Fun Facts. I took one last, quick, trip to another gulf nation. We visited Doha, the capital of the "State of Qatar". It's home to about 2 million people, less than half of whom are nationals. People I have talked to, have mixed opinions about Qatar. Some say it's not worth checking out. I really liked it and I think they may have the best souk in the Middle East. Qatar has made headlines for winning the 2022 World Cup bid. They have also fallen under scrutiny for their treatment of migrant workers. Qatar has a lot of large green parks, which is hard to do it such a hot place. The places we went were modern, clean and green. Our experiences. We ate breakfast on a man-made island, called The Pearl, that is home to over 12,000 residents.
We went to a mall, the Villagio, designed to resemble Italy, complete with a gondola laden river running through the middle.
We visited The Museum of Islamic Art which had art from different time periods, from all over the Islamic world. The art was insightful and interesting and I loved the museum's cafe view. The air conditioning was also highly appreciated by me and my two traveling companions.
The souk we explored was tidy and contemporary, yet looked like a traditional souk. It was extensive, had cultural goods and many regional and international places to eat. We wandered through an animal section with parrots and other exotic birds.
An Iraqi restaurant, at the Waqif souk.
Expensive. It is hard to say because we did eat at hotels and the airport, but Qatar seemed even more pricey than Kuwait. And that is saying a lot. It only makes sense though since most lists place it as the richest country in the world.
Friends. We were able to visit another teacher friend we made on a trip we took last month, to Ethiopia.
Recommending Qatar. Most of those people who say Qatar isn't worth seeing, when pressed, will admit they have never even been there. Well, I have been there. And I say country number 37, Qatar, is definitely worth a visit.
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.
I'm still searching for places I feel comfortable to walk. I took a nice-ish walk from our neighborhood this week. If you take one of the walkway across the highway, you come to a nicer neighborhood with a walking path. I'm not sure how far it goes because it was getting dark the day we ventured over (so we headed back right away).We also went to the corniche (walking path) near the city center gulf road and it was ah-mazing. The weather is great right now. There was such a variety of people we blended right in. The moon was full and low that day, as well. The unfortunate thing is it is a 10 dollar taxi ride from my home. The worst and the best.
Being a teacher sure has its ups and downs. Love the kids but... my patience fails to withstand their testing at times. I have finished my report cards. They were a lot. Of. Work.
Carpet shopping in the Old Market.
Our night of new experiences at the Mubarakiyah souk(market) was kicked off with Egyptian fare.
After eating, we went shopping for an Iranian/ Afghan carpet. I went with a friend who was in the market for a rug. She purchased one for a third of what she would have in America. It is made of lamb neck wool (there is probably a more elegant way to say that) and took around 4 months to make. And it's gorgeous.
A typical taxi in Kuwait.
The money exchange place. All out in the open(behind glass) and no guards.
Later, we returned home by bus. It was my first experience on a public bus in Kuwait. The front is for women. We were the only women on the bus so some men got up and gave us their seats. It was comfortable and very inexpensive.
Down time, you are missed.
One week of relative down time (Ha. I mourn for my down time. I haven't seen any for weeks) before parent teacher conference craziness. But, not too much longer before Christmas break in Budapest and Prague.
Where will I go for spring break? I'm in the middle of planning my Spring Break trip now. Hopefully I'll have some details to share soon.
