Me and Lise
Thursday, 31 January 2013
A few photo's.....Still no Decent Camera....3 weeks to go till I make that purchase. Hold your breath!
Three weeks in....
So three weeks in and still learning every day, the first thing that I was relieved to find out was that the road I walked along on my first day in kuwait was in fact the "arabian gulf road"; the road that the local residents of kuwait use as their "pick up point"..... as in this is how they find girls to date! Here in kuwait of course there are no bars etc (excepting secret bars run by european architects and their kuwaiti sponsers, places in which an interesting mix of expats hang out with some more western minded kuwaiti locals and their "girlfriends", a story for another time.) and therefore no place to really meet new people, the highway is used as a place to meet girls!!!! Most expats that drive- and those who dare to walk aka me- tend to avoid this road at the weekends. I have also learned fast not to make eye contact with men out of the window of taxi cabs too as they will take this as a come on! I do not know whether the reason this is happening a lot to me is because men here have a somewhat misguided sense of how western women behave or because this is how they are with all women! I get stared at a lot, in a way that makes me feel like these men have never seen a women before,like I am an alien, never the less in the street I do not feel threatened in any way, most men are in fact very polite and I feel at ease; the teenage boys/younger men are a bit more annoying however I have developed a glare that seems to shut them up pretty quickly!
I am enjoying Kuwait! There are things to busy yourself with and everything is a new experience. What I dislike is the fact that 85% of the people are so negative! Everybody is like "oh there is nothing to do", "oh you must be very careful" oh this oh that....in fact I have joined a dive club with socials every Tuesday-I have not attended one yet, but I shall, I have been busy finding a flat- I will be learning to dive,I will take Arabic classes on Thursdays, there are many many restaurants, you can smoke shisha on the water front, I am going to an embassy party this weekend, I will be visiting a Bedouin camp in mid feb for the day,I shall go Camel racing some time soon, there are frequently cultural events on at the national museum of Kuwait, I attended a Spanish music concert- music from the north of Spain which in fact has a Celtic origin and so involved a lot of bag pipes.....not exactly dub step but educational none the less! I have also been invited to a "rock Mary Poppins" exhibition this weekend.....I may go in order to exercise my laughing muscles! I think there is plenty to do, you just have to want to get involved!
Not speaking Arabic is driving me crazy, my classes start next Thursday and I intend to be the perfect student! Next week I also think I will attempt to run a long the water front, early in the morning though....everyone gets up late at the weekend so I think that will be the best time....I may also try fishing as I see lots of people fishing! I have heard of so many markets that I want to check out but I think I will need to persuade Lise- my new flat mate- to come with me as they may be a little bit intense! I feel here like there is a patch work of cultures.....much like many big cities, there are lots of people for the Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and more American than British I think.....but everyone seems to stick to their own, although most people are friendly....although I DESPISE getting cabs here- minimal Arabic is not great for directing cab drivers in an Arabic country- I have learnt lots about different cultures from cab drivers sharing their stories with me, lots of people are stuck here, they cannot make a living at home, so they work here and send money home. I have met a few people from Syria that are allowed to stay as long as their residency but no new residencythis needs to be renewed every 1-3 years-will be made, I have heard stories of people that have no choice really but to be apart from their children because of this, so basically many people come here from neighbouring countries to make a living in their countries there is war or few jobs .......for this reason few people seem to want to be here, they just here are to get by! This attitude I find hard, maybe I will be worn down in time but I feel as always I will make the most of my time here, I am in the middle of the world :-); of course it is different for me because of my job etc I can live differently but it is hard to except that many people around you are thoroughly miserable!
I have a lot more to say but I think this is enough for one post so I will post a few photo's and say toodles for now :-)!!
