Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature is stirring...because it is 4:30 am and everyone should be sleeping. I cannot. I think the jetlag has subsided and I am getting plenty of rest but somehow deep slumber alludes me.
Christmas cliches and songs fill my head. I cannot get that particular James Taylor stanza out after waking up to a lovely snow yesterday morning - "the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting". It felt like Christmas two days early already as we all ate breakfast in front of the large picture window looking up at Day Mountain. Russ and I took the day to drive over to Northampton and Hadley, gasping in wonder at the barren tree silhouettes sparkling with new snow. We like that drive regardless of the season, but it was worth it yesterday just for the drive.
Abruptly, the whiteness ended on the east end of Goshen as we descended into the valley and we were greeted with green grass. Our bliss subsided when we pulled into the Whole Foods parking lot which is when I realized that it was indeed the day before Christmas Eve. Crowded, frenzied, and a little pushy. We scooped up what we needed to and prepared ourselves for Trader Joe's, which was more of the same, but people seemed to be in a friendlier mood. We picked up appetizers for the weekend, treats to take back to Kuwait, and a few staple items for friends there. We also bought up tuna steaks and edamame for last night which is a favorite go-to dinner and not one we have enjoyed in Kuwait.
A quick stop at the area's best Sally Army store netted a few cool weather clothing necessities before heading to lunch at the Brewery in Northampton (Joe's was closed). Mussels, toasted bread, and beer made the perfect lunch. We absolutely cannot eat enough seafood while we are here, and frankly cannot drink too much beer. I never knew how much I enjoyed it until it was not available anymore.
We are enjoying our time here which is going by amazingly quick. We are very much home at 10 School Street where Liz, Fred, and the kids have taken us in. We appreciate the everyday life of just being in a very comfy, familiar space. We have been able to keep up with our workouts at the CRA which feels great. Some highlights from this first week - having lunch with Heather at Kripalu, tea with Karen, Alexis and other friends from LMMHS, talking with Lynn, watching the Patriots, going to see our former pastor at his church in Northampton - a church with an outstanding organ and choral program, and listening to Russ' mom's band concert. It was good to see Steve and Maria and we'll catch up with the kids soon. There has been much Christmas cheer to go around.
We have seen wildly varying temperatures from below freezing to mid-40's and with the right clothes on, we are slowly adjusting to the dramatic temperature change. It is downright chilly. The snow from yesterday has already melted but the temperatures are dropping again for the weekend.
The tree is decorated. Sue and Lily are coming in sometime today. The clan is preparing to gather with undoubtedly massive amounts of good food. Everyone has a song on their lips, and Christmas is about to happen.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Christmas in Kuwait
Even though the Mahboula sand will never replace a White Christmas, no evening is ever a Silent Night, and you can't even mention where The Little Town of Bethlehem is located, Christmas does indeed happen here in Kuwait.
Maria, Erin and I went to an excellent Christmas concert on Friday night. The Almahdi community choir boasted seventy members and invited the audience to join them in singing their hearts out on several holiday favorites. Wonderful way to get into the season.
There is plenty of festive comfort food around. We had Justin and Sarah over for tortilla soup a few nights ago, and Nancy joined us this past weekend for pesto pasta. Bowls of Lebanese staples make their way into any sort of impromptu gatherings. Others will stop by for snacks, conversation, and goodbyes during the week.
An interesting tradition here at the high school. Not only do the plates of cookies, cakes, and baklava make their rounds, but people in the many different admin offices buy platters of food (Arabic pizza, sandwiches, the delicious Lebenese fatoora, puff pastries) and then share with the other offices. So my lunches have been covered for well over a week without even being asked. I just stopped bringing food in because I know something will show up late morning. Gaining weight in December seems to be a global issue, not constrained to just the United States.
Not exactly Christmas related, but our Arabic class had our test outing recently where we had to practice what we knew. The inflection really makes a difference; I knew what I was saying but Arabic speakers seemed to have a difficult time understanding me. Oh well, I was not alone, and it was an enjoyable evening nonetheless as we ate, shopped, bargained, and negotiated taxis. Hasan our teacher showed us the expensive incense and perfume shop where I would have never gone in on my own.
Russ went to a white elephant party on Friday and scored a really nice Starbucks mug and chocolate. I also have had a wonderful Secret Santa who surprised me with a Yankee Candle, Godiva, and organic granola over the last ten days.
I got my hair cut and nails done this past week. I always feel infinitely more put together after a treatment. Thai Lanna is the teacher go-to place. Julie went with me for the first visit and Maria came along on the second. Maria is great to call up and ask "wanna go?'. She also helped me pick out Secret Santa gifts and small baubles for some of the kids in our building.
Ok, so this is hardly Christmas, but it does show some of the trappings. We are looking forward to flying out on Friday morning and being home later that evening. And there might even be snow!
Maria, Erin and I went to an excellent Christmas concert on Friday night. The Almahdi community choir boasted seventy members and invited the audience to join them in singing their hearts out on several holiday favorites. Wonderful way to get into the season.
