Today, Hasan, our Arabic teacher, shared the following slogan from Saudi Airlines - "Seventy years of progress and no change". Right. Learning the language is slow but steady. Every once in a while I have great opportunity to practice it. I feel if I can be fluent in the basics, it will go a long way. On the other hand, I am eating quite well. Today we had Turkish coffee and Syrian helow (sweets). I probably gain a pound a week from our lesson time, which creates more motivation to go to the Hilton.
Randomly during the week, we got the word that our phone lines had been reconnected. So now we have free landline service but out of habit still use our cell phones most of the time.
Russ has been putting our insurance to the test, and so far it's passing. He is getting great care checking in with a couple of doctors. Our latest visit took us to Al- Sabat Hospital, which resembled a sparkling mall with its marble floors, glitzy boutiques, sparkling escalators, and charming cafe. They even had a day spa there. Boy, I was thinking - when can I check in?
In this artistically devoid city, there was an exhibit by self-taught artist Matt Lamb at the American University of Kuwait after school on Thursday. A few of us went over to check it out and then got something to eat at a nearby Lebanese restaurant. The weather was pleasant with a slight breeze and so we sat outside on comfortable sofas, smoked sheesha (water pipe), and dug into a spread of olives, breads, hummus, lemon potatoes, falafel, and fried halloumi cheese. It was a nice way to start the weekend.
Thursday was a big day to eat. The Senior class had their annual breakfast, which I mistakenly assumed would be a donut bonanza. It was catered by three different companies - Johnny Rockets provided a full American breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon (beef of course), pancakes, maple syrup, and hash browns. Another group supplied falafel and chicken wraps made to order over a hot grill. Still there was another table with sweet cakes, Arabic coffee, tea, and juices. The students sat in the courtyard and were served by waitresses while a DJ played in the background. It was quite the early morning party which seemed to disrupt most of the school for the first period but was totally acceptable. I was completely blown away by the extravagance of it all.
It wouldn't be the weekend without at least one day at the Hilton. The weather is still quite warm, and so after a yoga class and treadmill session this morning, I started another book - Age of Iron by JM Coetzee - out by the pool. I am getting more reading done here than I ever expected.
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