Day 26: The End

If you had told me 2 years ago - before I started college - that I would be spending a month in the Middle East studying politics and oil at this point in my life, I would have been seriously doubtful. I had no idea that I would become so interested in learning about the Arab World, but I couldn't be happier with where life has taken me this past month. Although I'm so happy to be home (after a long, tiring journey across the Atlantic), I miss Kuwait and my new friends already. 

Although I could probably write a small novel reflecting on my experiences abroad, I know that anyone reading this right now probably doesn't want that. So instead, I'll leave you with a couple of my favorite memories, as well as some lessons I learned during this past extraordinary month:

Highlights:

• The Old Souk (all 3 times we went!): By far my favorite place in Kuwait.
• Dune Bashing: the sickest thing I've ever done, and something I'll never forget.
• Men's Diwaniyya: Our first introduction to the massive wealth that is everywhere in Kuwait, and  to the diwaniyya, one of the centers of Kuwaiti life.
• Women's Diwaniyya: A girl's night full of new friends!
• Burj Khalifa: Being able to say I've been to the top of the tallest building in the world is pretty cool, not to mention the incredible view of Dubai. 
• Kuwait National Assembly: I don't think you would be able to just walk in to the National Assembly and speak to members of parliament in many other countries.
• The Grand Mosque: My first time in a mosque was a unique cultural experience that I'll always remember.
• Al Jazeera: Being able to experience this incredibly influential news station (both Al Jazeera English and Arabic) firsthand was too cool. 
• Jumeirah Beach: A horrible sunburn, but a beautiful day swimming in the gorgeous, warm Arabian Gulf with my friends. 
• Zumba: Doing Zumba for the first time was crazy enough, but being able to see Kuwaiti women in another realm was eye-opening. 

Lessons Learned:

• The Gulf is vastly different from the rest of the Middle East. The culture of oil and wealth separates it so much from the other Arab countries.
• Kuwait is extremely westernized in many respects - but then not, in many others. 
• Most people I encountered loved Americans and were interested in speaking with us. 
• The Middle East is a region full of kind and open people and rich culture, and I cannot wait to go back. 

Before I sign off for the final time, I'll leave you with some new pictures from the last few days of the trip:

Group photo with Bader!

Kuwaitis

Final Kuwaiti dinner

Group photo with Mahesh, one our bus drivers and one
of the nicest guys I have ever met!

Group photo with Shoukri, the manager at the Holiday
Inn Salmiya who made us feel so at home this past month!

For those of you who have kept up with my blog throughout this past month, thank you! I hope that you enjoyed following my experiences through the Gulf. My next trip abroad will be a semester in London next Spring at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Stay tuned!

Day 25: Heading Home

I can't believe the time has finally come for me to return home, but it's here. I've felt a strange mix of sadness and excitement all day! I'm heading to the airport in a few, so expect a final blog post from me tomorrow when I'm back in the States!

Goodbye Kuwait! I'll miss you!

Day 24: Last Full Day in the Gulf

Well, it's my last night sleeping in my cozy Holiday Inn hotel bed.

We started the day with Zumba, of all things. Our friend Rana teaches classes every Friday and welcomed us into her class today! It was really fun - I never imagined that I would ever try Zumba, let alone in Kuwait! We danced to Arabic and American music and had a wonderful time! One of the things I have learned during my time in Kuwait is that the women here are so much different when they are only around women. It was so interesting to see women show up to class in abayas (the full black robe) and hijab, take everything off, wear skimpy exercise clothes for Zumba class, and then put everything right back on again after Zumba was over. Everyone seemed so comfortable just letting loose with one another, and it was such a different environment from what I expected. 

Later we went to Rana's house for lunch, and met up with many of the women from the morning's Zumba class! It was so much fun; Rana had a huge spread of Kuwaiti food and desserts. We sat and talked for a couple of hours, it was a great time!

Tonight we decided to go back to the Old Souk - my favorite place - one last time. It was so weird to be walking around, thinking back on my first time there 3 weeks ago, when I couldn't have been more lost, in every respect. It felt so natural tonight to be wandering through the Souk, even though people were still staring at me endlessly. I think the Souk is probably one of the things I'll miss the most about Kuwait, especially since we have nothing even slightly comparable to it in the United States. It is just such a unique environment where you can find absolutely anything and anyone, which is pretty rare in Kuwait - Kuwaitis, non-Kuwaitis, expensive goods, cheap goods, anything. I absolutely love it.

