Irony and Intrigue

Things are going well- have lots to do and have been rearranging furniture in the classroom instead of other things which may be deemed more important. Purchase orders to sift through, music to choose...it will be fine.

Today (and everyday) there are men working on the grounds and buildings at the school. If you read my last post, you may recall the lack of "human rights/safety" issue here. Two men were WELDING some poles together just out on the open sidewalk which is my usual pathway to the library. They were welding right outside of buildings, beside trees and WITHOUT safety glasses or coveralls. I said to one of the American girls on staff "You know, in Canada, we generally wear protective eye convering when we weld." That's Kuwait for you.

One word you should know if you ever go to a Muslim country is insha'allah (God willing). Today I heard one of the secretaries use it like punctuation. "Yes, and the test scores should be ready tomorrow insha'allah."

I signed up for home internet today. It will be nice to do all my personal business at home on my own computer.

I cannot believe I forgot to write about Friday market last time. On Thursday night, we went to Friday market. Friday market is a huge area with roof covers but is otherwise open. There are people selling all sorts of things, generally pretty cheap like a flea market. Some is new and some used. Furniture, shoes, fabric, coffee and teapots, electronics, craftwork, jewelry, and so on. There are aisles upon aisles of people trying to convince you to buy their merchandise. It's very aggressive! There are also men in yellow coveralls who follow you around with a wheelbarrel and want to carry your stuff around and to your vehicle for you, then charge you for doing it. These men are very assertive and will follow you around until you are very firm with them ("la" is no in Arabic). The wheelbarrel men also are known to help merchants understand how much their customer will pay for an item. Since they follow people around, they listen to the bargaining and tell the vendor what the people have been offering for specific goods. Interesting.

If you cannot picture this event for yourself, I recommend watching the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar, the temple scene, and then multiply the number of people there by about 500. And to feel the heat, remember to set your hair dryer on high and blow it in your face or turn on your oven for awhile and open the door, letting the breeze warm you.

In other news, I got my delivery of pure water last night. It's good because I think the tap water here, although safe, was making me a bit sick to my stomach. Not fun, but I'm fine today.

School starts on Sunday (yikes) so it will be a while until I write again. I have much to do in the way of preparation for now, and the first couple weeks with students are always so draining.

Well, friends, be kind to eachother.
All good things,
R