Desert Life

February has been full of desert time for me.  I've been out in the desert surrounding Kuwait City twice this month, first on a picnic with some teachers out near the Iraqi border and then on a "desert safari" organized by an Arab-Western awareness center with about two hundred other ex-pats.  Both were nice times, although the desert of Kuwait isn't particularly beautiful.

Many Kuwaitis will pitch a tent on government land from November-April 1st and go out for weekend or overnight trips in a bit of a homage to the old way of life, so it definitely doesn't feel like a desolated place.  The AWARE camp had traditional Arab music, camel rides, traditional tents, and provided an opportunity for us to wander off and explore the trash filled area around the camp.  We also were able to stop at the dhow cemetery, were old boats that are no longer functional are dropped off, and saw many oil refineries on the way out to the camp spot. 

The desert also came to us in the city through a huge sandstorm this week.  Below you can see some pictures taken during and after the storm of my neighborhood and school.  It was really crazy to see-dust everywhere, and it looked completely orange outside for awhile.  Somehow the dust permeates everywhere, even indoors, and it's been a pain trying to clean up the mess this weekend.  The dust is also incredibly problematic for students with asthma, and hurts your eyes and throat even if you don't have asthma.  So while it was interesting to see, I'm hoping that this will be the first and only sandstorm I experience in Kuwait. :)

January

I arrived back in Kuwait at 10 PM and January 3rd and was back at school teaching at 7:45 AM January 4th, so it was a quick jump back in!  I definitely needed the break in December, but it was great to see my kids again and get back into a routine.  We had report cards due the second week back and conferences the third week, so the first month really flew by.  

The Israeli attacks on Gaza was a prevalent story in the news here, and a topic that frequently came up with my students in class.  Many of my kids have a parent or family either in Palestine or of Palestinian background, and so it was an issue that hit closely to home for them.  Signs like the one below, which reads "Gaza we are with you" are all over Kuwait.  Even now with the war over it's still a very hot topic here.   

January wasn't all work and gloom, though.  One of my highlights was seeing a movie in a Kuwaiti movie theater.  Movies are heavily censored here (I saw "Bride Wars", a fluffy PG movie that was cut in six separate places!) to take out any kissing or otherwise "indecent" parts of a film.  The theater was new and, like everything in Kuwait, incredibly plush with fantastic service, and dinner, a movie and a trip to IKEA was an excellent escape from work one day.

President Obama's inauguration was another highlight of January.  We have an excellent auditorium at school with a giant screen that the whole ceremony was projected on.  The majority of Kuwaitis I have spoken with are thrilled that the US finally has a new president, and our school inauguration party complete with decorations and snacks was a fun way to usher in a new era.

One of my closest friends in Kuwait, Mariam, is Egyptian-American and has been able to break out of our school bubble through friends from her church.  She was kind enough to let some of us tag along with her new friends for a picnic on the Gulf one Friday.  I had no idea there was even space for picnics in Kuwait, and it was fun to meet her new friends and especially baby Peter!!  The picnic was a nice way to cap of January in Kuwait.

Lebanon

Hi everyone!  I realize that it's been a long time since my last post.  I'm going to write a little bit about Lebanon first and then catch you up with what's been happening since I've been back in Kuwait in separate posts.

I went to Lebanon for a week over the Eid al Adha break with my dear friend Kristin, who I have travelled with before on St. Olaf's Term in the Middle East.  Kristin has been living in Abu Dhabi, UAE first on a Fulbright and now as an administrator at Zayed University for the past two years, and I hadn't seen her since we graduated in May of 2006.  I had such a wonderful time with her, and it was so fun to hear about her experiences in the UAE and compare them with mine in Kuwait.  I'm going to visit her in a couple of weeks in Abu Dhabi and I'm very excited to see her again and see where she lives.

I thought Lebanon was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  There is such varied landscape with the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, interesting architecture and a variety of historical sights to visit.  Lebanon has been part of the Persian, Phonecian, Armenian, Assyrian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Seljuk, Mamluk, Ottoman, and French Empires and is home to many religious groups, and this diversity is reflected throughout the country. Kristin and I stayed at a hotel in Beirut the whole time but took day trips all over the country to see as much of the country as we could.  Below are some picture highlights.

At the Beiteddeine Castle

Riding a Cable Car in Harissa

Byblos

Views from the top of Harissa

Downtown Beirut

Mosque in Memorial to Rafiq Hariri

Downtown Beirut

Sheep about to be slaughtered for the Eid al Adha holiday to commemorate Abraham's non-slaughter of Isaac

The Lebanese Flag at the Saida Fort

A picture of Rafiq Hariri in Saida-there are pictures of him everywhere

The Roman ruins at Baalbek-definitely the most amazing Roman ruins I've ever seen!

Arab Umayyad ruins

Lebanese cuisine-yum!

It was definitely an amazing trip, and I've enjoyed learning more about Lebanese history through books from Beirut's fabulous bookstores.  Despite the turmoil that lingers in Lebanon I would definitely recommend a trip there to anyone.