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.