We ended the night with a sheesha session for our 2 classmates who are leaving early in the morning. The rest of us are on the same flight tomorrow night, which is nice. My final day tomorrow will be spent packing, conducting interviews for my research, and hopefully a final Kuwaiti dinner and sheesha. The end of this incredible trip is so near, and I have such mixed feelings!

Since I'm boring and didn't take any pictures today (and on my last day...how sad!), I'll leave you with a picture from Wednesday at Kuwait Oil Company, with our fabulous Zumba instructor Rana!

KOC with our new friend, Rana!

P.S. Special shout-out to my brother, John, who turned 16 today! I've received word that he got his driver's license this morning, which makes me slightly terrified to return home. I know you miss me John, but don't worry, you'll see me soon! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Day 23: 99 and Kuwait University

Another amazing day in Kuwait! 

Our first stop of the day was the office of Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, the creator of the popular comic book, The 99, which features a group of superheroes from 99 different countries based on Islamic culture and religion. Dr. Naif told us all about how he got the idea for the comic, and all of the different challenges he has faced since its creation. He has even received a shout-out from President Obama for his work!

Obama Shout-Out

A television series based off of the comic is airing this summer, and we watched an episode. I have to say, although I'm not a comic person, I really enjoyed it! The 99 is all about promoting universal values, without getting caught up in different religions, backgrounds, etc. It's about embracing diversity, rather than being afraid of it. The show is supposed to air in the U.S., but the airing has been postponed indefinitely due to criticism from right wing conservatives, Dr. Naif explained. They are afraid of children being "indoctrinated by Muslims." Of course. Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon, because I think The 99 is going to be very successful all around the world!

Our next stop was Kuwait University, the main university in Kuwait. We met Dr. Haila, one of Professor Bailey's former students who now teaches in the political science department at KU, and spent time with some of her students. It was a big group, which was a little intimidating! We each stood up and introduced ourselves (I did part of mine in Arabic, I was proud), and talked about what we are researching. A couple of students asked questions about our research, and were especially interested in our perspectives of U.S. foreign policy. I met a lot of students, and am meeting with some again at the hotel on Saturday to discuss my research! I can't wait!

Early this evening, I went with Kayla and Maya to the 360 Mall to meet our friend from the women's diwaniyya, Munerah, along with her husband. We drank tea and talked to them about our research. They were so unbelievably nice. Munerah and her friend then drove us to the restaurant where we were meeting everyone else, and gave us an incredibly beautiful, nice, thoughtful gift: Kuwaiti dresses. We were all so shocked: each one was different and sized individually for us.

Kuwaiti women!

It was too nice; everyone we have met here treats us too well! We wore the dresses to dinner, where we met up with the rest of the group. We had delicious Kuwaiti food, as usual. 

Traditional dress with random pottery?

Awwww, friends.

I can't believe tomorrow is my last full day in Kuwait! Time has flown by so quickly. I hope it's a good one - we're starting the day with Arabic Zumba!

Day 22: Kuwait Oil Company

So, the group made the Arab Times today, as well as numerous other newspapers for our appearance at the National Assembly yesterday. I'm trying to secure some papers to bring home, because it's pretty cool to open the paper and see myself on the 4th page! 

As I mentioned in my last post, today the group went to visit Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). I was excited, but unfortunately a little let down by the experience. We drove 45 minutes to the oil town of Ahmadi, but it seemed as if no one was expecting our arrival. We had a short, impromptu tour of an exhibit about KOC, which was neat:

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)

Thanking the countries that assisted Kuwait in
ending the Iraqi occupation

Me, Maya, and Dana

Unfortunately, that was pretty much it. We drove by some of the oil fields and stopped for ice cream on the way back to the hotel. We've run into this a lot during our trip, and although at times I've been frustrated, I think I'm starting to understand that this is just the way things are in Kuwait. Every experience can depend a lot on who we are greeted by and whether or not they are really interested in explaining something or showing us around. 