I am enjoying Kuwait! There are things to busy yourself with and everything is a new experience. What I dislike is the fact that 85% of the people are so negative! Everybody is like "oh there is nothing to do", "oh you must be very careful" oh this oh that....in fact I have joined a dive club with socials every Tuesday-I have not attended one yet, but I shall, I have been busy finding a flat- I will be learning to dive,I will take Arabic classes on Thursdays, there are many many restaurants, you can smoke shisha on the water front, I am going to an embassy party this weekend, I will be visiting a Bedouin camp in mid feb for the day,I shall go Camel racing some time soon, there are frequently cultural events on at the national museum of Kuwait, I attended a Spanish music concert- music from the north of Spain which in fact has a Celtic origin and so involved a lot of bag pipes.....not exactly dub step but educational none the less! I have also been invited to a "rock Mary Poppins" exhibition this weekend.....I may go in order to exercise my laughing muscles! I think there is plenty to do, you just have to want to get involved!
Not speaking Arabic is driving me crazy, my classes start next Thursday and I intend to be the perfect student! Next week I also think I will attempt to run a long the water front, early in the morning though....everyone gets up late at the weekend so I think that will be the best time....I may also try fishing as I see lots of people fishing! I have heard of so many markets that I want to check out but I think I will need to persuade Lise- my new flat mate- to come with me as they may be a little bit intense! I feel here like there is a patch work of cultures.....much like many big cities, there are lots of people for the Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and more American than British I think.....but everyone seems to stick to their own, although most people are friendly....although I DESPISE getting cabs here- minimal Arabic is not great for directing cab drivers in an Arabic country- I have learnt lots about different cultures from cab drivers sharing their stories with me, lots of people are stuck here, they cannot make a living at home, so they work here and send money home. I have met a few people from Syria that are allowed to stay as long as their residency but no new residencythis needs to be renewed every 1-3 years-will be made, I have heard stories of people that have no choice really but to be apart from their children because of this, so basically many people come here from neighbouring countries to make a living in their countries there is war or few jobs .......for this reason few people seem to want to be here, they just here are to get by! This attitude I find hard, maybe I will be worn down in time but I feel as always I will make the most of my time here, I am in the middle of the world :-); of course it is different for me because of my job etc I can live differently but it is hard to except that many people around you are thoroughly miserable!
I have a lot more to say but I think this is enough for one post so I will post a few photo's and say toodles for now :-)!!
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Day 1
MENTAL, culture shock, friendly and off white .... words I might use to describe my first day in Kuwait.
I am staying a 10 minute walk from the city centre, I can see the sea from my apartment however the area feels somewhat "rural", not in the green sense but in the sense that there is not a lot going on and the buildings seem to be mostly hotels and residential. With the sea in view I got dressed and set out for a stroll towards the waters edge....on the way out my blonde Romanian flat mate asks "where are you going", I reply "for a wander" she then proceeded to say something along the lines of this is not Europe you can not just walk around outside, you have blonde hair it is dangerous, don't speak to anyone and avoid men, especially the covered guys in black.... yikes. So ignoring this advice I set off downstairs, I tell the man on reception my plan and ask if it is safe, he assures me it is and so I set off on my way. The highway runs close to the edge of the sea in this area, in a stretch of about 5 minutes walking every 5th car or so toots their horn at me and 3 or 4 male drivers pull over and usher me to talk to them...of course I shoo them away, two of the drivers were rather persistent and proceeded to follow me for some time! The experience I guess is not that different from walking down a busy road in London in a mini skirt and high heels, the difference being I am wearing black harem trousers, a loose fitting round neck top and a leather jacket...and I have no Idea what they are saying! I see groups of men in traditional dress ahead and I feel somewhat intimidated at this point so regrettably
I give up and turn back to the hotel, however with every building and road an off white colour I get a little lost! Scary! Eventually find my hotel, RELIEF!
I have a brief chat with the guy of reception who is very friendly, I tell him that for the first time in 26 years (minus the one disaster I created with red hair dye back in 2005) I may consider dying my hair, to my delight he understands my sarcasm, score! We engage in some light "banter" and general chat about life in Kuwait ....I think this guy will be a good source of knowledge!
