Freezing is a relative thing

It was absolutely freezing today. The funny thing is that is was only in the low 60s. Oh boy, wait until I get back to Dalton next month. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I am not sure that I will make it. Kuwait may have ruined cold weather for me for a long time, but even Russ is chilly. It doesn't help that the past eighteen months have essentially been summer-like conditions for me.

Inside our apartment, it is cozy with a balsam fir Yankee Candle burning and a twinkling Christmas tree. Every day, I come home and start streaming Christmas music for a few hours. We have been working our way through Thanksgiving leftovers, one of the things I truly enjoy. I bought a couple of chickens and roasted more vegetables. Then we will work to clear out the rest of the freezer and refrigerator before we fly out on December 16. The other thing that hasn't changed is that there are many holiday treats trickling into our office every day.

Yesterday there was a citywide emergency drill, run much like a school fire drill. With the Gulf war just twenty years past, the government still practices if there needs to be an evacuation. We were told to ignore it in school, but it was quite disruptive with loud wailing sirens surrounding us for the better part of an hour. It's quieter today but one never knows what will happen.

Our "Black Saturday"

With a long weekend, it almost feels like Thanksgiving back home. The Kuwaiti government gave the country the day off today because the Islamic New Year was yesterday. No one much celebrates it, but just having a day off is good enough for me.

Russ and I started off the weekend by walking the beach at the Hilton and collecting shells. It is one of my most favorite activities, and I am glad he is feeling better and up to doing things like that.

Just because we are in a Muslim country does not mean that we can't celebrate Christmas, for a couple of reasons. One, there are so many Western ex-pats and stores, it would seem impossible not to. Two, Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet so it's not like mentioning Him is taboo, plus there is religious freedom that neighboring Saudi forbids. So Christmas music playing in a store is not a surprise (although not too common either) and there are plenty of fake trees with trimmings for sale. What we do not see (nor do we miss) are brash decorations splattered everywhere proclaiming "Merry Christmas." It's much more subtle.

Shopping is a huge pasttime for Kuwaitis, and every weekend the malls are crowded by noontime. So this particular weekend after American Thanksgiving is not any different than any other weekend since we have been here. The Marslanders offered us their car yesterday (which is another thing I am adding to the last post of things for which I am thankful). It turned out to be a full day of shopping. First Maria and I went to what is supposed to be the best bazaar of the season at the British School of Kuwait. It was awesome. There were a lot of handmade items, books, jewelry, decorations, clothes, and Christmas items. We each pretty much finished our Christmas shopping. Then we picked up Russ at school where he was trying to get a few things ready for Monday before we went to the Avenues mall. Maria met up with another friend, and Russ and I went to Carrefour to buy a space heater and a few other odds and ends. Then we drove over to Ace Hardware and picked up some things for two of Russ' lighting projects. For as much as he does not like shopping, he could spend hours in a hardware store (we were there for over an hour and left only because I was really hungry). We went back to the mall, stopped for something to eat at Ikea and then finished up our shopping day there buying a few more things for the apartment and Christmas decorations. We unloaded everything at home in the late afternoon and then set up our Christmas tree and stockings. We only have three weeks before we head home and I love this time of year, so every day counts.

Today we put up the seven foot paper tree on the wall in the hallway outside our apartment and decorated it with cutouts, while streaming holiday music. That actually took most of the morning before Russ went to another hardware store with Justin, and I went to the gym where I watched the first half of the USC/UCLA game. Now we are settling into our routine of getting things ready for school tomorrow. It was a great weekend, even more relaxing than the Eid break, and full of good cheer.

O give thanks

I love the festivities of Thanksgiving, for being able to reflect on my blessings. Here are a few from the past three months in Kuwait:

I am thankful for Russ who takes care of me whether I need it or not. He makes me laugh. He brings balance. He has turned our apartment into a home.

I am so glad to have yoga class once a week. Tuesday evenings are blissful, and a lot of hard work (but in the best possible way). I am glad we have space to host it here, and it is a good group of women. Russ rigged the shower so that it no longer leaks everywhere and I take a twenty minute steambath when we are finished. It is always my best night of sleep.

