Buying an Abaya

Baking in a Foreign Country.
You convert grams to cups and meticulously measure. You use foresight to buy and bring a Fahrenheit temperature gauge from America. Your experience warned you that your foreign oven will either have a Celsius gauge or, more likely, no way to measure how hot it is. And still they don't turn out. Those chocolate chip cookies you wanted to make for your book club are just okay, even though you spring for the brand name chips, the expensive butter and the rare, and thus, pricey brown sugar. Is it because the oven heats differently, because of the strong molasses aroma of the sugar, or maybe quality and price of butter don't match? Who knows. I sure don't. As a baker I hate extending energy and not getting perfection. In that regard, my book club baking was a fail.  Baking in a foreign land.

Book Club.

Book Club was great though. I squeaked through it and had to call in sick the next day but that was not a result of the meeting or the baking. (And we did eat all the cookies.) 

Next month we are reading:

I've never heard of it, but I'm up for it.

In March it will be:

Calling in Sick/ Teaching without a Voice.

At the end of the day, my patience is thin and student's attention is waning. I had laid out his 2 choices, 1) stop blurting during the lesson or 2) continue to blurt. If he did the first he could remain in class, the second would result in leaving. He chose the latter so I told him go sit with the class across the hall. He began to argue, so, in my most serious do-NOT-argue-with-me voice I said "Go!" What came out was a chipmunk chirp. Everyone was quiet but, I couldn't help breaking into a smile and so the entire class fell into hysteria. Minus my 2 sensitive children who were telling everyone, "It's not nice to laugh at the teacher."  They were also the ones who offered to read for me, asked if I needed water, and looked intently concerned the entire day. The poor choice making boy left the class and I called in sick the next morning.

Free Medicine

Here when I send a child to the nurse, (I have to write a very specific pass EVERY time, but I digress,) the children actually get medicine provided by the school.  *Bonus. So do I. I got some awesome, numbing cough drops which I was too lazy and cheap to get for myself.

Snow Day.
I pinned this to my Middle East Pinterest board way back thinking, funny. Though applicable for Nebraska, it's ironic for Kuwait.

But in the middle of winter, in Kuwait, I did just receive 2 unexpected days off. It will never have a cute poster on Pinterest though. "Due to the Saudi king's unfortunate death there will be no school for students and faculty..."

A little more about that here:
The King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, died Friday at the age of 90 from a lung infection. Many Arab nations, including Kuwait, announced a period of mourning. All government ministries have shut down for three days. The king was an ally during the Gulf war. His brother, in his late 70's and also reportedly not of the best health, is the new king. I read an article reporting that no policies or political changes are expected to take place in the kingdom. 

Buying an Abaya.
Because of the above, my planned Old Kuwait City tour was also a cancelled this weekend. Boo. Instead I went to a Souk(market) and purchased an abaya, hijab and nicab, all in black.  An abaya is the long sleeved, loose fitting dress women often wear outside over their clothes.  The hijab is the scarf you use to cover your head and the niqab is the square that goes across your face, only showing your eyes.  All three pieces are sold separately.  At least, that was the case in the ones I purchased. I've heard it is wise just to have one in case of an emergency.

Do you know how to wear a hijab? Well if you are curious, check out this video:

Send me a picture if you try it out. :)

About the above picture: I have never seen a burqa here. Chadors are rare. Hijabs are the most common, but Niqabs (worn with the hijab) is also quite common, though I've never personally talked to anyone with one on.

Biweekly.

I have been grappling with the idea of only publishing my blog every other week, or biweekly. Because I just don't have many novel things to share anymore. I then wondered, Biweekly? Wait, does that mean once every two weeks or twice a week? There is a big difference between those.

Quick Google search reveals:

adjective & adverb
1. appearing or taking place every two weeks or twice a week.  For example, "a biweekly bulletin".

Well. That clears things right up. 

Regardless, I'm planning to publish every other week from now on.

VPN's and Travel

Blame it on the Culture Shock.
Being outside, in my neighborhood, just makes me grumpy. Why the garbage? Why the noise, people, the chaos? Why the stares!?

Routine.
I've slid into a bit of a monotonous after-school routine. It involves television, ordering food, my couch and my treadmill. I wish I was picking up my guitar more often and ordering out a bit less but, for now, it's working for me.

After winter break, I decided I needed to make a couple changes.  I now sleep in.  Until 4:00 am.  So I'm sleeping 50 minutes a day later than the first part of the school year.  Because of this, I catch the second bus provided by the school. They actually provide 4 every morning just for us.  One at 5:15 am(the one I used to catch), one at 5:45 am and two at 6:00 am. I also try my best to catch the 3:00 pm bus home. 

VPNs are Awesome.
If they had VPNs when I lived overseas before, I didn't know it.  I bought one. It convinces nbc.com, hulu.com, etc. that I am in America.  Did you know those sites don't work outside of America?  How else am I going to show my hometown pride by watching The Blacklist.  The creator is from my hometown and, last I heard, still living there.