We took the afternoon to finish our research proposals, and were rewarded, if you will, with a dinner tonight at another Kuwaiti home; this time, at the home of a member of the Al-Sabah family, the ruling family of Kuwait. It was an unbelievably beautiful home - I still can't get over that people actually live in these places. We had delicious Indian food, something we haven't had yet during the trip. There was great conversation all around, as usual!

I've officially been in Kuwait for 3 weeks - I can't believe it. In some ways, I can't believe the trip is coming to an end, but in other ways, it feels like we've been here for months. So strange!

Day 21: Kuwait National Assembly

Never in my life have I felt like such a celebrity. Today the group visited the Kuwaiti National Assembly, or the parliament. When we first arrived, there weren't many people around, and those who we did speak to seemed very confused by our presence. Parliament was not in session today, and all of the members were in committee meetings until the early afternoon. We were greeted by a staff member from the National Assembly who gave us a tour of the building, including the main assembly room: 

National Assembly Halls

Behind where the Speaker sits 

National Assembly Room 

Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal

After our tour, we sat in the cafeteria, drank coffee and tea, and waited for members of parliament to get out of their meetings. At around 2:30, we were in luck, as members of parliament and the press slowly entered the lobby where we were waiting. Many people immediately came up to us and asked who we were and what we were doing in Kuwait. Press took our picture as we spoke to members of parliament, and I even posed with my Arabic coffee for the Arab Times! 

The group with the press corps from the Arab Times!

We spoke to a few members of parliament - most of them asked us similar questions, like why on Earth were we in Kuwait during this heat - and numerous journalists. One woman journalist we spoke to had a lot to say about Kuwaiti politics. She provided her point of view that in the campaigns here, in does not matter what a candidate wants to do for the economy, education, etc.; what matters is whether or not he prays. This was very interesting to hear, especially since this new parliament is composed of 35 (out of 50) tribals/Islamists. She also said that they do not care about women. We even spoke to an Islamist journalist who said that women had no place in the parliament because they are too pro-government. How's that for blunt?

We also saw the Speaker of the Parliament walk by as we were heading out. Today was a hectic day to be visiting the National Assembly, because we found out that they are expecting the government to submit their resignations tomorrow. By government, I mean the cabinet members, who are chosen by the Emir, as well as the Prime Minister. Six cabinet members have resigned since we arrived just 3 weeks ago, which is absolutely crazy to me. Who knows what will happen before we leave! It was so cool to basically be able to just walk into the National Assembly and speak to parliament members. I can't imagine doing this in another country, especially the United States. We are hopefully returning on Thursday, and I can't wait!

The rest of the day was spent working on our research proposals, which are due tomorrow. We ate a quick dinner at a restaurant next to the hotel and called it a night. Before I sign off, here are some additional pictures I've stolen from my classmates from the past couple of weeks that I wanted to share:

Arabian Horse Farm in Doha, Qatar

Maya and I in true Emirati style in Dubai

Tomorrow we visit Kuwait Oil Company. I'm looking forward to it - I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm sure it will be incredibly interesting! For now, goodnight!

Day 20: Agility Logistics

!سلام

Today was another interesting day in Kuwait. We went to Agility Logistics this morning, and it was our first visit to a private sector company in Kuwait. I have to admit, I really didn't understand what a logistics company was before today. I think Professor Bailey explained it best when she said, "They get everything to everywhere." Private sector companies seem to be pretty rare in Kuwait; this is because most Kuwaitis (90%, in fact) work for the government where they are guaranteed a job. In fact, while we were touring Agility, we did not see one Kuwaiti. All of the workers were expats. In the private sector, you actually have to show up to work and do your job; this is not exactly the case for the government jobs most Kuwaitis hold. 

We first listened to a presentation about Agility Logistics and tried to get a better understanding of what exactly they do. Then, we toured one of their storage warehouses where they keep products before they are shipped off to their final destination. We even got to ride a forklift...I have to admit that I was slightly terrified when I realized we were going to the highest shelf.

The forklift 

I had no idea my fear of heights would be
tested so much on this trip!

This is Hannah and Kayla, but I just wanted
to give an idea of how high up we went!

