A funny thing happened

HAHAHAHAHA! Today, I visited a Kuwait Police station, for the first and inshallah, last time during my tenure in this country.

The day went as follows. ..

I went in to school, though we got two extra days off as declared by the ministry. I was not terribly productive because I was preoccupied by my need to go to the washroom. This normally is not a problem when you are not responsible for kids, but today, the water was turned off for some reason. So when my friend Jenna called to see if I was ready to go, I said I was definitely ready. We stopped by a downtown mall on the way home to run an errand, and to kill time before going home. Also to use the functioning toilets....

Carrying on, we were driving along a fairly busy road and traffic was bad, though not as horrible as it often is. Then a man in a black SUV was moving over into our lane, so Jenna honked her horn. He still moved on over, cutting her off, though at a fairly slow pace. And so she lost her temper and gave him the finger. Bear in mind, Jenna has been telling me for awhile you can get arrested for flipping the bird, not that we have heard any specific cases of it actually happening. So the black SUV pulled to a sudden halt in front of us, the door opened and out stepped a man clad in desert brown pants and shirt. No kidding, it was a cop. Our jaws were literally on the floor of the car as he walked toward us.

Jenna opened her window and he yelled at her to take out her license. He then grabbed it from her and we had to follow him to a nearby police station. In the meanwhile, I began to call Arabic speaking friends and got ahold of our Kuwaiti friend Hamad. Al Hamdullilah (thanks be to God) Hamad was able to ditch work and meet us at the station within a half hour.

I knew from other friends' experiences* that most Kuwaiti police do not have a strong grasp of the English language and this proved itself true as the men started to talk to her. We just waited for Hamad and he was able to smoothe things over and chat up the guys in charge. Jenna was pretty worried, I was pretty calm and mostly cracking jokes (what else can you do?). At one point the investigating officer mentioned "your embassy, a case" and "jail" in the same sentence. Actually, the men were just flexing their muscles in order to intimidate. Afterwards, Hamad explained there are many American military personnel who flaunt their U.S. passports and expect dimplomatic immunity when in the wrong. Essentially this was a case of displaced anger and Jenna was the scapegoat for arrogant Americans with whom Kuwaiti policemen have had bad experiences. It was a pretty crazy hour and a half, though it makes for a good story. And so, ladies and gentlemen, the moral of the story is...keep your hand gestures under the dashboard.


*I have several friends who have been in little fender benders here, and you must always report any form of car accident to the police station. Most police officers are educated in Kuwait at government schools (Arabic only) and do not have the opportunity to learn much English. *

I wanted to take pictures at the station but reckoned that would be pretty inappropriate...words alone will not do justice to the situation at the station but think Fawlty Towers crossed with the Kids in the Hall "gotta stay on top of my life, gotta stay on top of my list" skit.

The last thing we decided, as Jenna was dressed in shorts (a bit haram) that we should have emergency car kits here, like we do in Canada or the U.S. in her case. The emergency abbaya kit, we will call it, so you can cover up quickly.

And that's the story of the week...

ramadan, coffee shops and traffic

Hi Everyone!

Hoping you are enjoying the autumn/early winter weather. I am not bragging, but it's still in the 30s here during the day, and it's off and on humid.

Ramadan has been draining, as has school in general. My schedule this year allows me to rarely eat during the day, and since we cannot eat or drink water in public sun up (5:30am) to sundown (5:40pm) it's difficult to remain nourished and hydrated. For example, I went to a market today for awhile and really needed a snack and some water but couldn't have either so I faded FAST. I am also tired from trying to prepare for everything at school.

We got two extra days off for EID, the holiday following Ramadan. It makes sense, otherwise next week would have been a two day school week and let's face it, not a great turn out from the student population.

Funny incident of the week: I was walking home from the Hilton (about 20 minutes from our residence) on Monday. I was not too far form the hotel exit when a young man (15ish) of Indian heritage asked if he could use my phone. This is only integral to the story because no Kuwaiti would ever do such a thing and because the consequence for an Indian running off with a Westerner's phone would be quite severe. I obliged because he had a story about waiting for a friend who was really late. So he spoke to his friend (in a language I did not understand) and returned my phone to me. I kept walking and felt just a little bad for hesitating. then I received a text message thanking me for "letting my friend use your phone". I responded with "welcome" and then received a second message, asking me if I want to be friends, "don't take me wrong". Honestly. So I did not respond. I suspect it was one of the security guards who works outside the Hilton at the gate. Silly me for being friendly and wishing people good days. Darn friendly Canucks. The implication here, near as I can tell, is if you are female and you are out in public without a man, you are interested in all men. As in, I exist, therefore I want to be with you...Good thing I ahvea sense of humour or it could potentially really annoy me. Too funny.