Travel Plans
I have a couple upcoming trips planned.  I'll embark on a weekend getaway to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in March.  I've also signed up for some pretty extravagant April travel, in India. Going to see the Taj Mahal. I spent time in India back in 2009 but I was only in the south. This 7 day luxury vacation will be vastly different than that 7 week service trip.  

Keep Calm and Culture Shock On

C-c-cold

One of the things that got me on the plane headed back to Kuwait and responsibility was knowing my destination was warmer.  It was over 70 degrees Fahrenheit in Kuwait during winter break and for the first few days I was back. But right now my neck and head are bundled up in an attempt to stay warm in my apartment. The high tomorrow is only 59 degrees Fahrenheit. There is central heating in my apartment but it's not working. I need to get someone up here to fix it.  It is 60.8 degrees in my apartment according to my thermostat and I'm c-c-cold.

Not me, but pretty similar.

NOT ME, in any way.

Culture shock
I think I am past the honeymoon phase of culture shock in Kuwait.  Things don't seem as exciting as when I first arrived.  Since a few things are ruffling my feathers; getting under my skin; rubbing me the wrong way, I will steer clear of sharing too much, Kuwait, this week. 

Looks like it may get worst if this graph is accurate. 

Very relevant for short term trips

Book Club
There is a new book club in our community.  I am hosting the first meeting. We are reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. You know the movie that just came out with Reese Witherspoon- that book. Here is the way we are running it: since I volunteered to host this month, I get to pick the book we read, come up with a few questions and invite the members to my apartment for the meeting.  We read the book before we meet.  Next month we repeat with a new host and book.  I'm curious how many of those initially interested will turn out.  It is understandably hard to read during the school year for a lot of teachers. 

Secret Group
We have a secret group for our community where we share info, ask questions about the city/ school and sell/buy things.  I asked if anyone would be interested in selling a treadmill.  I knew it was the worst time to ask, at the beginning of the year, with New Year's resolutions and such. But I got one! I guess it is a gift to myself for Christmas.  Let's not point out the many other things I could consider gifts to myself including trips to Hungary and The Czech Republic. 
(Why do I always want to say The Czech Republic?)

Random picture. See the Egyptian pillow cases?
Gift from a student. Love how colorful they are. 

My spare bedroom with my treadmill.

Trying to use the panorama to capture the teeny room.
BTW, no closets thus the wardrobes.

Gifts
This was a week of gifts.  I got some more extravagant chocolate, Turkish delight and homemade Christmas cookies(from Nebraska!). They were late Christmas(my sister and her family and my grandpa) and New Years gifts(I think) from students. The Fitbit I got from my sister, came the day after I bought my treadmill. It's a tiny pedometer that counts the steps you walk. What a great match. So, now I can go walking in Kuwait. I could also RUN on it, but...   

Also, not me.

This is my type of Fitbit.

Until next time, 

Budapest to Kuwait

New Years in Budapest

It was frigid, there were no outside concerts(which I remember from a past year) and no organized fireworks, but there was mulled wine, noise makers and plenty of crazy people setting off their own explosives.

Things I forgot about Budapest

-You have to put a coin in to get a shopping cart. It is nice that people don't leave carts laying around.

-You have to pay for your shopping bags at most grocery store.  It's a great idea because most people bring there own bags to save the money. 

-How much of a hike it is to Gellert hill.

But you are rewarded with beautiful views.

-How much you get/have to speak Hungarian because many people don't speak English.

-PDA. Compared to Kuwait anyway. Public displays of affection are pretty common.

Things are old and some are still in bad shape but it is all mixed to create such beauty.

Things that have changed in Budapest

A few notable advancements:

- There are now English friendly announcements in public transportation. And electronic signs post the minutes until the next bus and tram will arrive.

- More Cafes and more shopping than ever. Even many Mexican restaurants now. And there are now 9 Starbucks.

- There is a new, fourth, metro line.

- There are now 200 Forint coins(it's almost equivalent to a dollar).

- Turkish gyros, pizza and Chinese food are every. where. And Donuts seem to have exploded in the country.

St. Stephen's Basilica

Grandma Kato's Fresh Chimney Cakes

St. Stephen's Basilica 

The Chain Bridge

City Park

Fine Art Museum

Hero Square

The Parliament Building

Back to Kuwait

Turkish Air is really nice. Lots of leg room, a full meal for even short flights. They gave teddy bears to kids and served Turkish delight on one leg of the journey. Think Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.

Today is a day to celebrate the prophet Mohammed's birthday in Kuwait. Because it falls on a weekend, we have Sunday(the first day of our week) off. I'm still going in for a few hours but just to get prepared for the week. Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone.

I hope your 2015 is off to a good start, too. Happy New Years.