We also toured the storage area where they keep all of the frozen goods. It was negative 20 degrees - we all walked in wearing our usual linen pants and light tees and absolutely froze. But of course, the second we walked outside into the 115 degree heat, we all wanted to run back to the freezer. We also toured the area where they keep all of the chocolate (such as Cadbury, Dairy Milk, etc.), otherwise known as Heaven. It made me really excited to visit Hershey Park in Philadelphia with Eric in just a week and a half!

We had the afternoon to work on refining our research topics and to meet with Professor Bailey to discuss them. I've officially decided that I will be writing about the variations in women's dress in the Gulf Region. My main goal is to examine the way in which women in the Gulf Region - and even the Arab World, for that matter - view the veil, and contrast it with the way the rest of the world views the veil. I plan on including case studies from countries that have even taken action against women who wear the headscarf, such as France and Turkey. I'm pretty excited to begin my research!

Tonight, the girls in the group had the unique opportunity to attend a women's diwaniyya. If you remember from my post from exactly 2 weeks ago today, a diwaniyya is a place where people, usually men, gather to discuss everything from politics to sports. One of the students from the AWARE Center, Mufez, invited us to her house to attend their diwaniyya that was restricted to women. This will probably be one of the nights I remember most from this trip. I have to admit, when we first walked in, I was pretty intimidated. Kuwaiti women are all completely done up with the most fashionable clothes, make-up, and hair. I, who have been living without my fried hair straightener for the past 3 weeks and have a sunburn fit for a lobster, felt a little uneasy at first. But these women quickly made us all feel more than welcome. There was endless food, drinks, and sweets, and we all just sat around talking with one another for more than 2 hours. Everyone I spoke with was so interested in hearing about my experience in Kuwait and the Gulf so far, and they were especially interested in my research topic. I even spoke to a woman, Hannah, who was in the U.S. for a few months immediately following September 11th. She told me about her experiences, as she does wear the hijab. It was incredible to hear such personal stories from women I had just met minutes earlier. It made me sad that we only met them 5 days before we leave!

Tomorrow we visit parliament, so I will hopefully have some more great stories to tell in my next post! Stay tuned!

Day 19: Jumeirah Beach

Once again, greetings from Kuwait! 

After an incredible weekend in Dubai, I'm back in the Holiday Inn Salmiya. Today was a lot of fun, as I ventured out with a few other members of the group to Jumeirah Beach, a public beach about 10 minutes outside of city center. It was absolutely beautiful, and the water was so warm! This was actually a little frustrating, though, because it was so incredibly hot in the sun. There is no such thing as cooling off by taking a dip in Dubai, that's for sure. Unfortunately - don't be too disappointed, Mom - I got very sunburnt. I wore sunscreen, but was clearly not careful enough. Hopefully it will turn to tan. Just kidding, that's definitely not going to happen. Oh well! I had fun, so that's what matters. The beaches are absolutely beautiful, and it was a great time. 

The bright, beautiful beach!

Later in the evening, we arrived at the Dubai Airport and found our gate without many issues, but there's just one thing I have to mention. After I went through security and was getting my things together, I noticed a man holding a cell phone up, looking like he was going to take a picture. We made eye contact, and he motioned at me to smile. I did, not realizing what was going on, and he snapped my picture and walked away! How weird is that?! I have no idea where that picture is going to end up, but I'm slightly frightened. I've gotten somewhat used to people taking my picture and staring at me in Kuwait, but I never expected to encounter the same thing in Dubai. 

Overall, I really loved Dubai. It is an incredible city that has really done a great job with modernizing itself into a real economic and tourist attraction. However, this is also probably the most expensive city I've ever visited. Absolutely everything costs money, and nothing is cheap, or even reasonable for that matter. I recommend that anyone who travels to Dubai makes peace with the fact that you're going to spend way more money than you want to, before you arrive in the UAE. If you do that, you'll have a great time! There is so much to do here, and I'm bummed we were only here for 2 days.

I had a fun time at the visa counter in the Kuwait airport...I met someone who was wearing a Chicago White Sox hat who I later found out was from the South Side of Chicago. I told him I was a Cubs fan, and it was fun to experience that joking all the way over here in Kuwait. He was on his way back to Chicago and had been in Afghanistan since 2009. I'm not exactly sure what he was doing there, but I can't imagine being away for so long. He seemed so excited to finally be going home. 

