Krispy kremes and baklava

Much like any other school, the front office becomes a catch-all for all sorts of treats. As the students get to know me more, they are bringing by snacks on a regular basis. Krispy Kreme donuts are a huge phenomenon here; in fact I had two last week which is kind of my yearly limit. Last week, a student brought Russ traditional Kuwaiti chicken and rice, which was mostly white rice, but it was the thought that counted. Makes going to the gym a little more of an incentive (Maria and I went for an extended session today). For anyone who thought we were wasting away on rabbit food, rest assured, we are keeping some padding on, me probably more so. Russ looks great - he has slimmed down and is nicely toned.

Yesterday was my first Arabic lesson. There is a group of nine of us who have hired Hasan,a Syrian student who is working on his MBA. We are his first class, so it is a learning curve for all of us. Big lesson with words all sounding the same - tamam means perfect, haman is a pigeon, and hamman (pronounced with two m's) means toilet. I am pretty sure I will be asking someone for a pigeon with a desperate look on my face in the near future. He started with the alphabet, which was a good way to overwhelm us. We told him that we would like to talk taxi, talk shopkeeper, talk restaurant. We will meet for the next four weeks and then he will test us by taking us to the streets. He also introduced us to Syrian desserts much like baklava, dripping in butter and honey, so between that and the donuts, it's been quite a week.

I miss intelligent female conversation, and so invited some friends over to talk about "The Help" last night, drink non-alcoholic wine, and order take-out (chicken wings, onion rings, and caesar salad delivered to our door within twenty minutes). There were ten of us and while the conversation started off with tips on smuggling "real" (as opposed to nasty homebrew) alcohol into the country, it soon turned into a thoughtful discussion about the "help" in this country. Much like in the book, the Indian and Asian nannies and housecleaners are not well-treated, and at the same time, many of them are completely endeared by the children they essentially raise. The money they earn here then goes back to their families in their home countries. That is a sobering thought - to raise some one else's children while being treated like second-class citizens in order to give your own kids a better life.

We bought our air tickets home for the two-week December break and the time will undoubtedly go by quickly. Before that however, our next holiday will be at the beginning of November.

Every weekend we do laundry but can do only small batches at one time because we don't have any hanging space, just a couple of drying racks in the spare bedroom. It is impossible until the weather cools down to get any cold water out of the taps because the water in the roof tanks heat up so incredibly. I have learned the hard way why some clothes insist on being washed in cold. Sigh. Whites look great though!