When you are gone from your apartment for 15 hours a day, time flies. I can’t believe another week has gone by. I haven’t had much to say for several reasons. Kuwait sucks and I don’t like to constantly be negative.
To tell the Kuwait story would require me to be looking for things to tell or setting up situations to have a story to tell. I would rather turn a blind eye to what I don’t want to see, be positive and make the best of it.
It seem like if I want to get pinched, I have to put on my traditional Friday night mall clothes from back home and go to the mall alone. This is only moderately risky. I got better things to do than cruise the mall.
I can’t write about work on this blog for security and anonymity reasons. I might start a semi-fictional story with work as the basis because there is some seriously funny material there.
Or might just spend more time with My Man. Yeah, I like the sound of that better. We are back together. Long story short, all you need to know is that we talked and we are working things out. I can always learn something new. Maybe he will too. Understanding, compassion, and communication won the day. As I said before, I probably won’t be writing too much about us out of respect for his privacy. But I am very happy. He writes too. We are reading each other’s stuff.
So I have thinking about the title and purpose of this blog for about a week. My thesis fell flat on its face. I didn’t get pinched, didn’t get to confront anybody. All anybody wants to know is if I am married, children, and/or boyfriend. I haven’t’ had too many intelligent conversations. Even my cab drivers are driving me nuts. The dude from Afghanistan wants me to take him to America or get him a job on post. Bj wants, well, I’m not sure; he just keeps asking me to keep in touch. He calls once a week. You do the math.
So that eliminates 3 of my main topics: culture, work, and men. What’s left? Ha-Ha So I will update my friends and families on activities, and day to day funny stuff. Probably vent a little bit. And share my happiness journey. That is a deeply internal ongoing search for the mental power to determine my attitude and my own happiness.
I want to focus on things that expand me, not contract me. These stories will flow naturally out of me. More so than the negative focus. It’s just not in my nature.
Superficially speaking, the search for a title, well it’s like searching or deciding on a tattoo. How do you decide what represents you and what you believe? What can you put out there in front of the whole world to see? I would prefer the title to be funny. I don’t want to just be a journal of an American living in Kuwait. That’s been done and you know I like to be an original. Oh, I got it. High Maintenance in the Middle East. Hmm, some variation of that. I plan on indulging all my senses and desires during my time in Kuwait. I plan on leaving this shithole looking as young as I do now and that is going to take some serious work. But if I get a job in Iraq or Afghanistan, that will change. How will High Maintenance live in the barracks? I can be hard core, if I have to! Let me think on this perspective for a while. What do you guys want to hear about? I’m always thinking commercialization too. Can you see it on the travel channel? High Maintenance Survival Guide: How to keep a sand storm from ruining your complexion.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
I'm in trouble now...
between the Hilton resort and the organic cafe I just found, I'm going to be broke! J/K but it'll be hard to control my spending. For 5KD or $17 I got organic spinach, vegetable, lentil soup that should last several days. And I got some organic spelt spiral noodles. If I am reading the label correctly there is lots of protein in them. I also got a can of spice ginger soda. It's tasty!
oh, the cute little Phillipino man at the store walked me out, and out of hearing range of the Kuwaiti woman sitting inside, to tell me he will give me a 15% discount the next time I come. He hopes we can be friends. "Do you have family?" "no" "oh, still single!"..
"yeah, see ya next week"
oh, the cute little Phillipino man at the store walked me out, and out of hearing range of the Kuwaiti woman sitting inside, to tell me he will give me a 15% discount the next time I come. He hopes we can be friends. "Do you have family?" "no" "oh, still single!"..
"yeah, see ya next week"
Bling Bling & Bang-Bang
I have watched Anthony Bourdain travel to several Middle Eastern countries and enjoyed the hospitality afforded to an American male. Many of the males here have been invited to the country clubs, the homes of Kuwaiti males for tea, for tennis, for boat parties. I didn’t anticipate any of these courtesies being extended to me and I was right. The only thing any TCN, Kuwaiti, or for that matter American male wants to know, is if I have a family. Meaning am I married with a husband and kids. I did ask around about the hand gesture with the two index fingers coming together parallel. It means married or boyfriend. The Kuwaiti and/or Muslims don’t believe in pre-marital sex so they rush to get married. As a result the divorce rate is very high in Kuwait.
