Different than in the USA

When you move across the world, some things are bound to be different.  There are enough familiar items  here to make me feel at home.  Here are some of the things that are new to me.

My Washer/Dryer Combo

This is my washing machine.  It is also a dryer.  The first "different" thing to me about this item is that it is located in the kitchen.  The idea of a combo washer/dryer unit sounds pretty genius. Especially for people who live is small spaces.  I'm guessing this machine isn't popular in the states because of it's flaws.  It can take up to 4 hours to complete a wash cycle. I have used it on a quick wash cycle which only takes 30 minutes.  The shortest dryer cycle is about just over 1 hour, and it leaves clothes damp.  I use the 3hour 31minute dryer cycle for best results.  As you can imagine, washing clothes can be a full day affair.  The machine gets pretty noisy too.  The spin cycle sounds like a space ship preparing for take off.  I tried to attach a video but it didn't work:(.

this item is also in my kitchen.  I have no idea what it is.  I keep forgetting to ask friends when I leave the house.  If you know what it is, tell me in the comments.

Bidet Hoses

This is the toilet in my bathroom. Yes we have toilets in the United States.  Notice the spray hose next to the toilet.  These bidet hoses are next to all of the toilets here.  Yup, I've tried them.  I use the one in my apartment as a "pre-clean" before the toilet paper.  I refuse to use these in public.  The idea of sharing the germs of the many who have used the hose before me is ....well...gross.  

Call to Prayer and Prayer Rooms

this mosque is across the street from my apartment building

these signs seem to be as common in public places as bathroom signs

Kuwait is a Muslim country.  There are mosque everywhere.  One of them is located across the street from my apartment and I hear the call to prayer at different times throughout the day.  The call sounds like arabic singing in surround sound.  I don't pay very much attention to it now as I've gotten used to it.  I'd like to make a practice to stop and say my own prayers when I hear this call so that I can remember that God is in control.   Thankfully, this call doesn't wake me up at night. Some of my friends at work still wake up nightly when it sounds at 4am.   In airports, shopping malls, grocery stores etc. I have noticed the signs for prayer rooms.  I'm not sure if individuals are supposed to go prayer at the times when they hear the call or if the call serves as a reminder to get your prayers in 5 times daily.  I will have an opportunity to ask at some point.  My students will have Islamic studies 2-3 times per week in school, as required by the law here.  No, I don't teach it.  I may have to listen in on some of the content so that I can have some of my questions answered.  I can also ask new friends and coworkers who are practicing Muslims to see how their practices vary.  

The Weekends

It is Saturday night.  Tomorrow I go to work.  Weird huh?  Weekends throughout the Middle East are on Friday and Saturday.  I no longer have jet lag. Yay!  I still struggle with keeping up with what day of the week it is.  This going to work on Sunday and planning on my calendar in general are taking some getting used to.  

Grocery Shopping

This is like an escalator without stairs.  You can take your entire grocery cart to different floors in the store. 

dairy aisle

cereals

Grocery shopping is an event for me here.  I have had to be more deliberate about adding things to my shopping list since I don't have a car to use for any quick milk runs.  I went grocery shopping this morning and found many of the brands that I am used to seeing along with middle eastern brands.  Shopping requires a lot more concentration for me here.  Most labels are in both Arabic and English.  They have standard dairy, produce, meat etc sections.  Everything doesn't flow in the same format that I am used to.  For example, I passed peanut butter today and jellies and jams were not in the same aisle. I didn't need either product, but that is just one example of how the flow of things are different.  In the produce section, you are supposed to visit a counter to have your items weighed as they don't have scales at the cash register.  I held up a line today while a guy ran back to do this for me and the cashier explained the progress to me asking "You are new to Kuwait right?"The stores I have visited have been 2-3 floors.  Some of them are similar to a Target or Walmart with household items, electronics, and clothing.  It is also not unusual for the store employees to take items items my cart, place them on the conveyor belt, bag the groceries, and push the cart to the car to help me unload.  I do tip.  Today a man walked around with me to help me find my bus pushing the shopping cart behind me in 120 Farenheit.  I didn't even want to be outside for more than 5 seconds and he was doing this for people all day.  