Back in the flat I get chatting to my new Romanian flat mate who explains to me she is working 12 hour days in store for the same company that I will be working for, she is paid 550kd-which actually works out to be around 14.5k a year(tax free), comparable to the UK I think, however, some store assistants are earning less than 300KD a month and living in cheaper accomodation far out of the city, they travel to work in a mini bus which costs them arounf 15kd a month, her contract does state 8 hours a day so she is not happy with the hours, or the pay...... not sure how this leaves me feeling about my company, I think it is normal but the class divide is just so large here, I don't like it....She goes on to tell me about her Arabic bf(interesting!) and invites me to a boat party....unfortunately it starts at 2am in the morning, with my first day of work the following day, and with the thought that there is nothing more obvious than a load of drunk expats tumbling off a boat in the middle of the night... I decide against it! She goes on and shares her experiences of feeling like an alien because of her blonde hair (which is evidently died from a very dark brown?!).
I did plan on a trip to the aquarium today but I think I will save the giant spider crabs for another day as I have the flat to myself and I think the dark circles under my eyes will soon fall down to my chin!
Lessons of the day...
-ALWAYS take a cab(for now)!
- Learn Arabic ASAP!
I am staying a 10 minute walk from the city centre, I can see the sea from my apartment however the area feels somewhat "rural", not in the green sense but in the sense that there is not a lot going on and the buildings seem to be mostly hotels and residential. With the sea in view I got dressed and set out for a stroll towards the waters edge....on the way out my blonde Romanian flat mate asks "where are you going", I reply "for a wander" she then proceeded to say something along the lines of this is not Europe you can not just walk around outside, you have blonde hair it is dangerous, don't speak to anyone and avoid men, especially the covered guys in black.... yikes. So ignoring this advice I set off downstairs, I tell the man on reception my plan and ask if it is safe, he assures me it is and so I set off on my way. The highway runs close to the edge of the sea in this area, in a stretch of about 5 minutes walking every 5th car or so toots their horn at me and 3 or 4 male drivers pull over and usher me to talk to them...of course I shoo them away, two of the drivers were rather persistent and proceeded to follow me for some time! The experience I guess is not that different from walking down a busy road in London in a mini skirt and high heels, the difference being I am wearing black harem trousers, a loose fitting round neck top and a leather jacket...and I have no Idea what they are saying! I see groups of men in traditional dress ahead and I feel somewhat intimidated at this point so regrettably
I give up and turn back to the hotel, however with every building and road an off white colour I get a little lost! Scary! Eventually find my hotel, RELIEF!
I have a brief chat with the guy of reception who is very friendly, I tell him that for the first time in 26 years (minus the one disaster I created with red hair dye back in 2005) I may consider dying my hair, to my delight he understands my sarcasm, score! We engage in some light "banter" and general chat about life in Kuwait ....I think this guy will be a good source of knowledge!
Back in the flat I get chatting to my new Romanian flat mate who explains to me she is working 12 hour days in store for the same company that I will be working for, she is paid 550kd-which actually works out to be around 14.5k a year(tax free), comparable to the UK I think, however, some store assistants are earning less than 300KD a month and living in cheaper accomodation far out of the city, they travel to work in a mini bus which costs them arounf 15kd a month, her contract does state 8 hours a day so she is not happy with the hours, or the pay...... not sure how this leaves me feeling about my company, I think it is normal but the class divide is just so large here, I don't like it....She goes on to tell me about her Arabic bf(interesting!) and invites me to a boat party....unfortunately it starts at 2am in the morning, with my first day of work the following day, and with the thought that there is nothing more obvious than a load of drunk expats tumbling off a boat in the middle of the night... I decide against it! She goes on and shares her experiences of feeling like an alien because of her blonde hair (which is evidently died from a very dark brown?!).
I did plan on a trip to the aquarium today but I think I will save the giant spider crabs for another day as I have the flat to myself and I think the dark circles under my eyes will soon fall down to my chin!
Lessons of the day...
-ALWAYS take a cab(for now)!
- Learn Arabic ASAP!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)