As I am writing this on paper for later transfer to the computer I have discovered that it is either too hot or too dusty outside for my papermate pen to work. My page is covered in scribbles and angry slashes trying to get it to work.
Back to Kuwait. Some of the guys that were working here before say things are already changing. A few years ago the women were walking behind the men at the mall. Now you can see them walking side by side and talking to each other. I even saw a little finger touching and for a brief moment a couple intertwined their fingers in public. I don’t know if they were married; probably not, there were happy. Ha-ha just kidding. I also saw a pregnant woman and her husband walking in the mall, her holding his pinky finger. I saw another couple walking arm in arm.
The other thing happening to Kuwait is hip-hop. IT IS SO FUNNY. Pimp my ride has nothing on some of these vehicles. Lights all over, D&C upholstery, rims, the works. Hip-Hop, gangster rap, and money to blow is a dangerous combination that will lure the youth of Kuwait away from the traditional ways. In my high school, the biggest druggies and trouble makers were the wealthy kids. They were the ones who could afford expensive habits like clothes, cars, drugs, women, etc. The really crazy part is that the Kuwaitis are so wealthy that everything is disposable to them, even a $50k or $70k car. It’s nothing to them. They can buy a new one when they wreck this one. Nothing like a little “keeping up with the Jones” to change a culture.
There is a hierarchy on the roads too. The bigger or more expensive your vehicle, then that vehicle has the right away. They don’t wear seat belts; they drive with children on their lap (men & women) and talk on their cell phone which is illegal. So they’re driving all crazy, cutting people off and expecting all concerned to yield to them because they are Kuwaiti. They also drive at night without their lights on because it’s not cool to do so. The young Kuwaiti males like to talk like a rapper or dress like the people in the music videos on the multiple MTV channels that run over here. They like the bling bling and have the money to buy it.
The women are said to be promiscuous. They may be wearing an abaya or some version of covering but they will talk to a man without looking at him. Then they will pass their number to him and move on. There is enough physical abuse against women that they will chance trouble to meet an American. The American risks getting his ass beat too for seeing a Kuwaiti woman. A highly repressed person will behave in a counter effort to the repression seeking the withheld need. I can’t verify that this happens but it makes sense. Nobody wants to be alone, or beat, or put down. They are going to seek companionship, love, and freedom. Like I said, unfortunately most of what I will tell you will be second hand information since I am missing out on a lot.
I have even heard something that is extreme but still possible. The Romans were like this too: Men are for pleasure and women are for babies. They are extremely anti-gay in Muslim religion but something is amiss. Men walk hand in hand. They act in a suggestive way to each other. I have seen these two things. I can see a culture from another perspective, not just filtered with my own eyes, and I tell you – they are intimate with each other. They might not call it gay but they are together. I think something is being lost in translation. I am sure something is going on that outsiders are not told about. I am sure I will be writing about this again….
As I am writing this on paper for later transfer to the computer I have discovered that it is either too hot or too dusty outside for my papermate pen to work. My page is covered in scribbles and angry slashes trying to get it to work.
Back to Kuwait. Some of the guys that were working here before say things are already changing. A few years ago the women were walking behind the men at the mall. Now you can see them walking side by side and talking to each other. I even saw a little finger touching and for a brief moment a couple intertwined their fingers in public. I don’t know if they were married; probably not, there were happy. Ha-ha just kidding. I also saw a pregnant woman and her husband walking in the mall, her holding his pinky finger. I saw another couple walking arm in arm.
The other thing happening to Kuwait is hip-hop. IT IS SO FUNNY. Pimp my ride has nothing on some of these vehicles. Lights all over, D&C upholstery, rims, the works. Hip-Hop, gangster rap, and money to blow is a dangerous combination that will lure the youth of Kuwait away from the traditional ways. In my high school, the biggest druggies and trouble makers were the wealthy kids. They were the ones who could afford expensive habits like clothes, cars, drugs, women, etc. The really crazy part is that the Kuwaitis are so wealthy that everything is disposable to them, even a $50k or $70k car. It’s nothing to them. They can buy a new one when they wreck this one. Nothing like a little “keeping up with the Jones” to change a culture.