This is all I have for you today.  I'll write about more when I think up more.  Thanks for reading:)

first week

My first week in Kuwait

this week's forecast

The Weather

Well, It’s hot! I knew that it would be. The high temperatures are not a surprise, but the feel of the intense heat still surprises me every time I walk outside.  Thankfully, it is not humid.  A  friend with experience has suggested that I use an umbrella when walking outside to protect me from the sun.  Honestly, I am only outside when walking from one air conditioned building to the bus or car which is air conditioned as well.  A few days ago I looked at our beautiful playground and asked my coworker a stupid question: “We have to stand outside with them during recess don’t we?”  This is not because I don’t want to supervise my students at play.  This is because a recess at 118 degrees seems like more of a punishment than a reward.  I think our recesses will start in 10-12 minute stretches while the teachers are becoming acclimated to being outside.  By the way, my school’s facilities are incredible.  I will share more about that in a future post. 

Safety and Transportation

I am using universal precautions regarding safety.  I haven’t ventured out alone beyond the block that I live on.  We have been advised to use the buddy system.  My two main locations are work and home.  The school has a full security team and my apartment building has a security guard 24 hours a day.  I didn’t have this much protection in the USA.  I’m more concerned about things like making sure I can remember my building address correctly to tell a cab driver than being mugged.  There are no street names here.  You describe your location with block numbers and landmarks. 

The main form of transportation for me has been a bus.  Everyone in my apartment building and the building next door works for my school.  The school has busses waiting outside for us in the morning for work and brings us home after work.  We have a schedule for going grocery shopping and to the mall. This bus service continues throughout the school year.  We have been given names and contact information of reputable drivers to call when we want to run personal errands or take a trip somewhere.  Taxis are not expensive.  Apparently bottled water is more expensive than gas in Kuwait.  Remember, this is an oil rich country. 

My general impression of Kuwait

After a week, I still feel like a tourist.  I look out of the window during bus rides and stare.  There are lots of high rise buildings here.  It seems that a majority are brown or gray.  I feel like they are designed to blend in with the sand.  I have also seen beautiful homes.  Sometimes we ask one another whether they are single family dwellings are a palace.  The citizens of Kuwait possess a lot of wealth and it shows.  Some of the mosque are beautifully designed as well. Even the homes and mosque seem to fall into this dull color scheme.  I miss color. 

my new city

This house looks like a palace.  I feel like singing "A Whole New World" and waiting for  Aladdin and Jasmine to come out on a magic carpet

nice house. Boring colors.  There are more trees here than I thought there would be.  That makes me happy!

I have not had a difficult time finding the things I need in local grocery stores or the mall.  This is a very modern society. I am adjusting to the many languages spoken around me.  I am adjusting to the sound of the call to prayer from the mosque across the street. Sometimes Kuwait seems to be a study of contradictions.  I had read that it is common to see trash thrown around here, and that is true.  I have approached lovely buildings and seen a field of discarded trash nearby.  It is not an dumpyard.  It seems that passers by have just thrown their empty bottles and cups on the ground. 

  

I have a feeling that my view of Kuwait is just a starting point.  Right now I am in a protective expat bubble.  I live, shop and work amongst coworkers.  Even the native Arabic speakers that I have met are not Kuwaiti, but coworkers who have moved to Kuwait from surrounding countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.  That being said, I am having a really positive experience and look forward to what else is to come. 

Oh, I almost forgot.  I wrote this blog entry around 4AM. I woke up around 3:30 this morning and the call to prayer was sounding outside. Jet lag might be the worst part of moving to a new country.  I rarely sleep for more than a 4 or 5 hour stretch.  That means that I am quite tired a lot of the time.  This is supposed to balance out by the end of a couple of weeks.  I sure hope that is the case for me.

