We sold the house and then had to find another and then move and then get packed and leave for Kuwait. That all happened about the last month before I left. Hectic was the word. We did find a small house over by Patty Jewett Golf Course which is really cute and has a beautiful yard. Ali and Rosie are living there.
I was supposed to leave Colorado on the 14th of August, but didn't get out until the 15th. That in itself was a little frantic as well. I flew Lufthansa from Denver to Frankfurt and then after a lengthy layover on to Kuwait.
Lufthansa is a very nice airline and the service is great. I didn't pay for the ticket, so of course I have no idea how much more it cost if any. I just found out yesterday that the owners of the school have a contract with Lufthansa to use them only and they then get a lot of extra perks for themselves. Makes sense now...
After arrival into Kuwait a day late travel glitches continued. I was missing one bag, and the wait time to report it was verrry long. Things in general take quite some time here to accomplish. It doesn't seem to bother the locals much, but if you are an impatient American who is used to getting things done in a predictable, timely manner, this probably isn't the place for you. One of the girls who lives on my floor said to take the K off of Kuwait and that pretty much sums it up. It is very interesting to observe the mechanics of how things work here. I sure haven't figured it out yet, but there is some order to it I guess.
Kuwait has over 3 million people and only about a third of the people are Kuwaiti. The other 2+million are ex-patriates from all over the world. I have met cab drivers, maids, sales staff, etc. and they are from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Phillipines, Nepal, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, ...The service is good, the people are friendly and the workers work very hard for small wages, but I guess it is a better opportunity than most had in their native countries.
The girl who cleans my room at school (there are many) is from India. The school pays her 75 Kuwaiti Dinar a month wage. She works 5 and a half days a week for 8 hours a day so she makes less than $1.50 per hour. She makes about $225.00 per month. She says she has to pay $119.00 per month to share a room, so she and the other maids work hard to try to find teachers and others to clean their apartments and do ironing, cooking etc. This means they work on their days off and into the evening. She is always pleasant and happy eventhough her husband and 7 year old daughter are still in India and she only gets to see them every two years. Her daughter said she would only let her mother come here if she would get her a computer. The mother asked her if she wanted gold or something else, and the daughter said no she only wanted a computer. The mom's name is Bharthi and it is difficult for her to even be allowed to purchase a computer here and they are much more expensive, so I would like to see if I can help get her one in the US that would be more affordable for her. She also wants a digital camera.
The other part of this: If you want to come to Kuwait and work here, you must find a local sponsor first. My sponsor is the school and it's owners. Bharthi had to go through a placement agency in India at an expense to her and she has to pay a Kuwaiti citizen $1700,00 US or 500KD up front to be able to come here to work. The Kuwaiti gives her nothing in return for that and she has to renew every year or two years depending upon her contract.
I am amazed that they can live on so little.
I will send pictures later.
I went to the Old Souk last Saturday and took a few pics which I will attach. One is of an older man in one of the carpet markets. The other is of some Afghanistan clothing that another vender was selling. It is incredibly ornate with beautiful beadwork, embroidery, coins etc. He sells them for $45 or $50 which is unbelievable to me just because of the cost of material let alone time and work put into these
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