Since Anne was about 2 she would ask me if we were going to have a "regular day" or if we had plans. Her idea of a "regular day" was one where she knew what to expect, we generally stayed home or went to school and came home. We would eat at home, and be together. Given that we have had so many different homes in different cities each with a different set of circumstances (Tim deployed/ or not, Me working full/part time or not, Anne going to school full/half day or not) having a "regular day" when its just us, all of us, at home, has always been something of a holiday.
Today however I realized that our whole time in Kuwait has been filled with regular days. We have been together so much, eating at home, spending time working and playing together. There are many things to do in Kuwait but much of what we do here is "play" house.
My sister Claire said to me the other day that she wanted to know about the normal things in Kuwait. She said "Tell me what its like to cross the street". I said "I don't cross the street". This is true. Though we walk to restaurants and church and the club we stay on the same side of the street. If I wanted to cross the street most likely I would get in the car and drive there. It sounds totally ridiculous but the traffic and the drivers here make it next to impossible to safely cross the street. So, if perchance I needed to go on the other side of the road outside of our compound I would go down to the garage and get in our just arrived car (Yippee, it only took 3 months!!!) Drive out of the garage through security. Make a right when the lights are changing. Move over three lanes. Head to the stoplight into the U-turn lane. Wait. wait. wait. The stoplights in Kuwait only go one direction at a time so if you get to an intersection right when they have turned you have to wait about 5 min. On green make my U-Turn, move over three lanes and exit into the side road or parking lot of my "Across the street" neighbors.
So yes, we drive everywhere. But, as our oil company lawyer friend Petra said on Saturday night, "Kuwait is floating on oil." What cost me $70.00 to fill'er up in California costs $6KD here- roughly $20USD.
Today we went for a drive to see some of the oil refineries south of us. Not really on purpose. We were driving down to the only Mexican restaurant we know of in Kuwait and just decided to see what we could see see see. This is about 20 minutes south of our house.
In order to appreciate the wealth that comes from this liquid gold we have gone to a couple of museums and tours while Anne is in school. Tim is supposed to take time to do In Country Training which includes the cultural aspects of Kuwait. We went to the Arab Organization Headquarters two weeks ago. The architecture and artistry of this building is amazing. And the first good skyline we have seen of Kuwait during the day!
The Arab headquarters has eight executive conference rooms. Each is themed. This one in the Tunisian room. I loved seeing the zellij tile work from Tunisia. Anne and I won't get to go to Tunis due to the current political condition. But we had almost 18 months of dreaming of living there before the tragedy in Libya. The table you see here is a slab of marble weighing 2.5 tons. It is shaped as a diamond so that the 40 people sitting at the table can see each other. Each chair is made of the finest leather and we were told costs $3000USD a piece. As soon as our tour guide said that Tim sat down. Let me know the next time you spend $120K on chairs.
Below is the courtyard of this amazing building. We are on the 4th floor looking down. The trees are all real and swivel 360 degrees so that they grow straight. Tim and I were struck by the birds and the birdcages. It was so beautiful to be indoors but feel as if we were in a natural setting. (and not have to be in 100 degrees).
From the 4th floor is a 4-floor (up to the 8th floor) Wall of glass. We were told it is the largest pure wall of glass in the world.
There is no good way to give perspective on this wall. It is huge. Each panel of glass is 1 story of the building.
Turning around to the other side of the courtyard is the world's largest continuous handmade wooden structure with no nails or glue, only male and female parts. It is a common style of lattice work in the middle east called Mashrabiya. This one is 8 stories tall, the height of the courtyard. The previous picture is on the back side also on the 4th floor. Below is a video of an Eygptian man making pieces.
We really enjoyed our tour of the the Arab Headquarters so much that when we were leaving Tim and I decided that we would like to get Anne some birds for our house. So today we drove over to the Friday Market (also open on Saturdays). This is a huge outdoor market of traditional Kuwaiti goods. We first shopped for rugs. We found 2 that we like but will return to buy them some other time. These are from Iran.
Then we headed over to the Animal Market attached to the Friday Market. There were thousands upon thousands of Rams and Sheep today. This coming week is the Eid al-Adha. This is a two day celebration of Abraham's sacrifice of his first born son (in Christianity) Isaac (in Islam) Ishmael. Traditional Muslim families buy and sacrifice a ram or lamb to eat during this holiday. Not everyone owns a farm truck, but everyone gets their celebratory feast.