I'm in Kuwait!

  I have made it to Kuwait!  It’s hard to believe that I am finally here.  I left Detroit, Michigan around 9:30pm on Sunday night (about 4:30 am Kuwait time).  I arrived in Kuwait on Tuesday afternoon around 12:30pm local Kuwait time.   The trip included a layovers in Amsterdam and Dubia.  Both of those are cities I would love to return to in the future to explore beyond the walls of the airport. 

these photos were taken in the airport in Dubai

My school arranged for myself and 5 of my new coworkers to all meet up in Amsterdam and complete the trip together.  We came from different parts of the US including Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia and Ohio.  We had our first team building activity occur kind of by mistake.  In Dubia, we encountered a very expensive problem with baggage that caused us to push back our flight for over 10 hours and spend hours going from desk to desk to solve the problem.  I’m super grateful for our single co-worker who had a fully charged phone with international data plan.  She was able to make numerous phone calls back and forth to the school administrators to assist with fixing the problem.  Meanwhile, the rest of us were learning a lesson in being supportive, working together, and being patient with the long waits in line at the airport.   Gratefully, we did not encounter a problem with language as a barrier.  English was the official business language in the airports we spent time in.  I also did not have any problems with using my credit card to pay for meals.  It wasn’t necessary to exchange money for the brief time we were away, so the credit card made things simple.

My group was clearly not alone in being delayed.  The airport had long rows of  reclining chairs for weary travelers. 

 

this part of the Dubai airport looks like a mall

these recognizable restaurants were in the airport in Kuwait.  

I will share more photos and general information in days and weeks to come.  I do start work immediately.  Kuwait is  7 hours ahead of Eastern time in the USA so I am experiencing some jet lag. I slept for about 6 hours last night.   My school arranges for a bus to take us to work daily.  So far, I have been warmly welcomed by the school staff and my mentor teacher.  I have a very nice spacious apartment.  My favorite part of it is my view of the Persian Gulf, also known as the Arabian Gulf. 

a view of my neighborhood from my apartment window. This mosque across the street plays a call to prayer about every 4 hours.  

I was thrilled to learn that my apartment includes a view of the Persian Gulf!  I took this photo from my balcony.  It looks better in person

Do you have questions for me?  I know you do.  Post your questions in the comments section.  I’ll be happy to answer them eventually.  Thanks to everyone for reading!

Delayed Departure, Dessert Social, and Yarn Twist

Do you like my random title?  These things are somewhat related in a roundabout way.  First I'd like to share that my hometown friends and family are amazing people!  I rolled my weary self into town this Thursday evening and got a loving call from a family friend, Mrs. Barry, wishing me well and asking if we could see one another in person.  This turned into some rushed planning of a dessert social.  My mom and sister Trudie spent hours baking and preparing this:

there was a lot more than this, but a photo can only capture so much

Well people come from all around when they hear that there will be good food and fellowship.  We had both!  I saw people that I hadn't seen in a very long time.  I have read a lot about moving abroad and life as an expat. Expat is an abbreviated term for expatriate and refers to someone who has moved away from his or her native land.  I have gotten used to the idea that people all over the world do this.  Although I have learned these things through my research, I forget that my move is still unique within my circle of family and friends.  I have some great expat role models in my life.  I am honored to be one for others.  I want to extend my thanks again to all who came by.  I appreciate every card, every hug, and every prayer and positive word extended. 