There is a hierarchy on the roads too. The bigger or more expensive your vehicle, then that vehicle has the right away. They don’t wear seat belts; they drive with children on their lap (men & women) and talk on their cell phone which is illegal. So they’re driving all crazy, cutting people off and expecting all concerned to yield to them because they are Kuwaiti. They also drive at night without their lights on because it’s not cool to do so. The young Kuwaiti males like to talk like a rapper or dress like the people in the music videos on the multiple MTV channels that run over here. They like the bling bling and have the money to buy it.
The women are said to be promiscuous. They may be wearing an abaya or some version of covering but they will talk to a man without looking at him. Then they will pass their number to him and move on. There is enough physical abuse against women that they will chance trouble to meet an American. The American risks getting his ass beat too for seeing a Kuwaiti woman. A highly repressed person will behave in a counter effort to the repression seeking the withheld need. I can’t verify that this happens but it makes sense. Nobody wants to be alone, or beat, or put down. They are going to seek companionship, love, and freedom. Like I said, unfortunately most of what I will tell you will be second hand information since I am missing out on a lot.
I have even heard something that is extreme but still possible. The Romans were like this too: Men are for pleasure and women are for babies. They are extremely anti-gay in Muslim religion but something is amiss. Men walk hand in hand. They act in a suggestive way to each other. I have seen these two things. I can see a culture from another perspective, not just filtered with my own eyes, and I tell you – they are intimate with each other. They might not call it gay but they are together. I think something is being lost in translation. I am sure something is going on that outsiders are not told about. I am sure I will be writing about this again….
ok, so maybe they play Whitesnake all the time
ok, so maybe Boston's 80's channel, http://player.play.it/player/player.html?v=4.1.25&id=2105&onestat=wbzw-fm , plays Whitesnake all the time. Well, Whitesnake wrote the songs to my life and I love it.
I found a place at the mall where I can get a spinach wrap for about $3. I spent some time talking to a Phillipino at Caribou Coffee. We discussed taxes, coffee vs Turkish coffee vs cappucino and Canadian imigration. He was very effiminate (affeminate,...) he behaved in a feminine way. I think he was freaking out his Indian co-worker a little. It was funny. They were nice. I'll stop back next weekend for a chat.
I talked to my cab driver, BJ too. He's from Yemen, lived in America for a while, and came over for a business deal with his friend. As it seems to happen a lot here, his friend screwed him over and he's driving a cab now. He dresses, speaks, and mostly acts Western. Which if you don't know, we - Americans, are westerns. Asian, Indians, Phillipinos, etc are easterns. I don't like all these categories but they make a difference over here. Anyways, BJ speaks excellent english including slang, inuendo, and humor. He has been a great resource. He's always telling me to be a good. Ha Ha. He's muslim and wants me to be behave. Cab drivers know all your business. They are the ones taking you places in the middle of the night that you shouldn't be going to! LOL. He is tolerant and willing to educate and discuss issues with Americans. I think I've mentioned him before. He's going to help me buy a new phone this coming weekend. You see as a Westerner, and as a female, they will charge me the most. I go into the store and pick out what I want. Then leave. BJ will go in after me, ask for the same thing and get a better price. I come back in and finish the deal. I want the Nokia N97. big bucks and cool stuff. But I'll have it forever and it will work in the states too when I get back. I will be able to blog from my phone at any time too. I will also be able to chat on IM. I'm excited.
I found a place at the mall where I can get a spinach wrap for about $3. I spent some time talking to a Phillipino at Caribou Coffee. We discussed taxes, coffee vs Turkish coffee vs cappucino and Canadian imigration. He was very effiminate (affeminate,...) he behaved in a feminine way. I think he was freaking out his Indian co-worker a little. It was funny. They were nice. I'll stop back next weekend for a chat.
