Day 4: The Old Souk

11pm ---

Okay, I think I'm finally starting to recover from this insane jetlag I've been having! Since today is one of our only "free days," we were able to sleep in a little. After going to sleep at 1:30am (Dana [my roommate] and I stayed up late because we found the Colbert Report on TV!), I didn't wake up until 10! A full 8 and a half hours: success. 

The day was ours until about 6pm. I basically relaxed most of the afternoon. I checked out the gym - but didn't last too long, because even though the air conditioning was blasting, it was still incredibly hot because the entrance door leads to the outside, where it was a scorching 110 degrees today.

In the afternoon I went downstairs to L’Aroma Café, a small restaurant in the lobby of the hotel open 24 hours a day. I did some reading and people-watched. One fun thing about Kuwait is that because there is no alcohol, they come up with all of these crazy drinks that have some of the most interesting flavor and juice combinations one can possibly imagine. Last night at dinner I had a “Natalia,” which was lemonade, cherry, and grenadine. This afternoon, I stuck to a favorite, “Pina Colada Mocktail.” This place is pretty much heaven for anyone who is underage anyway, like me, because I can still order any drink on the menu and they taste absolutely delicious. Also, since water is not free in Kuwait (you can't drink the tap water), there is no point in ordering water to avoid the cost of a drink (which is what I usually do, as Eric knows very well), so it gives me the perfect excuse to order a fun drink with every dinner, since it will cost about the same as a water would anyway. All of us are having fun with the drinks - it's fun to wait and see what everyone's looks like. One of the signature Kuwaiti drinks consists of mint and lemonade "mocktail"...it is to die for.

Another thing I wanted to mention from this afternoon is that you can smoke cigarettes pretty much anywhere in Kuwait. The guy sitting next to me at L’Aroma Café was puffing away…lovely. The only designated smoking area I’ve come across during the trip so far was in the airport, and it was so packed with people that they had to keep the door open, thus wafting the smell all throughout the terminal anyway. Quite different from the U.S.

Before leaving for the Old Souk, I snapped a shot of the view from my hotel room, because I realized that the only picture I had taken of the view consisted of the pool and workout room at night:

Kuwait apartment buildings

We left for the Old Souk in Kuwait City, and it was a really cool place. We stopped beforehand at the first Kuwaiti school, which has since been turned into a museum. They had some cool stuff on display, like this grade book from the 1940s:

Arabic Grading Book

The Old Souk was really interesting. I took a couple of pictures, but they didn't turn out very well. I also didn't want to seem like I was snapping pictures of people, because it was a very crowded place. 

Opening in middle of Souk

Older, shut down part of Souk

The Souk is basically a huge marketplace where you can buy pretty much anything. We're going to go back a couple more times during the trip, so I didn't buy anything today. Everyone was offering us a bunch of different food to try, like fruit, nuts, and deserts. Everything was delicious! One of the biggest parts of going to the Souk is negotiating the prices, which I'm a little nervous about. At least I have my Arabic to help me out, so that makes me feel better. We ate dinner outside in the Souk, and there were a bunch of misters over all of the tables. It kept us cool, but it was sort of like eating in the rain, which was kind of strange. The food was great, once again!

The Souk seemed to be the one place so far where Kuwaitis and ex-pats go together (or at least are there are the same time, doing the same thing, namely shopping). Some ex-pats are employed by the Souk to follow shoppers around with carts, carrying their items for them. They wear bright red jumpsuits - it was strange to see. It struck me as very degrading and unnecessary. I'm starting to be able to tell immediately who is a Kuwaiti and who is an ex-pat.

Tomorrow we are going to a place called Failaka Island, which is right off the coast of Kuwait. I'm super excited - apparently there is a camel farm, jetskis, and horseback riding. It should be really cool!

!مع السلامة

Day 3: 360 Mall

Well, it's 10:30pm here in Kuwait, and if there is one thing I'm learning so far during this trip, it's that there is really no way to plan what we're going to do each day. There are so many different schedules to work out, and so many different considerations to take into account (such as weather, i.e. sandstorms), that it is quite impossible to do exactly what we had planned each day. So, to those of you who have my syllabus/itinerary, it probably won't match up with my blog from here on out. Sorry!

Today was another fun day, although a little strange at times. We started out with breakfast, and I read the Kuwait Times:

Front Page

Back Page: Congrats Sixers!

Even though it was a day late, the headlines of the sports section read, "Sixers Claw Their Way Back Into The Series." I know that the Middle East isn't really big on sports, but I didn't realize that their sports headlines would consist of the US NBA Playoffs!

