School Counselor who has been here for 16 years? He said he had never seen it rain like that. The first few days it rains mud because it is cleaning the air of the dust, and pollution. After that if it rains long enough there is some clean rain that comes down. Initially It's like muddy backsplash on your windshields and windows. If you wear dark clothing and you are caught in the rain, you have dirty spots all over your clothing when it dries.

More later. My neighbor and I are off to the "Friday Market".

Decorating Ideas

In an earlier post I mentioned some of the less common furniture and clothing styles that you find in various locations. So to all of my decorating divas out there: Yes, you Joyce! I thought I would share these with you just for inspiration.

Ready for the weekend...

The ladies above are friends of mine from school. From left Tehmina a Pakistani American. She is a US Citizen and has lived in the US for the last 30 years. The lady in the center is Nazren and she is an Iranian American, and the younger girl to the right is Sasha and she is from Minnesota. They are all very nice ladies and a lot of fun!

The work weeks here are Sunday through Thursday and I still really have a hard time with that. I'm always on the wrong day

We had professional learning days the last two days, and they are all the same the world over apparently. My goal is to get what I can out of them. My problem at this point is that it is usually too much information, and I am still trying to digest all of the newness of everything else.

I have been putting in some heafty days and usually don't get home until the evening and work at home until about 10:00. It's a good thing I don't have a tv, or I would probably get less done. My goal is to get things under control now so I don't get back-logged the entire year. Good luck right? Anyway, I try to keep some balance.

A group of us went to the Aware Center last night. It is a non-profit organization that has the goal of promoting positive relations between Westerners and Arabs by organizing social activities and information services related to Arab and Islamic culture. It was started by a woman and her husband . She is American turned Muslim and he is a Kuwaiti Muslim. The Aware Center hosts tours and arabic classes and trips etc. I'd kind of like to go to the camel races just to say I went. While I was there, I was talking to some of the women volunteers and it is interesting because you can ask them questions that you wouldn't just go up and ask someone else.

We got to play dress-up. Yes it was me in the photos, and yes I was smiling. Let me tell you, I am happy that I am not a native of some of these countries. I wouldn't do well with the clothing! I could be a woman in black in this climate for about 2 seconds. In a way though I see why they choose to dress the way they do. No plastic surgery, who cares what you are wearing, bad hair day, put on a few pounds? and sometimes anonymity is nice. From what I can find out, the Abaya and the clothing style has nothing to do with Islam. There is nothing in the Quran that says women must dress this way. It does say they expect women and men to both dress modestly. It is strictly representative of their culture. I believe it's roots are actually in early Byzantine, Christian culture. The traditional dress of nuns of course is very similar.

Muslim women from different parts of the world dress according to the culture in their countries.

One of the girls there was telling me that the sign of beauty in the Arab culture is in the eyes. Maybe that is why that is all some of them choose to show publicly. She was also showing us a lot of the natural cosmetics and natural applications used for various things such as deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes, hair color, coloring for the eyes etc. It was really interesting. They have had thousands of years to be able to discover these uses from a fairly limited environment.

Time Flys When You Are Having Fun!

October 13, 2009

Obviously since I haven't posted for awhile I am either lazy or busy. Rest assured that I am busy! It's pretty hard to get homesick because you have so much that you have to accomplish here at the school, but then when you have a break from school and nothing planned that's when time seems to drag.
It has been a chilly 100 degrees here all week. It is weird because you do get acclimated. It really does feel cooler to me from the insane temps a month ago. I haven't been checking the weather much but I looked today and I was surprised that the temps were still that high! My kids at school ask me to turn the ac off because they're freezing!
More later

I am into my second week back at school

Ramadan is over, Eid is over and now we are back in school until Thanksgiving. Here of course it is some other holiday, but it works out for everyone. The school and work weeks are Sunday-Thursday which takes some getting used to. I am glad to be back at work, because I had too much time on my hands the days we were off. If I had known of other opportunities I am sure I could have filled my days in more interesting ways.

The head of my department who is going on his 8th year here and another lady teacher going on her third year and myself went to four different furniture stores/antique markets on Saturday. We had a really good time.

