Chocolate bar!

Another Saturday, the dawning of a new work week at ASK. I had a fun weekend!

Wednesday night I went shopping with some friends. I got two new shirts (since we got paid on Tuesday) and we had a nice snack at the mall. The Al Kout mall, which is about a 20 minute walk from home, is new and very clean. It is right on the water and is thus gorgeous- lots of coffee shops and restaurants lined up along the boardwalk. It is two separate, symmetrical buildings, one housing a large grocery store, small food (dates, honey, organic, etc.) shops and a covered fresh fruit, vegetable and fish market. The other side houses a movie theatre, shops of all sorts and cafes. Lovely. There are fountains outside between the buildings and about a 500 metre outdoor distance between the two places.

Wedensday night there was all sorts of crazy security and we couldn't walk between the two buildings thus had to go the whole way around. There was a huge private party for someone (royalty, not sure) and they were, on our way out at 10:00pm, showing the start of the performance on a projector screes outside the mall. Kuwait, where nothing makes sense. Let's have a huge private party at the courtyard between the two areas of the new mall. Right, then. It was interesting anyway.

Thursday morning I went to yoga class then lazed around before going to THE CHOCOLATE BAR with some friends. The Chocolate Bar is a magical place with heaps of desserts mostly containing (quelle surprise) chocolate. It was fabulous. My friend and music colleague Katie and I shared molten dark chocolate cake which is much like eating warm brownie batter...mmmmm and a "banoffee"- combination of banana, toffee and chocolate. It was very sweet and not as palatable but still good. Some of our friends got an amazing raspberry sorbet and chocolate ice cream parfait smothered with raspberry and hot fudge sauce. Delicious! Then we bought a cappuccino machine for the music department.

Thursday night was the Irish Society party. It was just a big party in a hotel ballroom. There was a fantastic buffet, dancing to recorded music (mostly 1980s) and to a live band (mostly very horrible) and a great deal of contraban smuggled in. Silly me but when I think Irish party I think Ceildi...Irish dancing, Irish music (guitar, fiddle, flute, bodhran) people of all ages, soda bread. Not this party. It was much like a classed up small town wedding- in a nice hall with tasteful decor. People having a nice time and enjoying pleasantries with friends and acquaitances and new friends, excess comsumption of contraban... And the night ends with several new friends leaving together and a few scattered tables of folks unsure of what to do next so they linger on even when the music has ended.

Upon returning home, there was still a huge party going on at our apartment complex although it was dying down some by 2:00am. I ended up staying awake until 3:30am, which if you've read last week's blog, will recall is when I usually awaken. But I feel fine!

Friday was the usual yoga practice, music theatre rehearsal, grocery shopping, relaxing and going to bed early. My friend Chad picked up my clothes from the tailor and so now I have 2 new skirts (lovely) and two pairs of lounging pants of the same fabric. The entire cost for this endeavour (fabric, tailoring 4 articles of clothing including lining the skirts) was only 20 dinar, about $75 Canadian. Nice.

This morning I was up early to make lunch, do yoga and go swimming at school. It's been a good day. After 5th grade music, I made the inaugural cappuccinos (or is it cappuccini?). They turned out quite well (yummy). We have way too much fun in the music department. It's like a music geek's dream come true. I love it!

So here's to chocolate, "cappu" and another great week of wonderful students and amazing colleagues.

Peace and happiness,
R

Internal clock disruption

Hello again.

Today I am preparing for another Open House, this time it's Middle School. My grade 7&8 band is playing after staff introductions. It will be brief and they will play just fine. Then I will leave here after 9:00pm which disrupts the old sleep schedule. Luckily, tomorrow is Wednesday, last day of the school week.

This weekend is full of fun activities. Wednesday night is a girls' party where we'll wear our PJs, watch Desparate Housewives and eat chocolate. Thursday night is a big party at our apartment complex for all the staff. My friend Caroline and I are going to a big Irish society party at the Hilton. It includes a meal, a live band (I think) and beverages that Irish people like to drink. It costs 10 dinar which is almost $40 CAN. Sounds a bit ridiculous, but that is (literally) the price you have to pay for fun. It's a once in a while thing. Friday is practice for the musical revue and then...weekend's up and time to go back to work.