I talked to my cab driver, BJ too. He's from Yemen, lived in America for a while, and came over for a business deal with his friend. As it seems to happen a lot here, his friend screwed him over and he's driving a cab now. He dresses, speaks, and mostly acts Western. Which if you don't know, we - Americans, are westerns. Asian, Indians, Phillipinos, etc are easterns. I don't like all these categories but they make a difference over here. Anyways, BJ speaks excellent english including slang, inuendo, and humor. He has been a great resource. He's always telling me to be a good. Ha Ha. He's muslim and wants me to be behave. Cab drivers know all your business. They are the ones taking you places in the middle of the night that you shouldn't be going to! LOL. He is tolerant and willing to educate and discuss issues with Americans. I think I've mentioned him before. He's going to help me buy a new phone this coming weekend. You see as a Westerner, and as a female, they will charge me the most. I go into the store and pick out what I want. Then leave. BJ will go in after me, ask for the same thing and get a better price. I come back in and finish the deal. I want the Nokia N97. big bucks and cool stuff. But I'll have it forever and it will work in the states too when I get back. I will be able to blog from my phone at any time too. I will also be able to chat on IM. I'm excited.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
It's been a chicken or beef morning
I felt like shit this morning. I slept from 9:30 am to 7 pm and laid in bed dreaming for an hour or so before I got up. I was a little dehydrated from not drinking water for so long. I ordered delivery for dinner, ate, and did a little computer work. It's hard being quiet but awake and lively when there are 2 people sleeping in the apartment. By 1:30 am I was tired again and went back to sleep. I had the worst headached when I woke up this morning at 6 am. I ate cereal and dranks some tea and water. I felt better for a few minutes and continued to drink water. But then I started feeling like I was going to throw up. And the 2 aceteminiphin.... weren't working either. My mood wasn't helping either. My brain hurt. Everything sucked. I'm so dehydrated from sleeping too much. I need sleep. I need water. This whole place sucks. My bad crazy roommate is home today for some reason. Again, her very existance puts me into tense state. She's cooking and it stinks. She doesn't use the exhaust fan. My maids were here yesterday and the place was spotless. Now there are crumbs everywhere. She's grating on my nerves. I drank a glass of water with apple cider vinegar fast and took a hot shower. The headache began to ease up. Afterwards I rubbed jojoba oil all over my body. My skin is starting to look better, the red dots are gone, the trench foot is clearing up, and my nails are starting to grow again. Thank goodness I am in the office. Now I'm feeling better. So I am eating dessert - Egyptian Kilo which is another version of baklahva - walnuts, honey, crunchy pastry. delicious.
I almost booked another massage today at the Hilton Spa. I've decided to wait until next weekend (payday) and sign up for a 3 month membership - $500. I get 5 massages, unlimited access to the aqua medic pool, sauna, steam, ice room, and Turkish bath. I also get 4 free passes for a friend. So I can get a massage every 2 or 3 weeks and use the Turkish bath and sauna on the other weekends. Then enjoy the private beach, have lunch in one of the 5 restaurants, and then finally come home. If I get a boyfriend he can use the free passes and we can enjoy the day at the beach and fine dining.
I'm waiting because I am enjoying having money in my account for a change! lol. And I need to work on 2 resumes today, go to the grocery store, and finish my laundry. i also like having enough money to pay for a plane ride home. Just in case something happens here and I need to get out fast. If something happens and I loose my job, I have to pay for a plane ride home. If I should break a Kuwaiti law of even the simpliest type, if there is potential jail time, I need to get the next flight out before they put a travel ban on my passport. Unfortunately my passport is still being at processing waiting for my residency card. They say you can get it back in 24 hours if something happens. This might sound like I am being paranoid but when you live in a foreign country and are subject to their laws, not all of which you know, then you have to be ready. And people do leave in the middle of night. I have already seen it happen. Chicken or beef? referring to the meal selection on the plane. Hit a camel - chicken or beef? Offend His Royal Highness the Amir - chicken or beef? Get in a car accident with a Kuwaiti citizen - chicken or beef?