A new Starbucks opened really close to our apartments- 5 minutes to walk, I reckon. I would prefer to avoid Starbucks but sometimes it's hard. I have saved lots of petty coffee cash this month due to the aforementioned Ramadan restrictions. No going for coffee after school or on the way to school. Can't jsut stop for a quick coffee until evening and by then it's time to stop consuming caffeine.

As for traffic, going out in the evenings is getting worse every day now. What is often a 20 minutes drive becomes 40 minutes or more. Yoy. Tomorrow I will brave this to go downtown to the Chocolate Bar with a woman from the jazz band. Then we will go to the Starbucks to hear another guy in the band play several different instruments (badly). And it doesn't matter how late we are out because NO SCHOOL on Saturday. I am so glad I have found some fellow band geeks to hang with. They are really nice people.

Because people are nice more often than not. Keep believing.

lovingly, and just a little bit lonely for folks who really know me,
R

P.S. if anyone wants to meet me somewhere at Xmas, I am open to suggestions. My current plan is Rishikesh in India but could be persuaded to return to Eastern Europe or just about anywhere in reasonable flying distance. Thought of going back to Canada- one month's salary for the return ticket. A little pricey.

First GIG!

Hello Friends,

Happy Thanksgiving. I know I'm late but it's the thought that counts. And I finally had time to celebrate this Thursday, known here as virtual Saturday.

Last Sunday night we had a jazz band gig. It was at an opening for PRES (Permanent Real Estate Show), a building along the gulf road. It was very Kuwait, people running around like mad to make everything appear ready for an official opening. Our jazz band was on the second of two levels, in the corner by the food. There were exhibitions set up throughout the relatively small building. If you want to know the truth, it reminded me quite a bit of the trade shows in Tisdale.

The sheer entertainment value was when, instead of cutting a ribbon to symbolize the opening, a giant panel of spotlights weas illuminated. So typical of this place. Pretense galore.

I brought my camera for the occasion and can show you a little bit what it was like.

The Diwaniya tent outside- tea and hospitality
A few folks playing Dixieland Jazz.
The spread- common at all Kuwait events.
Notice the Western woman out for a bike ride...there's one in every crowd..

top three adjectives

okay everyone, here is a little assignment for you. Come on, it's the least you can do after having all this reading pleasure for a over year. I sincerely need your help.

Please write down your top three adjectives that describe me. Please be honest, do not worry about hurting my feelings. Once you have written the adjectives, continue reading. remeber, first impulses are the best.



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I have been attacked (in the form of a very angry letter from a parent) as being IGNORANT, full of HATE and BIGOTRY. Do your adjectives compare with these words? Not so much, right? Exactly. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. Honestly, I think HATE is something I have moved so far away from in my life that it is hardly a word in my vocabulary.

Bigotry- really? Is this the same person we're talking about? Who was friends with whatever kids were an "ethnic minority" in suburban Saskatoon? Who never even noticed the difference of skin colour? Or if she did, did not think twice about it being a barrier between people? Who wrote cheesy world peace poetry when her 14 year old peers were writing cheesy love poetry? Who will step in to argue when people express prejudice against other cultures?

And as for ignorant, shouldn't be teaching anyone except perhaps people who think the same way I do? Whatever.

I have never seen my principal so angry or my vice principal so concerned about how I am doing. Today I will give the child (who happens to be African-American) a letter of response for his parents. It basically states I am sorry for saying YO in class and making a JOKING reference to the HOOD and I believe my character was unfairly attacked. I taught this same kid and his older sister last year. I had no real problems with them and now all of a sudden, based on ONE HOUR, I am a horrible person.

When I received the angry letter, I did not know whether to laugh or to cry. So absurd.

So please, for my little ego, if you could respond with your adjectives, I would appreciate it. It's been a rough couple weeks with this letter and a change in our unit plan formats we have to submit to admin (which means a lot of time copying and pasting). Not to mention Shane being killed by a suicide bomber. AHHHHHHH!Thank goodness the weekend is starting soon. I'm going to the beach after school today.

wireless internet and stuck elevators

The thing that's funny about my apartment is I can now access someone's wireless internet service. So hurray, free internet. I am currently listening to a podcast on the CBC! Can it get much better?

The trouble with our poorly built apartment buildings is the walls are quite thin. I can hear all 6th floor hallway noise from my living room. I can also hear one of the two elevators opening and closing, opening and closing, for half an hour at a time, until somone calls it from the lobby. So annoying.

As for me, I am just ticking along, working and trying to get some exercise.

remembering Prague