I am grateful for a friendly work environment at ASK. I enjoy my coworkers Nancy and Nadia quite a bit, and things seem to go as smooth as they can during the course of a week. Overall, a fairly nice place to work. It is also great having student aides, who are not only a bright spot in my day, but incredibly helpful.

It is good to have friends here - Maria is someone I can easily call up anytime to talk with or do something, and there are a few other people as well I can count on. Russ also has made some solid friendships. There is a much larger group whom we often see socially - a really fabulous group to be around.

I am so glad that we have skype to regularly talk with family and friends. Our internet is reliable and has been an invaluable link.

Margaret comes in once a week to clean our place. I am immensely grateful for her and the work that she does.

We have a comfortable apartment in which to live, and have been able to find most anything in the stores. This surprised me initially, but just about everything can be found for a price. We have organic produce, free-range chickens, heart-healthy foods, and more.

Speaking of food, I was pleased with the side dishes we made, each with a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor - couscous salad with pecans and dried cranberries for our office potluck on Wednesday, roasted curried cauliflower with chickpeas and spiced lemony brussel spouts with pistachios for Thanksgiving dinner last night. We have another potluck tonight down in the complex but I think I will just bring green beans we got from the farmer's market (a farmer's market was the last thing I expected to find in Kuwait but I am very thankful for that too).

We had to work yesterday, but Russ prepped all of the veggies, so there was no rush. We stopped over at Sarah and Justin's for hors d'oevers before joining the science department at Nancy's for dinner. Russ pulled out his Thanksgiving trivia for the group, with a nod to his Uncle Don's long-standing tradition. Most of them were Canadians and we had a good laugh through the whole thing.

I am incredibly thankful that we are in a three-day weekend. The Government announced earlier this week that because the Islamic New Year falls on a Saturday, the next day should be a day off! And we don't have to make up the school day at the end, unlike snow days.

Despite small annoyances and complaints, life is good here and we have much for which to give thanks.

How I spent the November Eid

Over the past nine days, I did a few other things beside paint our apartment and hang out in the hospital. It was a great week to discover some new things about where we live and also chill out.

Russ and I went shopping and out to lunch a few times. I have not known him to be such a shopper, but he has been determined to make our place more comfortable. Indirect lighting, softer wall colors, photos all help.

Maria and I found Abaya "Barbie" dolls at the schmancy Sultan center in Salmiya. We each picked up a couple of the dolls in their black gowns, head wraps, and henna'ed hands. I am going to dress my girls in really racy clothes underneath (from the US Barbie collection).

The Iranian souk (market) was a bit of a disappointment. Gorgeous handwoven carpets but otherwise basically a bunch of imported junk from China.

On the other hand, Maria and I had lunch at the marina one day which was so incredibly lovely. It felt like Southern Cal in the winter. Warm sun, cool breeze. We walked the boardwalk after that. This morning we walked the boardwalk which is a ten minute taxi drive down the road from the apartment. I would never go in the water here as you can see an oil sheen on the surface, but there is still something magical about sand and sea.

Speaking of oil, I filled up our friend's Pajero for only USD 12 (that is 85 a gallon)! Disgusting but true. Driving around, I found that most drivers are either completely crazy or incredibly brave. Driving is quite aggressive here, like I have experienced nowhere else - Traffic in LA and NY is quite tame compared to the road chaos and rage.

Sarah organized yoga night for five women this past Tuesday, and it will happen every week at our place since we have such a cavernous space and no kids. A wonderful way to unwind; too bad it's only once a week. But then there is the Hilton too.

Our hard cider is in the last stage of development. We filtered and bottled a small batch today and it should be ready to drink by Thanksgiving.

I got caught up on a number of logistical things - banking, uploading photos, updating our budget, rearranging the apartment, and hanging photos. Also finished off another book and a few Oprah mags. I feel remarkably ready to head back into our regimented school routine tomorrow.

A kinder, gentler health care system

Russ' heart has been healthy since we left the US. He has had some other unrelated pain though and we have been able to address that here. It's been a great introduction to the healthcare system. There are basically two levels of care like most elsewhere in the world - government and then private hospitals. As residents, we have access to the government hospitals, same as Kuwaiti citizens and we hear that the level of technology is high. We also have private insurance, a UK program with regional headquarters in Dubai. It provides coverage anywhere in the world if we travel, which of course we could have really used six months ago.

