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!