 I was initially scheduled to depart for Kuwait on Tuesday, August 11th.  My bags are packed.  I'm all ready to go.  Well,  my departure date is now postponed for about a week.  There was an issue with work visas and I cannot enter the country without a Visa.  I was somewhat disappointed to hear this news because I have been preparing myself emotionally for this move.  I am choosing to believe that all things happen for a reason.  I get a week to visit people I love and relax.  My grandmother's favorite phrase when I visit is "You don't have to hurry and go yet Dear."  Today,  I got to promise her that I will come back and visit again this week.  I get to see my great Aunt Candy!  I get to visit friends in Michigan! I am able to spend time with these little ladies:

And now to the Yarn Twist.  I spent about 6 hours on Friday putting yarn twist in my hair.  I figured I would give myself a low maintenance hairstyle, so that I have one less thing to worry about when I move.  Plus, I love a variety of hairstyles that are cute but require very little daily styling if any.  This was not a difficult style.  The middle is actually pre-twisted crochet Twist.  I ordered this from Amazon.com 

I put two rows of individual twist around the perimeter of my head.  The time consuming part of this project was cutting the pieces of yarn that I needed for the individual twist.  I also needed to burn each twist at the end to seal it.  Here is the finished result.  

Pros: It is a cute style.  It was not very difficult to achieve.  The crochet twist made this a lot less time consuming than full individual twist.  I used less than 1 skein of acrylic yarn around the perimeter which cost less than $3. 00.   

Cons: It's too HOT.  Did I mention that I am moving to a desert climate where the average temperature this week is 120 degrees?  With this in mind, I feel like I  have a sweater hanging from my head. I'm just sad that my style can't stay long term after I put the time and effort into it.  One other con is the fact that the many of the twist have become unraveled and I have had to burn them again.  Now we are getting back into the daily maintenance that I wanted to avoid in the first place.  Maybe God gave me an extra week in the states so that I can  get this sweater off of my head:) 

My Packing Faries

Today is my last full day in Raleigh. Don't know how this day arrived so quickly, but it is here.  Tomorrow I will leave for Toledo, Ohio and spend time with my family before my August 11th departure to Kuwait.  Last week,  I looked around my apartment and realized there was just too much to do before my departure date if I insisted on doing it alone.  I called one friend to help me put together an action plan and she told me that #1 on my list needed to be "get some help".

Well, my help came.  I prayed for packing fairies, and they showed up.  While there were no magical packed bags appearing when I woke up each morning, I did get  friends stopping by to help out and make the work much easier. I forgot to take pictures.  Except for this one because this friend worked for about 20 minutes to wrap this pot in newspaper just right......

I have the best small group ever! In addition to meeting up for Bible study and prayer, we support one another during various life events.  When I put out the call for help, they came.  Saturday I had friends packing up dishes, pots and pans, and picture frames.  They rolled clothes for packing.  I was just patting myself on the pack for the genius idea to invite them over and getting ready to say goodbye when my friends noticed this.

I still had a full closet.  I figured I would pack that up later.  "Janeen,  you don't have later.  You leave in a couple of days".  Really,  I think it just wasn't clicking.  In my crazy mental timeline, I had all the time in the world.  My friends kicked me out of my very own closet and got to work.  

Meanwhile, I had folks still dropping in to buy my furniture.  The bed went to a sweet newleywed couple.  The futon is now gone.  My buddy Lynn dropped by to help me paint.  I had spent a couple of days fighting with the wallpaper.  The removal took down both wallpaper and paint.  Lynn informed me that i couldn't just paint over the huge paint holes that were  in the wall.  

Thankfully, the holes weren't this big, but they were pretty noticeable. 

Who knew?  We ran by Lowes to pick up spackle supplies.  She fixed my wall! Yay.  I didn't have to pay a security deposit when I moved into this apartment, so I'm sure they would have sent me some kind of bill if not for Lynn's help. 

This move has involved packing for 2 locations.  Of course I am packing for life in Kuwait, but I am also using my parents house as a storage unit. I sold all of my furniture.  I gave away lots of stuff.  These pics show a portion of what I donated to charity.

Seriously,  I have too much stuff.  I'd like to use this move as a chance to implement a more minimalistic lifestyle.  We'll see.  I think the fact that I have 6 large bags packed shows that I have a ways to go in my "less is more" journey.