The A/C season is upon us

In a country not readily defined by seasons, we officially turned on the air conditioning last week after the dust storm and as temperatures continue to rise. We are still in the on-off-on cycle where it is not unbearably hot, requiring central air all the time. But in any public place, the room temperature now hovers around freezing, meaning even though I don't need to wear a sweater to work, I still need to bring one.

It's a tricky balance with air conditioning when you are sick, which is what Russ has been since last week. Another reason for the on-again off-again air conditioning routine. The dust storm really did a number on his upper respiratory, which we are trying to remedy before vacation starts in a little over ten days.

We have spent a fair amount of down time, just resting. Yet, it also was a remarkably busy weekend for me. Maria asked me on her invite to the US Embassy which hosts happy hour every Thursday. Invites are few and far between, but it's a very chill place to hang out and drink American beer. Thankfully, not the formal networking scene I expected. It was a good time and something we could check off our list of things to do in Kuwait. Friday was gorgeous and I went for a walk run at the Hilton. Russ and I then settled in to a marathon afternoon/evening of movies and tv shows. We were able to skype my parents and also our friend Zane, which was reassuring.

I had a physical therapy appointment to try and figure out the pain in my neck which seemed to be a result of last week's yoga session. I've got my exercises lined up and hopefully the muscles will start to relax. Then I met Maria at The Avenues mall for a little shopping and a movie. She introduced me to The Hunger Games and the movie was excellent. Now I just need to read all of the books.

With any luck, this week will go as quickly as last. There is much to do at school - meeting with juniors about college, students in general with credit deficiencies, scheduling, and our schoolwide Global Awareness Fair. Outside of school, I have doctor and hair appointments, as well as a few other fun things in mind. There may not be much to do here in Kuwait, but there is rarely a dull moment.

Finally...a dust day

It is 11 am on a Sunday, the first day of our workweek, and instead I am sitting on the couch in our apartment. At 7:00, having just arrived at school we were notified that the Ministry of Education issued a decree closing all of the schools because of heavy dust. The much-anticipated and dreaded dust storm from Saudi arrived yesterday afternoon quite suddenly. One minute we could see out our apartment window across the highway, the next there was zero visibility. We shut the curtains and tried to block the holes in our windows, to no avail. Everything in our apartment is now covered in a fine layer of dust, in some areas it is downright dirty. The air in our apartment smells like chalk, feels dirty, and smells dusty. Outside, it looks like fog or smog but with an eerie orange glow. Downright apocalyptic.

The whole month of March falls in the Al-hameem season. While this is the beginning of spring, it is also the month of dust. We have already had several storms but none as severe as yesterday and today. Over the past few weeks, we have suffered through sore throats, sinus headaches, and coughing. Some might say that that living in Kuwait is dangerous to your health. No wonder so many kids have asthma.

Unlike snow days back home, we do not have to make up this day of school, just like the other days called off by the government. A nice benefit. As for me, I am about to settle down with a bowl of cereal and a good movie. Russ took the high road and stayed at school to get ahead of his work.

La dolce vita

I have come to the realization that not much goes on in our daily lives anymore. The novelty of being in Kuwait wore off a long time ago, and now we are down to minutia, or rather, simple pleasures of life in this dusty, dry desert. We bottled five gallons of beer on Thursday night and will share it with good friends on Thursday. We find groundedness every Friday morning at the church that is not so far from where we live. The weather started to warm two days ago, and so I changed over my wardrobe from long-sleeved blouses and clogs to skirts and sandals. Sandi, Maria, and I went for walk in the sun around the Hilton grounds. If, as in a last-ditch attempt to hang on to the comfort food of winter, I made a big pot of the (faux) meat sauce and pasta that Russ loves, at the same time also searching online for new salad recipes that the warmer temperatures implore. We are watching sitcoms, and love our favorite Seinfeld episodes. We listen to classical cds, as well as our new Afro-Cuban tunes while reclining on the couches. I have found great fun with coloring in a book I brought back from Oman. We have hung photos all over the house in a way we never did back on Old Windsor Road. We are still in our exercise routines which is a good thing. So boring maybe, but life is pretty good, most especially on the weekends.