There is plenty of festive comfort food around. We had Justin and Sarah over for tortilla soup a few nights ago, and Nancy joined us this past weekend for pesto pasta. Bowls of Lebanese staples make their way into any sort of impromptu gatherings. Others will stop by for snacks, conversation, and goodbyes during the week.
An interesting tradition here at the high school. Not only do the plates of cookies, cakes, and baklava make their rounds, but people in the many different admin offices buy platters of food (Arabic pizza, sandwiches, the delicious Lebenese fatoora, puff pastries) and then share with the other offices. So my lunches have been covered for well over a week without even being asked. I just stopped bringing food in because I know something will show up late morning. Gaining weight in December seems to be a global issue, not constrained to just the United States.
Not exactly Christmas related, but our Arabic class had our test outing recently where we had to practice what we knew. The inflection really makes a difference; I knew what I was saying but Arabic speakers seemed to have a difficult time understanding me. Oh well, I was not alone, and it was an enjoyable evening nonetheless as we ate, shopped, bargained, and negotiated taxis. Hasan our teacher showed us the expensive incense and perfume shop where I would have never gone in on my own.
Russ went to a white elephant party on Friday and scored a really nice Starbucks mug and chocolate. I also have had a wonderful Secret Santa who surprised me with a Yankee Candle, Godiva, and organic granola over the last ten days.
I got my hair cut and nails done this past week. I always feel infinitely more put together after a treatment. Thai Lanna is the teacher go-to place. Julie went with me for the first visit and Maria came along on the second. Maria is great to call up and ask "wanna go?'. She also helped me pick out Secret Santa gifts and small baubles for some of the kids in our building.
Ok, so this is hardly Christmas, but it does show some of the trappings. We are looking forward to flying out on Friday morning and being home later that evening. And there might even be snow!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A few of my favorite things
We were listening to The Messiah as we went to bed last night. Russ fell asleep immediately, but I listened to the entire Part I. In doing so, I got more and more excited for Christmas; I could not fall asleep. I really love this time of year. Over the weekend, we watched "Sound of Music" which was equally enjoyable. Hence, a "few of my favorite things" at the moment.
Right when we get home, I turn on the Christmas lights, and start streaming the music as loud as either of us can stand it. I have instrumental Christmas music streaming all day at work too.
I love making these gluten-free pumpkin muffins with ground oat flour. They take about 30 minutes total and the ingredients are always on hand. Russ loves them too, and I just added dark chocolate chips which makes the recipe perfect.
Curried roasted cauliflower and lentil soup are some of our go-to cold weather comfort foods when we are not eating Lebanese food. We could definitely live on the warm chewy Arabic bread alone, but not if I do not want to gain weight.
There are these Arabic cookies with date paste and cardamon that are so delicious. They are hard to find, which is probably a good thing.
I picked up a milk frother at Ikea and that is the weekend morning treat in my tea, along with reading the International Herald Tribune.
I feel like I have said this a hundred times already but it is such an integral part of my life. The gym and yoga are my physical and mental outlets, and I look forward to them each week. I may actually be in the best shape of my life presently, and I feel strong.
One cannot underestimate what a manicure and pedicure can do for one's state of mind. I always feel much more put together. Ditto on having someone else blow your hair out.
I enjoy our moss green walls in the apartment. It is a much softer and comfortable place to live in now. Yankee candles somehow make the room warmer too.
While some things are new discoveries, none of these are Kuwait-specific, so I will take the ideas with me when we leave and add them to my rather long list.
Right when we get home, I turn on the Christmas lights, and start streaming the music as loud as either of us can stand it. I have instrumental Christmas music streaming all day at work too.
I love making these gluten-free pumpkin muffins with ground oat flour. They take about 30 minutes total and the ingredients are always on hand. Russ loves them too, and I just added dark chocolate chips which makes the recipe perfect.
Curried roasted cauliflower and lentil soup are some of our go-to cold weather comfort foods when we are not eating Lebanese food. We could definitely live on the warm chewy Arabic bread alone, but not if I do not want to gain weight.
There are these Arabic cookies with date paste and cardamon that are so delicious. They are hard to find, which is probably a good thing.
I picked up a milk frother at Ikea and that is the weekend morning treat in my tea, along with reading the International Herald Tribune.
I feel like I have said this a hundred times already but it is such an integral part of my life. The gym and yoga are my physical and mental outlets, and I look forward to them each week. I may actually be in the best shape of my life presently, and I feel strong.
One cannot underestimate what a manicure and pedicure can do for one's state of mind. I always feel much more put together. Ditto on having someone else blow your hair out.
I enjoy our moss green walls in the apartment. It is a much softer and comfortable place to live in now. Yankee candles somehow make the room warmer too.
While some things are new discoveries, none of these are Kuwait-specific, so I will take the ideas with me when we leave and add them to my rather long list.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Into the old city
There are no photos from today. I purposely left my camera at home when my friend Stephanie invited me to go to the older part of the city where the traditional souks (markets) are located. She left hers behind too, and there were a couple of times when we wished we had them. No matter how great they are for future memories, we reminded ourselves that something always gets lost in the present as soon as a camera comes out. Or at least that made us feel better in the moment.