Information on the controversy surrounding mass slaughtering of sheep in Kuwait.
We did not stop here. We went on to the bird houses. We found the most wild chickens....
We kept walking past these little guys and found ourselves at bird buyers wholesale. We ended up buying a pair of royal Budgerigars (a common kind of parakeet). But you can buy big parrots and other crazy exotic birds at Friday Market.
Today however I realized that our whole time in Kuwait has been filled with regular days. We have been together so much, eating at home, spending time working and playing together. There are many things to do in Kuwait but much of what we do here is "play" house.
My sister Claire said to me the other day that she wanted to know about the normal things in Kuwait. She said "Tell me what its like to cross the street". I said "I don't cross the street". This is true. Though we walk to restaurants and church and the club we stay on the same side of the street. If I wanted to cross the street most likely I would get in the car and drive there. It sounds totally ridiculous but the traffic and the drivers here make it next to impossible to safely cross the street. So, if perchance I needed to go on the other side of the road outside of our compound I would go down to the garage and get in our just arrived car (Yippee, it only took 3 months!!!) Drive out of the garage through security. Make a right when the lights are changing. Move over three lanes. Head to the stoplight into the U-turn lane. Wait. wait. wait. The stoplights in Kuwait only go one direction at a time so if you get to an intersection right when they have turned you have to wait about 5 min. On green make my U-Turn, move over three lanes and exit into the side road or parking lot of my "Across the street" neighbors.
 |
| Tim dropped the Land Rover off at the port in CA on June 28th. We got it here in Kuwait on Tues Oct 8th |
So yes, we drive everywhere. But, as our oil company lawyer friend Petra said on Saturday night, "Kuwait is floating on oil." What cost me $70.00 to fill'er up in California costs $6KD here- roughly $20USD.
Today we went for a drive to see some of the oil refineries south of us. Not really on purpose. We were driving down to the only Mexican restaurant we know of in Kuwait and just decided to see what we could see see see. This is about 20 minutes south of our house.
 |
| I guess oil refineries look the same everywhere. |
The Arab headquarters has eight executive conference rooms. Each is themed. This one in the Tunisian room. I loved seeing the zellij tile work from Tunisia. Anne and I won't get to go to Tunis due to the current political condition. But we had almost 18 months of dreaming of living there before the tragedy in Libya. The table you see here is a slab of marble weighing 2.5 tons. It is shaped as a diamond so that the 40 people sitting at the table can see each other. Each chair is made of the finest leather and we were told costs $3000USD a piece. As soon as our tour guide said that Tim sat down. Let me know the next time you spend $120K on chairs.
Below is the courtyard of this amazing building. We are on the 4th floor looking down. The trees are all real and swivel 360 degrees so that they grow straight. Tim and I were struck by the birds and the birdcages. It was so beautiful to be indoors but feel as if we were in a natural setting. (and not have to be in 100 degrees).
From the 4th floor is a 4-floor (up to the 8th floor) Wall of glass. We were told it is the largest pure wall of glass in the world.
We really enjoyed our tour of the the Arab Headquarters so much that when we were leaving Tim and I decided that we would like to get Anne some birds for our house. So today we drove over to the Friday Market (also open on Saturdays). This is a huge outdoor market of traditional Kuwaiti goods. We first shopped for rugs. We found 2 that we like but will return to buy them some other time. These are from Iran.
 |
| Tim discussing the cost...not nearly as dramatic as in the Souks in Morocco. |
Then we headed over to the Animal Market attached to the Friday Market. There were thousands upon thousands of Rams and Sheep today. This coming week is the Eid al-Adha. This is a two day celebration of Abraham's sacrifice of his first born son (in Christianity) Isaac (in Islam) Ishmael. Traditional Muslim families buy and sacrifice a ram or lamb to eat during this holiday. Not everyone owns a farm truck, but everyone gets their celebratory feast.
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| Not our car!!! |
We did not stop here. We went on to the bird houses. We found the most wild chickens....
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| It is very popular to dye chicken and rabbits. Just for the record, Anne said "That is so mean!!" |
Meet Will and Kate
So today was not a regular day. But it was a fun day in Kuwait and being that the high was merely 93 and right now it is 70, we are all settling in just fine.
In other news... big shoes to fill in March...
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| bought these in Morocco on a hunch... |