Today is payday! Finally!!! A couple weeks ago I discovered that my Credit Union bank card expired at the end of August, so I have been buying groceries on credit and purchasing nothing else lest I spend my last 5 dinar (almost $20 CAN) frivolously...
Except that I went to Dairy Queen last night. There is a DQ near where we live, on the Hilton resort area just around from the Starbucks, so you can get a to-go ice cream (I got a Snickers blizzard) and walk along the groomed beach. Pretty.

Anyhow, back to the money situation. Luckily, the CU sent another card to my mom, who is sending it to me and it should also arrive today. It will be great to have cash again so I can go and pick up some clothes I had made at the fabric souk.

Souk: store or mall; bakala: convenience store; Sultan Centre: large supermarket.

As for my sleeping, is it possible to sleep too much? Apparently so because I now wake up at 3:30 am on my own, no alarm. This is a bit ridiculous. I even stayed up until after 10 last night so I would sleep until my alarm this morning at 4:00. Didn't happen. My internal clock is very confused. I eat breakfast at 5:30 so by 10:00 this morning I was absolutely ready for lunch. And by after school I'll be super hungry again. And so it goes.

Not much else to report. I am still loving my job and my colleagues and having fun. Oh, last weekend...last weekend I went for lunch with my friends Chad and Tara and their 2 1/2 year old son Gabriel, who calls me Rona. We went to Vegetarian Indian restaurant and they had a special. A banana leaf layed out in front of you like a huge placemat served as a plate, then they put a variety of salads, curries, sauces and rice on top. Delicious! very asthetically pleasing. I wish I'd had my camera. Alas, another time...

We were in the more downtown/heritage area which definitely needs some more exploration. It's a nice area as you can see some of the old culture combined with the modern architecture. There are also people sweeping garbage so it's much cleaner than the filthy area where we are housed.

So with that I bid you well and hope you keep reading and hopefully enjoying this page. Please feel free to question or comment on what you read. Makes it more fun for me...

Love,
R

La vie est belle

As the wind rustles through palm trees, birds retreat in the leaves and greet passers-by with their songs. A few emaciated cats mew in hopes of food, water and love. The sun casts a warm light on campus and while the temperature is warming, it is not stifling (yet). I walk across campus to sign in and check my mailbox for the morning's information and chat with colleagues on the way back to my fortress. I sit at my desk to eat breakfast, then move to the computer to check messages and write something that is hopefully pleasant and descriptive of my life here.

It's 7:00am and my closest music colleague has usually been by at this point to check up on me as he does every morning. I must have missed him when I was signing in.

School is going well and I am finding the routine quite tolerable. I generally go to bed at 9:00pm, as unbelievable as that may seem. I get up at 4:00am to do forty-five minutes to an hour of yoga. Then I rush to get ready and catch the 5:50 bus to school, or catch a ride with my neighbour and fellow Canadian Kelly.

From my classroom window I have a view of the parking lot. From the windows of home, I have a view of the Arabian Gulf and often watch the sunrise while doing yoga. I wake up early enough to hear the first and second calls to prayer- the first is before sunrise and the second just after sunrise. It is a haunting sound, the sound of something larger than life, the sound of gratitude and commitment to a system of belief I may never fully understand.

On Thursday (virtual Saturday) the teachers all packed up to go to open house at the Hilton resort just down the road from where we live. The beach is gorgeous and the salty sea water is delightful. They provided a huge and delicious buffet lunch which included many salads, some Thai food, fruit and delectable desserts. After lunch I went back to the beach and into the sea to collect shells, visit and float in the water. Then I went to the spa pool which has jets from all directions providing a nice massage. Next my friend Caroline and I got horrible pedicures and decent eyebrow threading done. This part was not free, but it should have been. The pedicure was shameful and the polish choices were old, crummy bottles of cheap drug store style colours. I have already removed my messy polish.