If you hit a camel, you have to pay for that camel and 3 generations of camels. it's something like $90,000. If you get into a car accident with a Kuwaiti, you are at fault. Pay for it all. It costs $100 just to get a police report. You need the police report to get your car fixed. They won't touch it without the report. It's so bad that the major rental companies won't rent to people who work for my company because too many of us have gone chicken or beef on them and left the rental company with a wrecked car.
ok, the sugar is kicking in. I need to get ready to go to the store before it gets too late in the day. For me, this morning, it was almost chicken or beef or vegetarian... but I think I can hang in here...
I almost booked another massage today at the Hilton Spa. I've decided to wait until next weekend (payday) and sign up for a 3 month membership - $500. I get 5 massages, unlimited access to the aqua medic pool, sauna, steam, ice room, and Turkish bath. I also get 4 free passes for a friend. So I can get a massage every 2 or 3 weeks and use the Turkish bath and sauna on the other weekends. Then enjoy the private beach, have lunch in one of the 5 restaurants, and then finally come home. If I get a boyfriend he can use the free passes and we can enjoy the day at the beach and fine dining.
I'm waiting because I am enjoying having money in my account for a change! lol. And I need to work on 2 resumes today, go to the grocery store, and finish my laundry. i also like having enough money to pay for a plane ride home. Just in case something happens here and I need to get out fast. If something happens and I loose my job, I have to pay for a plane ride home. If I should break a Kuwaiti law of even the simpliest type, if there is potential jail time, I need to get the next flight out before they put a travel ban on my passport. Unfortunately my passport is still being at processing waiting for my residency card. They say you can get it back in 24 hours if something happens. This might sound like I am being paranoid but when you live in a foreign country and are subject to their laws, not all of which you know, then you have to be ready. And people do leave in the middle of night. I have already seen it happen. Chicken or beef? referring to the meal selection on the plane. Hit a camel - chicken or beef? Offend His Royal Highness the Amir - chicken or beef? Get in a car accident with a Kuwaiti citizen - chicken or beef?
If you hit a camel, you have to pay for that camel and 3 generations of camels. it's something like $90,000. If you get into a car accident with a Kuwaiti, you are at fault. Pay for it all. It costs $100 just to get a police report. You need the police report to get your car fixed. They won't touch it without the report. It's so bad that the major rental companies won't rent to people who work for my company because too many of us have gone chicken or beef on them and left the rental company with a wrecked car.
ok, the sugar is kicking in. I need to get ready to go to the store before it gets too late in the day. For me, this morning, it was almost chicken or beef or vegetarian... but I think I can hang in here...
sex nazi's
Boston Legal is not as much fun to watch when they cut the sex scenes out. All the TV shows and movies are edited for content. The movie theatre looks nice but none of us are really willing to pay to see an edited movie. There are bootleg copies available for about $3 a piece but some are really bad. Somebody will video tape their TV from their couch and sell that! To make it worse, somebody will get up off the couch in the middle of the movie and walk across the front of the TV!! Some others go to the theatre and video tape the movie from their seat. Of course the audio sucks on all these copies. There are better copies that were made somehow electronically. I have seen one that was missing the left and right sides of the screen or off center. The audio is better but maybe off by a second or two. They are at least tolerable to watch. damn, here comes the end of Boston Legal,... a bedroom scene, and it will leave me hanging mid breathe...
Friday, July 3, 2009
It's the weekend!
In a few hours I will be done with work for this week. I spent the whole week in the office and it looks like I will be back in the office next week too. I don't ask any questions. I show up and do what I am told. I think they like. No trouble here. I am starting to get a little self assurant that I know how things work around here. People are talking already about me being in admin so fast. Most females mess up and make mistakes at their job site. They put them in admin to keep them from fucking up worse. logical, right? Like if a female gets caught sleeping with a pillow and blanket at her job site a few times,... she might end up in admin. But you know I have been pulling my weight around here and doing a good job so it's confusing people. So that previously mentioned female is now somebody's secretary and I haven't been able to determine if her position is permanent or not. I am doing her old job right now. So for now my position is still a special detail or temporary assignment.
Well, socially things are up and down. In the course of my work I had interactions with a guy that works on base. He got my name off of my uniform, asked his friend to pass me his phone number. I sent him a text message saying hello. He was on base to go see a movie. I had him swing around my area to say hello. I did not meet him at my office. Don't want him to know any more about me then necessary. We chatted for a bit and I remembered who he was. But I'm not interested in going out so I told him I was seeing somebody. I don't know if it's true since I haven't heard from my man. But I am not interested in this particular guy, I'm not interested in started something right now. So that was exciting for about 10 minutes.