Well, now starts the final stretch on this crazy adventure! I'm so ready to enjoy my last 6 days in the Middle East! 

Day 18: Dune Bashing

Verdict: Dune bashing is the coolest thing I've ever done.

Today was a really great day. I knew it was going to be a good one right off the bat, because the breakfast buffet at the hotel included a pork section, and I was able to enjoy real bacon (not this strange beef stuff they feed us at the Holiday Inn in Kuwait) for the first time in three weeks. Ahh, how I've missed pork. After breakfast, a group of us rode the Metro to the Emirates Mall, home to Dubai's indoor ski slope. Interesting fact - the Dubai metro is so clean, and part of the reason for that is because you're not allowed to eat, drink, or chew gum. If you decide to do so, you can be fined. For chewing gum! 

Emirates mall was beautiful, and definitely less touristy than Dubai Mall, which was nice. It was still full of the most high-end shops I'd ever seen, though. And the indoor ski slope pretty much spoke for itself. 

Dubai Metro - puts the L in Chicago to absolute shame 

Emirates mall

Center of Emirates Mall 

Indoor winter wonderland 

So strange

Ice Age...really?

This afternoon was the adventure we had all been anticipating for the entire trip: desert safari. We were picked up from the hotel by our wonderful tour guide, Ismael, from Pakistan, and drove a little under an hour out to the desert. The first thing on the agenda: dune bashing. I cannot explain in words what this experience was like, so I figured the best thing to do would be to link a YouTube video that could provide you with a better idea of what dune bashing really is. 

Dune Bashing Video

The video is over 6 minutes long, so skip around to various parts! It was so scary at first, but so thrilling the entire time. Ismael turned up the music really loud, and it was a combination of pop/techno music, which was just plain cool. I'll never forget dune bashing to "Where Have You Been" by Rihanna. We stopped along the way to the camp (where the rest of the night's events would take place) and took pictures:

Group silly photo in the desert;
Photo credit to Hannah!

Endless sand

We even blew our tire, I'm not even kidding 

Obligatory cheesy picture

Dune bashing in action!

Hello!

We arrived at the camp about 45 minutes later, where we rode camels, ate dinner, and watched belly dancing. It was a really cool experience to be so far out there, away from everything. It reminded me of doing the safari in Africa. Although it was an amazing experience and something I'll never forget, it was also strange because the safaris are so different from the actual societies surrounding them. It's almost like entering a different country within a country. I don't know if that even makes sense, but that's the best I can do after this insane day!

Maya and I on a camel!

Looking like pros

Group desert sunset photo!

I'm not sure yet what the day holds for tomorrow, but we don't fly back to Kuwait until later in the night, so we have one last day to enjoy Dubai! Before I sign off, here are a couple extra pictures from the past couple of days:

Group photo at the Burj Khalifa! 

A little nervous heading to the top of the Burj!

Outside of Dubai Mall

I officially have 1 week left in the Gulf. Let's hope it's the best one yet!

Day 17: Dubai

Hello from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates!

We arrived safely in Dubai this morning and had an exhausting first day. We went to the Dubai Mall, which honestly makes malls in America (and even Kuwait) look pathetic. We shopped for awhile, not really buying anything, but just walking around and seeing all the cool things the mall had to offer, like its own aquarium, Souk, ice skating rink, and even the world's largest candy store. 

In front of the Burj Khalifa, the
tallest building in the world!

Burj Khalifa

The "Souk" in the mall

Feels like home! 

Candylicious, the world's largest candy store 

Aquarium in the middle of the mall - that's normal

This must be what heaven looks like

We ate dinner at a nice restaurant, and walked around outside, where there was a fountain show every 30 minutes. It was pretty amazing, but also weird to see such fancy things done with water, which is so rare around here. There were a bunch of different songs from all over the world to which the shows were "performed," even including Thriller by Michael Jackson!

Wowwwwwww

Afterwards, we went up to the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It was pretty incredible to be up there at night. 

Maya and I at dinner! 

Up on the 124th floor!

Blurry, but it works!

Dubai Mall from above

Tomorrow promises to be unforgettable, as we are going on a desert safari, complete with camel riding and dune bashing! The last time I went on a safari was 3 years ago in Kenya, so this will definitely be a lot different. I can't wait!