The things in these stores were really nice and more ethnic. It is fun to see things that are not common at home. I really enjoy looking through the stores and markets that carry items from Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Tibet, India, Afghanistan, etc. While everyone else is at the malls I enjoy looking at things that someone mady by hand. Some of these items are really remarkable!

On the other hand I have also seen some very uncommon furniture, clothing and fabrics at some of the shops and the friday market. I personally find them unfathomable, but someone must buy them or they wouldn't sell them. I will try to include some photos. They look like something out of "Alice in Wonderland".

The girl in the photo is from Africa. I have forgotten her name, but I thought she was really pretty and had an interesting hair style. She of course is trying to get a visa and find her way to the US so she can join up with her brother, but it is very difficult for immigrants to get visas. I guess that is why so many come illegally.

Language classes

Ok so maybe it's time I learned a little Arabic. Who knows, it couldn't hurt could it?

There are a lot of people here who speak English well and some who only speak a very little bit of English, but I speak no Arabic and I am living in an Arab Country, so when someone doesn't clue me in to all of the details I might need to accomplish a particular task then I become frustrated. They speak English don't they? They should tell me everything I need to know ahead of time so that I won't encounter any potential problems. right? Wrong...

I find myself falling into this trap because there are so many people who speak English and there are signs and menus and information in English, but when something isn't spelled out for me then it is like someone else is falling short of the mark instead of me not being able to ask the right questions and to double check everything before I assume all is well.

Today, I take what I belive to be my residence card for Kuwait to the Western Union to wire some money home. The guy smiles and shows me his residence card which is different and tells me I need one like his. I don't know how to get one like his, and by the way, what is wrong with mine? He's pretty tolerant but tells me in his limited English that I have to come back and bring my passport with my work visa or wait until I get a card like his before I can wire money.

So I leave the mall trying to figure out what my id really is. For all I know it is an Insurance card or a fishing license or knows what, because it is all in Arabic and I can't read it.

You really find out what trouble making assumptions can get you into when language barriers are in place. Anyway, the guy at Western Union is probably still laughing because I show up with some ridiculous form of ID and think I am completely official and will be able to accomplish anything I wish to accomplish.

These are the trials and tribulations of living in another culture. Sometimes I am aghast at what I believe to be insensitivities on the part of someone else, but relizing that maybe I myself have been insensitive without even knowing it. I have had to reassess and realize just how grateful I am to that person who went out of his or her way to help me out when they didn't have to, or to the little girl in the mall who seemed to be interested in watching me and rewards me with a big smile amidst a sea of neutral expressions, and the young muslim, girl who strikes up a conversation with me to discover that we have very similar histories, and interests and values, or to the grandmother probably my age, playing with her grandchildren who connects and gives me a nod and a smile, and the cab driver from Bangladesh who tells you over and over America and Americans very good, very nice. You find that you become extremely grateful for these seemingly smallest gestures of kindness. You see you are a stranger in a strange land and it is very important to find the common threads that we share, and focus on experiences that make things ok.

It's probably not a bad thing to remember when people from other places come to my home and my country and they are at a loss for how to navigate the newness of an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar language, and unfamiliar culture. A smile, a kind act are small gestures, but they have huge importance at least for me.

The Corniche

I caught a taxi to the Marina Mall. they have a skywalk that crosses over to the waterfront so I walked along the Corniche to the Scientific Center. It was quite a walk.

When I got there, there were a lot of locals enjoying it. They have several theatres with an Imax and an aquarium inside so it is a good family outing.

It was almost sunset, so it was a good time of day to take pictures. I wish I had a viewfinder because I think I could compose pictures a bit better than looking at the screen in the back.

More Heritage Souk Snaps

More Girgian Photos

Girgian

In the middle of Ramadan there is a celebration for the children called Girgian. Basically children go from house to house singing and collecting candy . They are dressed in costumes of their culture. It is a bit like Halloween without the ghouls and ghosts etc.

These are some pictures of the elementary kids at school dressed for Girgion.

The Iranian Market

My apartment with makeshift coffee table from tray purchased at the Friday Market. Flowering plant purchased at the Iranian Market.

Rosewood stool purchased at the Iranian Market. Made in India.

Indian Stall at the Iranian Market.

Indian Stall at the Iranian Market.

I went to the Iranian market yesterday. It is called this because there are several Iranian (Persian) carpet sellers there and also other Iranian shops inside. There are a lot of Indian shops as well.