After breakfast we headed to AUK and had a guest lecturer, Mr. Samar Khanachet, the President of United Gulf Management. He discussed US/Arab relations, and noted some interesting points about Kuwait. It is definitely fascinating to hear the different perspectives from around the region that are often so different from those found in the U.S. Toward the end of the discussion, Mr. Khanachet said something that really struck me. We had been talking about how wealthy Kuwait is (because of oil), and he said, "You will find more empathy, kindness, and a sense of sharing in the poorest village in India than here in Kuwait." Money is what Kuwaitis focus on, and money generates envy, greed, and the absolute worst in human nature.

Kuwait is really strange to me. I have to admit, I don't really understand this country at all (at least so far, which is to be expected). Kuwait has a population of about 3.5 million people; however, only 1.6 million of these people are actually Kuwaiti. The rest are ex-pats, who will never be able to gain Kuwaiti citizenship. They are here only to work and receive none of the benefits of being a Kuwaiti citizen. Kuwaiti citizens pretty much live the life; they have free education, free healthcare, no taxes, and receive an oil subsidy every month from the government. They are also guaranteed a job within the government once they complete their education. Thus, 90% of Kuwaitis work for the government. Those who work in the private sector still receive a monthly "salary" from the government. What we have been learning during these first few days, then, is that there really is no incentive for Kuwaitis to do much of anything. They can't lose their jobs, so why work hard or be productive when they're actually at work?

After class, the group of 7 walked back to the hotel, taking our time along the way looking at some food shops, such as this one:

Nothing like a warm cookie in 110 degree weather!

After we got back to the hotel, we had a nice long afternoon break. I went out and laid out by the pool for the first time, which was actually great. It was pretty hot - to put it mildly - but that just made swimming in the pool that much more refreshing. I'm going to make my best attempt at accumulating some sort of tan while I'm here, but I have to be really careful to make sure I don't get burnt to a crisp (trying to make you proud, Mom)!

One of the strangest points of the day happened while I was out in the pool area. They were playing famous pop songs, like "Dynamite," and "Take it Off" by Kesha, which was strange enough as it was. Then, Kesha is in the middle of talking about how she has a water bottle full of whiskey in her handbag, getting her drunk-text on, in a club that is a "dirty free-for-all," when the call to prayer comes on. Immediately, the music is shut off for the next 30 minutes.

Our plan was to go to the Old Souk (marketplace/bazaar) tonight, but we had to cancel that plan because it was still too dusty from yesterday. Instead, we went to a beautiful place called the 360 Mall. Yes, a mall. I had no idea that we would be visiting malls while in the Middle East, but I now realize how naive I had been. At first, we were all a little confused as to why we would be visiting a mall in Kuwait. After all, that's something most of us do on a regular basis in the U.S. What cultural experience can be found in a shopping mall? I quickly realized that this was probably our first exposure to the real Kuwaiti population (Holiday Inn Salmiya is not directly near where Kuwaitis live; we are surrounded by much of the ex-pat population). Friday is Holy Day in Islam, and so Friday and Saturday are the "weekend" here. Thus, on Friday night, the hot thing to do is go to the mall.

The 360 Mall of Kuwait puts Mall of America (I'm assuming even though I've never been) and King of Prussia (sorry Eric and Mom) Mall to absolute shame. It is absolutely huge, and has more high-end shops than one could possibly imagine. It is so over the top, it has glass decorations that hang from the ceilings, such as these:

 Part of the mall's interior

Pretty cool if you ask me. We walked around and ate dinner, and honestly, it was a cultural experience just to people-watch. According to Professor Bailey, there really is nothing else to do besides go to the mall. I could tell - it was jam-packed the entire time we were there, and as we left I could see that the massive parking lots were overflowing with cars. Kuwaitis are just so wealthy - I did not usually picture this when I imagined the Middle East. If you're interested, here is the link to the 360 Mall's website. Who knew a mall could contain a cultural experience. See Mom and Dad?

After returning to the hotel, we went outside to do Sheesha (Hookah, according to America). Don't worry parents, I didn't try any. I have to admit though, it did smell pretty amazing!

Sheesha

Any form of smoking is highly unappealing to me, but this is definitely a huge cultural aspect of the Middle East.

This place is still very strange to me, but I know that each day I'll feel a little more comfortable here. One thing I don't think I'll ever get used to, though, is the constant staring. Especially in the 360 Mall, our group stood out so intensely. Some people even took pictures of us!

Oh well. Until tomorrow, !تصبح على خير (goodnight!)

Day 2: First Day of Class

!مساء الخير

(Good evening!)

It's a little before midnight here in Kuwait, and I had a great first full day. Jetlag was definitely an issue and I had a difficult time falling asleep last night. Hopefully I'll be back on schedule after tonight, though. 