We have seen four doctors here at three different hospitals for this condition, with each doctor and facility improving as we went along. The doctor whom Russ is seeing now has trained in the States and is the best in his field in Kuwait.

The private hospitals seem to be part mall and part high-rise hotel. One hospital had high-end boutiques, marble floors, chandeliers, a swanky cafe, and spa. Russ had a minor day surgery today but they insisted he spend the night, and there is a bed for me as well. The one-patient room has a large flat-screen television, wifi, fridge, a large fruit gift basket, full bathroom and two couches. This is one of the basic rooms; the suite down the hall is more five-star.

Some other observations:
There are bags of baby carrots at every nurses' station for anyone to take; they make a nice snack.
Russ has only ever been known as Mr. Rosel at any facility; his surname is not used. In fact on his civil ID, his name in Arabic reads Rosel Bredford even though they got that information from his American passport. I am Mrs. Rosel. Similarly, we call our doctor Dr. Abdullah instead of by his last name and the nursing staff knows who we mean.
The pre-op procedure last week was the most thorough I have ever experienced. Russ met with an anesthesiologist, cardiologist, and pharmacist; he had bloodwork, an ecg, and a chest xray done as well. It took four hours to go through everything but we had a nurse who stayed by our sides as she took us all over the hospital.
There is only valet parking, and bellboy service up to our seventh-floor room. Russ checked in to his room immediately upon arrival this morning.
The doctor has called us twice at home before the procedure to answer questions; we were also able to reach him on his cell phone. So far the followup has been excellent.

Needless to say, I have been impressed. Who knew that Kuwait was a medical tourism destination?

Rainy day weekend

We are technically in the rainy season - Kuwaitis call it al-Wassam (there are fourteen distinct seasons which frankly I need to see to believe). What this actually means is that it may drizzle for ten minutes each day. It does not wash the dust away; it actually hits the ground already dirty from the dust particles in the air. The upside to this is that it is cooler, there is often a cloud cover for most of the day, and it feels like it is going to rain.

Our last day of school was on Thursday and we woke up Friday morning in a state of bliss, with nothing to do and nine days ahead of much the same. First order of business after we puttered around for four hours, read the International Herald Tribune (which is widely available and devoured), and cleaned up a bit was to head to the hardware store. There are two here - Ace and True Value. I knew where the latter one was located, and Sarah and Justin loaned us their car. It's incredibly nice when there is a lot of shopping to have a car instead of relying on taxis. We relished the freedom and because it was Friday, the traffic was light. We bought paint, rope for a clothesline in the spare room, drill bits, plumbing pieces, and tile glue. I think this may have been the highlight of Russ' time here in Kuwait. He loves projects and we now have four or five to work on.

We then headed to the Lulu hypermarket and stocked up on groceries for at least three weeks. Nice to have that out of the way. The store was stocked with all sorts of niceties because our school holiday is coinciding with Eid al-Adha (or "Festival of Sacrifice" which comes roughly two and quarter months after Eid il-Fitr and Ramadan). There were all sorts of sweet cakes and fruit platters; sales were plentiful.

Yesterday we painted the apartment after doing mounds of laundry in the morning. The one color we miss the most here is green and we found a lovely shade of moss that toned down the gold drapes and sofas in the room. It feels very comfortable now. Because we sponge painted, we were able to finish virtually the whole apartment in an afternoon. We listened to Prairie Home Companion and several cds, and it felt like a rainy afternoon.

Emboldened by the success of yesterday's painting which brought rave reviews from the neighbors, Russ went out with Justin, Harvey, and John to the ACE hardware store. His mission: paint for the kitchen. We are calling it cabernet to perhaps soften the effect, but it is essentially a bright purple kitchen. We kept thinking it would get better the more of the room we did. We'll probably get used to it soon. Russ did find this particular hardware store better stocked than True Value and picked up even more odds and ends, which helps him to feel more at home.

In between all of these home projects, we are working out at our respective gyms (although I was so sore from painting yesterday I just sat in the jacuzzi). Tonight we are going to a potluck downstairs at Gloria and John's place and we might catch a NFL game at Rob's later.