Comparisons

Sometimes I find myself making mental list of comparisons between Kuwait and the US.   In my case, I am comparing my own personal experience as a resident in Raleigh, North Carolina vs. my current home in Mahboula, Kuwait. Living in another country can highlight some of the basic things that you have taken for granted for years.  On the other hand, it can make you appreciate the things you didn't know your were missing. 

1.     Colors-Raleigh Wins

Raleigh has beautiful scenery.  Currently it is the beginning of the fall season and the leaves are turning shades of red,yellow, and orange.  The weather is becoming a bit cooler with temperatures in the mid 60s-low 70s. Houses and offices buildings range in colors.   Fall in Kuwait means that temps are dipping…..wait for it….below 100 Farenheit!  Believe it or not, I can feel the difference and welcome the high 90s.  If this has an effect on the sparse trees, it is not an obvious one.  The overall color scheme  of homes and buildings remains varying shades of beige. with a little grey and white thrown in here and there. 

Autum in Raleigh

No so colorful Kuwait

2.     Public Bathrooms- Kuwait Wins

Shopping malls, grocery stores, and various public locations commonly have restroom attendants to ensure cleanliness. While this is not a job I would ever desire, it is certainly one I can appreciate.  Christians are the only people who say that cleanliness is next to Godliness. Cleanliness is an important part of Islamic faith.  I mentioned the bidet hoses pictured below in a previous post as something that is found in public and private restrooms here.  I have since learning that washing the private areas with clean water from the hoses is highly important for Muslims.  Prayer takes place 5 times daily and most public places have prayer rooms. Clean hands and face are required for prayer. I'm guessing that is why clean restrooms are a high priority here. 

3.     Sidewalks - Raleigh Wins

Basically, Raleigh has sidewalks! Kuwait doesn’t have any in the neighborhood that I live.  It’s simply sand running into the paved roads.  This means that I wear sneakers instead of sandals when I walk around my neighborhood even though it’s 100 degrees. The sand has lots of gravel mixed in so wearing sandals is no fun.

4.     Taxi- Kuwait wins

To be fair, I’ll admit that I never once caught a cab in Raleigh.  I had a car.  I don’t have a car here.  I walk outside about 10steps to the curb and a taxi usually pulls up within 2 minutes.  Sometimes if traffic is a little busy, I might have to wave one down.  This is also a way to have a cultural experience as your driver might be from India, Pakastan,  or Bangladesh to name a few places.  Today the driver of my taxi asked me out to dinner, so apparently this is also a way to get a date too.

5.     Traffic- Raleigh Wins

When American’s think of traffic, I think we think of cars slowing down causing us to be late or delayed in arriving to the next location.  In Kuwait I think of traffic as the sometimes near death experience of getting from point A to point B.  Stop signs and yield signs seem to be more suggestions than rules here.  There also seems to be some goal to get as close to the other cars on the road as possible without swiping off their rear view mirrors.  When I approach a traffic circle I just say a prayer to come out alive and, gratefully, I’ve lived every time. 

6.     Malls- Kuwait wins

Raleigh has some lovely malls.  You enter them for a little retail therapy and can spend a couple of hours there.  Kuwaiti malls can range from a 2 hour trip to a full day event.  This is the part where male-readers might cringe in horror.   Kuwaiti malls cater to a lifestyle of leisure.  Malls here have some of the same stores we see in the states such as Gap, Old Navy, and H&M with prices about 20-30% higher (for the same exact stuff).  One of the larger malls here has multiple locations of the same store so that you can stop at the Gap upstairs if you overlooked it when you were downstairs. There are also local and international retailers.  There are plenty of high end stores here such as Cartier, Gucci, Prada, and Burberry for those with money to blow. Many of them have children’s stores next door so that your little ones can sport their own Burberry as well.  In Kuwaiti malls you can shop, go to movies, go bowling, work out in the gym, let kids play in the arcades, eat at restaurants, and do your grocery shopping at the full supermarket that each of them seem to have in the lower level.  

bowling night at the mall

7.     The Beach-Kuwait Wins

It takes me a couple of hours to drive from Raleigh to the Beach.  In Kuwait it takes about 10 minutes.  I joined a fancy health club recently for quality equipment and group fitness classes.  I was willing to pay that arm and leg membership fee because members also have access to this beach!

8.     Trash Disposal/Recycling- Raleigh Wins

Littering is a problem all over the world unless you live in Singapore.  In Raleigh there seem to be trash cans and recycling bins at parks, grocery stores, and most public locations.  Kuwait seems to have opted out of placing trash bins randomly throughout the city so you seem  to find piles of trash randomly all over the place.  It’s not pretty.

somewhere else in the world

kuwait- notice the debris next to the palm trees. This is a common sight here. 

9.     Smoking-Raleigh Wins

Remember when you used to have to request non-smoking sections in restaurants?  Now we don’t do that in most states anymore because smoking is banned in most public places.  Some states even ban smoking in outdoor public places like Central Park in New York.  I am reminded that I’m not in Kansas anymore when I eat in restaurants or walk through malls and find myself inhaling a cloud of 2^nd hand smoke here in Kuwait.   Smoking cigarettes and smoking shisha (hookah) is a common practice here. 

10. Paycheck- Kuwait wins

Don’t act surprised.  If you know me, you know I didn’t just move here for the cultural experience.  If that’s all I wanted, I could have watched the travel channel and read National Geographic.  North Carolina ranks shamefully low in teacher pay.