Somebody asked how it is making friends with all these guys over here. It's tenuous. You don't know if they are capable of being just friends. Or are hoping for more. When they fade away after a few weeks, I know they were hoping for more and can't be friends anymore, or got bored and moved on. I don't spend any time with the guys I started with at the beginning. I might talk to them once in a while but it's so casual and redundant it's almost not worth the effort. And if you don't have the same days off, you will never see each other.
It's also hard because this place is full of rejects or people running away from stuff at home. You could talk to somebody for months and not know that they owe child support, have 3 ex-wives, and drink too much when they are in the states. If they don't talk about it, you never know. Almost everybody is here for the money. People who do things just for the money, well, you need to be cautious. I am here for the money. I got bills to pay. I also wanted the experience of traveling and living in another country. NOBODY picks Kuwait or any other Muslim country as their first destination for travel and experience. I would like to teach English in Japan but it's not enough money. So there you go. Don't trust me either. I'm here to get in and get out.
Having 2 days off a week and money to spend and being surrounded by guys makes it hard not to want some version of a real life. I would rather work 6 days a week, live on base, never leave base, and make more money faster - get out of here faster. Get on with my life.
I will continue to write about Kuwait and the culture but I have already concluded that this place is a garbage dump, literally and figuratively. It's a shit hole and there's nothing here to learn that is positive. You can learn what not to do, or what might be a bad way of living and be motivated by that to change, but change to what? That's what I seek. I want to live and learn from a positive example.
I hope to find a boyfriend to spend my time with and enjoy myself. Maybe there is a gem hidden amongst the beasts. My heart is always open but I am leading with my mind right now. I am focused on paying off my bills, saving, and getting to law school.
Well, socially things are up and down. In the course of my work I had interactions with a guy that works on base. He got my name off of my uniform, asked his friend to pass me his phone number. I sent him a text message saying hello. He was on base to go see a movie. I had him swing around my area to say hello. I did not meet him at my office. Don't want him to know any more about me then necessary. We chatted for a bit and I remembered who he was. But I'm not interested in going out so I told him I was seeing somebody. I don't know if it's true since I haven't heard from my man. But I am not interested in this particular guy, I'm not interested in started something right now. So that was exciting for about 10 minutes.
Somebody asked how it is making friends with all these guys over here. It's tenuous. You don't know if they are capable of being just friends. Or are hoping for more. When they fade away after a few weeks, I know they were hoping for more and can't be friends anymore, or got bored and moved on. I don't spend any time with the guys I started with at the beginning. I might talk to them once in a while but it's so casual and redundant it's almost not worth the effort. And if you don't have the same days off, you will never see each other.
It's also hard because this place is full of rejects or people running away from stuff at home. You could talk to somebody for months and not know that they owe child support, have 3 ex-wives, and drink too much when they are in the states. If they don't talk about it, you never know. Almost everybody is here for the money. People who do things just for the money, well, you need to be cautious. I am here for the money. I got bills to pay. I also wanted the experience of traveling and living in another country. NOBODY picks Kuwait or any other Muslim country as their first destination for travel and experience. I would like to teach English in Japan but it's not enough money. So there you go. Don't trust me either. I'm here to get in and get out.
Having 2 days off a week and money to spend and being surrounded by guys makes it hard not to want some version of a real life. I would rather work 6 days a week, live on base, never leave base, and make more money faster - get out of here faster. Get on with my life.
I will continue to write about Kuwait and the culture but I have already concluded that this place is a garbage dump, literally and figuratively. It's a shit hole and there's nothing here to learn that is positive. You can learn what not to do, or what might be a bad way of living and be motivated by that to change, but change to what? That's what I seek. I want to live and learn from a positive example.
I hope to find a boyfriend to spend my time with and enjoy myself. Maybe there is a gem hidden amongst the beasts. My heart is always open but I am leading with my mind right now. I am focused on paying off my bills, saving, and getting to law school.
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