Finally we went back to Starbucks for a second coffee of the day. I know I was opposed to Starbucks and you would think that here, from where we import coffee to North America, you would find great coffee but it really is not that easy. Arabic coffee is made with cardamom and its flavour and colour is more tea-like than anything. Turkish coffee is the consistency and colour of espresso flavoured with cardamom. It is quite delicious although not as common here as I had imagined. Brewed coffee in most places, even restaurants, is rare. Being white and asking for a coffee usually gets you an instant coffee (Nescafe) which is in no way satisfying. Hence my buckling acceptance of Starbucks. Hey, everyone has a vice.

Thursday night was the usual rugby party event. Think college dorm room packed with various people who have not yet figured out where they fit in. Think inflatable hot tub in the corner of the room, think loud and warm and so packed you can barely move. Welcome to my newfound social life, I doubt it will last.

Friday was audition and rehearsal for musical theatre, which will prove to be fun and entertaining for cast and audience. It was nice to get out and do some good singing with friends and some new people. The Kuwait Little theatre is big with the British community.

Then I was in bed by 9:00 and up by 4:00 to start a new work week. And so it goes.

All good things,
R

The First Days of School

Hello all,

I am so excited that I just have to write right now. I just had my first full class with the senior (grade 9-12) band and it was awesome! I am not accustomed to students who are so disciplined and capable of reading music, especially at 7:30 in the morning. These are some of the most polite and interesting students I have met. So talented, so good and so mature. It's going to be very exciting to work with them every other day- they can do musical things and they are well trained and respectful, it's like working with an honour band. It's nice to walk into a program where you can pick up where the last person left off rather than clean up the mess that was left behind.

This week has flown by as it is a four day work week. This Thursday (that's the weekend here), the Hilton is having an open house day where we can go use the gym, the pool, the beach, the sauna and can eat a free lunch. I can't wait! Then on Friday are auditions and rehearsal for the Kuwait Little Theatre "Mad Musicals" where everyone gets in! A few of the school music types will be going.

As for other observations, I am learning first hand that prohibition is ridiculous. This is not because it makes people miserable, it is because it makes people behave in an uncivilised manner. Whenever the opportunity arises to consume that which is prohibited, people consume as though they may never again have access to this substance. Ah, the black market. One of the (Aussie) teachers has close connections and gets great deal on contraband.

This past weekend, I attended a small gathering- a lovely colleague and fellow Canadian Caroline, two American girls teaching at a different international school, an Irish rugby player who works for Harley Davidson, an English rugby player who works in finance, an Indian/Kuwaiti who also works in finance, and three Americans who work in security/military. Two of the Americans are named Steve, they're both from Alabama and epitomise the word red-neck.

We were trying to find another party that many of the other teachers were at, and as we drove around for over an hour, we were all getting frustrated since nobody could find it. We had a convoy of 4 ve-hicles (pronounced Alabama-style as though 2 words) driving along a busy freeway (known here as highways). There was a police check set up at the side of the road, but they just stopped us briefly then let us through. Moments later, we arrived at a red light. I was in a vehicle with the Indian/Kuwaiti who had consumed very little contraband. The two Steves and the two American girls were in the ve-hicle ahead of us.

One of the Steves got out of the rear passenger door, unzipped his pants and started to urinate in the direction of his vehicle. I truly could not believe my eyes- this is the sort of thing that folks do when they're on the long highway in the middle of the night, there's nowhere to stop for at least an hour and then they generally have the decency to pull off the road (impossible here) and go into the trees (also impossible here). Keep in mind that we were still in the city on a very busy roadway, had just passed a police checkpoint, and Kuwaiti traffic is insane at the best of times, suicidal all others. Would you risk getting out at a red light to go? It was quite funny, though. I asked Ash (the driver of my ve-hicle) if I was actually seeing what I though I was seeing. He verified that I was not imagining it. In any case, it makes for a great story that I have been quite generous in recounting.

I will report more later, but I must get some work done now.

Take a breath of clean, crisp autumn air for me. If you see the stars tonight, take a long look and enjoy the natural beauty of the open space and be glad for it.

Namaste.