Steph has lived in Kuwait before, so she is a wonderful person to ask questions. She has also lived in Syria and Libya, before being evacuated and forced to leave her whole life behind. I enjoy her company a great deal - she is funny, insightful and wise. We are both about the same age too, which doesn't always matter, but sometimes is the right connection.
To say this is the old part of the city needs to be put in context. Nothing much is truly old as most everything was bombed during the war, but even before that was maybe only in existence for 25 to 50 years. Old seems to refer more to a more traditional way of doing things.
We meandered through hallways with lamb carcasses hanging and bulging fruit displays. I admired rosy red pomegranates the size of grapefruit and oohed over the citrus selection. We talked in our broken Arabic with an Iranian man who gave us a date tasting, pointing out the subtle differences between dates grown in Saudi, Iran, and Kuwait. We bought a kilo for one dinar ($3.50). The figurative icing on the cake was when he brought out his homemade tahini and dipped the matured sweet Iranian dates into it. That was a slice of heaven and so I bought that too. He kept asking us to take his picture. That does not happen much here, eliciting a moment of regret.
We transversed further into the unmarked passages, passing finely woven carpets and colorful prayer beads. Steph explained that if one can afford it, the beads should be amber, that one knows it is the real deal because of the heat the beads create when fingering them, and that there are many different shades ranging from pale yellow to sienna orange to brown. They were out of my price range for today. Also beyond my pocketbook were the gold shops (which may actually always be out of reach)and the custom perfumeries.
We reached the far boundary of the market which spans blocks to find the Afghan quarter, and spent quite a bit of time talking with a Hazara man who sold us some beautiful tapestries. He was glad when we told him we were from America; America had been good to the minority Hazara people. His Pakistani neighbor tempted us with some beaded work. As I will most likely never make it to Afghanistan or Pakistan, these seemed like incredibly good buys. We also found some lovely scarves from Kashmir, much like the pashima shawls found on the streets of Manhatten but with much more depth and interesting patterns.
We broke for a late lunch at a large communal eating area that has several kitchens cooking for particular tables. It is hard to go wrong with kebabs, soft warm bread, hummus and salad. A beer would have been nice too, but not possible.
So many photos filling my head - the colors, smells, people, and music of this wonderful place. It was a good place to practice my Arabic, of which I have a bit lax lately. I think it was one of my favorite afternoons since arriving in Kuwait, one for the environment, but also for the company.
Steph has lived in Kuwait before, so she is a wonderful person to ask questions. She has also lived in Syria and Libya, before being evacuated and forced to leave her whole life behind. I enjoy her company a great deal - she is funny, insightful and wise. We are both about the same age too, which doesn't always matter, but sometimes is the right connection.
To say this is the old part of the city needs to be put in context. Nothing much is truly old as most everything was bombed during the war, but even before that was maybe only in existence for 25 to 50 years. Old seems to refer more to a more traditional way of doing things.
We meandered through hallways with lamb carcasses hanging and bulging fruit displays. I admired rosy red pomegranates the size of grapefruit and oohed over the citrus selection. We talked in our broken Arabic with an Iranian man who gave us a date tasting, pointing out the subtle differences between dates grown in Saudi, Iran, and Kuwait. We bought a kilo for one dinar ($3.50). The figurative icing on the cake was when he brought out his homemade tahini and dipped the matured sweet Iranian dates into it. That was a slice of heaven and so I bought that too. He kept asking us to take his picture. That does not happen much here, eliciting a moment of regret.
We transversed further into the unmarked passages, passing finely woven carpets and colorful prayer beads. Steph explained that if one can afford it, the beads should be amber, that one knows it is the real deal because of the heat the beads create when fingering them, and that there are many different shades ranging from pale yellow to sienna orange to brown. They were out of my price range for today. Also beyond my pocketbook were the gold shops (which may actually always be out of reach)and the custom perfumeries.
We reached the far boundary of the market which spans blocks to find the Afghan quarter, and spent quite a bit of time talking with a Hazara man who sold us some beautiful tapestries. He was glad when we told him we were from America; America had been good to the minority Hazara people. His Pakistani neighbor tempted us with some beaded work. As I will most likely never make it to Afghanistan or Pakistan, these seemed like incredibly good buys. We also found some lovely scarves from Kashmir, much like the pashima shawls found on the streets of Manhatten but with much more depth and interesting patterns.
We broke for a late lunch at a large communal eating area that has several kitchens cooking for particular tables. It is hard to go wrong with kebabs, soft warm bread, hummus and salad. A beer would have been nice too, but not possible.
So many photos filling my head - the colors, smells, people, and music of this wonderful place. It was a good place to practice my Arabic, of which I have a bit lax lately. I think it was one of my favorite afternoons since arriving in Kuwait, one for the environment, but also for the company.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)