This morning the group enjoyed our first breakfast together - a delicious buffet - and then headed to the American University of Kuwait where we will be taking our class. We are using a seminar room in the library, which is very nice. Interesting note: many students were walking around the library talking on their cell phones. I can only imagine how that would turn up in one of BC's libraries, such as Bapst (in other words, the students wouldn't make it out alive). It turns out that Kuwait is the most "connected" state in the Middle East, and one of the most "connected" states in the world. This means that Kuwaitis are always on their cell phones/Internet/etc. I cannot even count how many people I've seen texting while driving!

Today's lecture was a general overview about Kuwait, discussing its government, economy, population, and the like. I've already started thinking about what I want to do my research on, and there are so many interesting things to choose from. Right now I'm leaning toward the veil in Kuwait - I've seen everything from no veil to the complete Burka (only eyes showing), which is very interesting and something I'd love to learn more about.

The seminar room has a window that looks across the street to one of the many mosques in Kuwait. At 12pm, we could hear the call to prayer for the first time during our trip. It was very interesting, and I actually really like the sound of it. It's sort of like a mixture of singing and chanting. Looking around, it was clear that many people were not actually praying (i.e. they were driving cars, in the library, walking around campus, etc.). Professor Bailey explained that there are prayer rooms all throughout the city (I even saw one as we were leaving the airport yesterday), and while many people choose to use them, a lot of Kuwaitis do not pray the "required" 5 times per day. However, in Saudi Arabia, this is not the case at all. There would not be a single soul around during the call to prayer, Professor Bailey explained. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the different divisions and differences within Islam.

After class, we walked back to the hotel (about a 15 minute walk) along the Arabian Gulf:

It's too dusty to see (there was actually a pretty big sandstorm today), but just across the horizon there lies Iran. Pretty crazy! I took some pictures along the way as we walked back to the hotel:

A Starbucks right along the Gulf!

Traditional Dhow (ship) museum we passed

Kuwaitis love their shopping!

Jetskis on the Arabian Gulf?! 

The Holiday Inn Salmiya! Notice the Pinkberry sign in front!

Mosque

Random pretty building

The pictures all have a sort of dusty tint because of the sandstorm. Hopefully it won't be this bad during the rest of the trip. It was pretty hard to walk in - my eyes were watering and the hotel even gave us masks to put over our mouths when it got worse later in the afternoon. We returned to the hotel and had a 3 hour break, which was nice. Afterward, we visited the Kuwait Museum of Contemporary Art. Usually I'm not much of an art person, but I have to admit I was pretty intrigued by some of the works in the museum. There was a special new exhibit devoted to the Palestinian population in Kuwait that showed the relationship between the Palestinians and Kuwaitis throughout history. Below are some of my favorite works. My favorite piece of all was a necklace, which is the 6th picture down:

Work by painter from Syria

Inside of the Museum of Contemporary Art

"The Prisoner"

Don't really know, but thought it was cool!

I especially like the Arabic script...

Favorite piece! "We are for Kuwait and Kuwait is for us."

Traditional Kuwaiti dress with Palestinian embroidering

Desert sand

Kuwaiti house floor-plan on an Etch-A-Sketch

After the Museum of Contemporary Art, we ate dinner at Cafe Bazza, a traditional Kuwaiti restaurant with modern influence was spectacular. Dinners are definitely late and long around here, which will take some getting used to. Overall, it was a great first full day.

Goodnight!

Day 1: Arrival

Greetings from Kuwait!

I can't believe I'm finally here! It seemed like such a long journey to get here. The 12 hour plane ride was definitely a challenge, but I'm glad it's over. Flying in, I looked out the window and could see only desert sand. We arrived in the airport at 5:30pm, picked up our visas, went through customs, and grabbed our luggage. Walking through the airport was strange because there were 2 Starbucks, a Cinnabon, all sorts of different American fastfood chains. I expected my first step outside to shock me, but the heat actually wasn't too bad. The fact that there is no humidity definitely helps.

We arrived at the Holiday Inn Salmiya and were welcomed by a bunch of different people. I can't believe how nice the hotel is - definitely 10 times nicer than the Holiday Inns in the US. My room overlooks the pool and exercise center, which is pretty neat:

Here are some other pictures of the room:

I can already tell this is going to be a great trip. I look forward to starting class tomorrow! For now, goodnight!

Day of Departure

Hello! In a little less than 24 hours, I'll be landing in Kuwait for the start of my 26-day adventure in the Arabian Gulf. I'm feeling a mix of emotions - excitement and nervousness more than anything - but I know that this is going to be the trip of a lifetime. I'll miss all of my family and friends so much, and I want to use this blog to share some stories/pictures/etc. with you while I'm away. So if you're so inclined, check back over these next 3 and a half weeks to see what I'm up to! Enjoy!