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.
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