I like to go there to buy plants because they are healthy and I haven't found aphids or bugs on them. There is an amazingly huge plant souk as well which is blocks and blocks and blocks of plants, but I think they often come with critters attached.

I have been adding plants to my apartment, because it is a nice way to feel nature when most of nature here is sand. I try to buy flowering plants because they do double duty. I have a gardenia and a jasmine and a gorgeous red one that I can't identify.

I also bought a couple of inexpensive but nice rosewood stools at one of the Indian stalls. The young guy I purchased them from has some very nice rosewood furniture. When I was ready to go since it is not a regular cab pick up site, he went out to the road and waved a cab down for me and loaded my purchases. He told me not to pay more than 2 KD. Some of the people are so nice and really watch out for you. One of the Indian tech guys at school also said he would come in to town and take me to some of the shops less expensively and help me purchase, because he said as an American and because of my hair color many will automatically charge me
more because in the past they are used to the Americans having money and they can get away with it. You would think they would want repeat business.

Funny signs

This is for my friend Vroni:

The men of Kuwait must be the best groomed men imaginable. There are two barber shops on every block. What I find amusing is that the men's barber shops and womens hair salons are almost all named "Saloons". I'm thinking that you might try this in the US Vroni as business might even grow. You could consider a happy hour cut OMG! Even more ironic: Alcohol is illegal here (another reason everyone leaves when they have a break)! Maybe saloon is a subliminal form of advertising:)
I will post pics later as I have them at school.
Next door there is a large building that had a sign depicting "The Blinds Association" I wasn't sure if it is for Blind Individuals or people who sell Blinds, anyway, they took the sign down in the middle of the night and changed it to the 'Blind Association" and then decorated it with various Christmas tree lights to make it more festive for the Blind People:)

Heritage Souk

Carpet Repair man sewing a hanging sleeve on a carpet in Heritage Souk

Repair man's toolbox

I went to the Heritage Souk (old souk) downtown. It is kind of interesting as there are lots of booths, stalls, shops with everything imaginable for sale. There are quite a few men who sell Iranian carpets, some gold, money changers, clothing, perfumeries with custom perfumes, incense in the form of wood chips.

Incense is kind of expensive as the best come from specific trees in specific areas. You find it mostly in the perfumeries. The economy of the Middle East in the very early cultures thousands of years ago subsisted and built wealthy economies based upon the incense trade. Even Biblically the three wise men in addition to gold gave Frankincense and Myrrh to baby Jesus. These were both very valuable types of incense. In ancient times any one of the gifts would have been worth a small fortune due to the rarity of the item and the expense to bring it such great distances.

Across from the Heritage souk is the textile souk which has it seems: hundreds of fabric shops and tailors. I don't know how they all stay in business.

Most of the men here wear dishdashahs the white or sometimes colored traditional shirt dress with the head scarf of white or checked: called the shumagg or ghutra. I forgot to check into the tagiyah which holds the guys hair in place underneath. It's like a white crocheted cap, and finally the Ogal which is a black band that fits around the top of the head to hold it all in place (They let me try one on)! I went to price them at the souk today and they are about 5 KD for the entire outfit not counting the roomy boxer shorts or long cotton underwear they apparently wear underneath. If you are Kuwaiti it is probably even less. So for guys to to be able to dress comfortably for about $15-$17 I would probably do the same.

Also, most of the women wear Abayahs, the black garment that covers head to toe. Some also cover their face completely. Underneath they often wear traditional Arab clothing which are gorgeous long dresses with long sleeves and elaborate decoration, but here the Kuwaitis are more likely wearing the latest styles from the expensive, International designer market under their Abayahs. The local malls abound with clothing from Western Countries. Some women only wear the Hejab which is a scarf like head covering that does not cover the face, several of the girls at school wear the Hejab, but not all. Most do keep arms and legs covered, but like everywhere there are exceptions. I'm thinking that the Abayah would be good for bad hair days which I seem to have a lot of here because of the heat and it is so expensive to get your hair done. It does make you wonder though why men get to wear white and women black...hmm...? Men do wear darker colors in the winter months when it gets really cold!! for example the 60's! Personally I am looking forward to some of those chilly months ahead.