Judy and the Birthday Camel
So who says you don’t get what you wish for on your birthday. Apparently my mom wished to ride a camel. So on her birthday we decided to first drive down to the Saudi Arabian boarder, which is only a 40 minute drive, and then we simply went off-roading into the desert. Suddenly we came across a man and his herd of camels. After a couple smiles and a friendly tip my up on her camel.
Checking out the Heritage Sauq and Husain’s Carpets
Another fun day with my parents as they explored the Kuwaiti Heritage Sauq. As a birthday gift, Karin and I treated my mom to a Persian carpet. So we stopped by Husain the Carpet guy and let her pick out her very own carpet. As you can see, Amira enjoyed walking all over the many carpets.
Taking the Fam on a Dhow Ride
What a great day for heading out into the gulf. My parents had a nice time seeing Kuwait from a different perspective. Some teachers from our school where nice enough to set up this ride for us and other teachers. We had great catered food as we enjoyed the ride. Amira was very well behaved as she sat with grandma.
The best part was when my dad of 69 decided to jump in the water along with the other teachers. Way to go dad!
A Photo Day
Today my friends and I decided to head out simply to take pictures. We started off by going down to the local mall where there is a marina with dhows and fisherman. The fisherman were nice enough to allow us onboard to take pictures until the security guard from the mall told us we were not welcomed there. After that we headed into the market area of the mall where they have fresh meat and fish for sale. And yes, not only is that goat you see but camel hanging!
To escape the smells we decided to head out into the desert for a real camel experience. For the first time we were chased by an alpha male camel. We had to quick run around the car and jump in for our lives!
Seeing Kuwait with a Different Set of Eyes
Paulo’s dad, Frank, and Karin’s mom, Hope, visited us — but mostly Amira — for about two weeks. They were able to get out a little and see the sites of Kuwait.
The Prince and Palace
One of Paulo’s students is the grandson of the former Amir and invited us all to visit the palace where he lives. We got a tour of the diwaniya where many foreign dignitaries and diplomats have visited. Abdullah explained the lives and reigns of the 7 amirs and a very extensive family tree. We also got to sit and drink tea and talk politics with Abdullah who has a real chance of becoming the Amir of Kuwait someday. It was an amazing, once-in-a-life-time experience!
Desert camping and smoking a Shisha
Abdullah, one of Paulo’s students invited us out to his family’s camp in the desert. We spent the day relaxing in the tent, drinking tea with milk and saffron, climbing one of the few geographical formations in Kuwait, and riding quads (four-wheelers).
Dad testing out the Gutra
Frank, Hope, Amira and Karin spent an afternoon shopping at the Heritage Market in downtown. Frank tried on a gutra and somehow we became a local attraction! A Kuwaiti gentleman stopped by and showed Frank how to properly put on the gutra. Apparently, it is a very detailed process. But doesn’t Frank look great!
Hanging with the Tatus in Kuwait
Our good friends Mike & Alicia Tatu visited us for an amazing weekend as part of their Middle Eastern honeymoon.
We enjoyed showing them around Kuwait, and they enjoyed the blend of the traditional and the modern. We visited the traditional Friday Market where we literally saw everything from rugs and clothes to an ostrich and the World’s Tallest Man to the kitchen sink and everything in between. We also enjoyed the modern pampering: Paulo and Mike got shaves, and Alicia and I treated ourselves to manicures and pedicures. It was just in time for me to have beautiful nails for Amira’s delivery.
They also enjoyed the variety in food. We had three different types of shawarmas, the best and most gourmet burgers in the world, and my personal favorite The Chocolate Bar. Their Peanut Butter Mouse Pie was the last thing I ate as a pregnant woman — and it was amazing! 
Mike and Alicia were with us when we made the 2:30 am drive to the hospital and hung out for the 12 hour labor. Unfortunately, their flight back to the States left exactly 10 minutes before Amira was born.
Lunch on the Arabian Gulf
Over the National Day/Liberation Day long weekend, we joined a group of about 30 for an afternoon sailing the Kuwaiti Harbor on a traditional fishing boat, Dhow. It was the one of the first nice, spring afternoon’s with the perfect mixture of sunshine and ocean breeze. The food and photo opportunities were fantastic!
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And then, there they were…
We thought we were on an excursion to find the Tank Graveyard (from the first Gulf War), but we never did find it. We did, however, find a herd of camels wandering the desert. There were probably about 30 camels, and we got some great pictures!
Showing the In-Law’s Around Kuwait
Karin’s parents, Hope and Larry, were our first guests in Kuwait! Yes, they were the first (hopefully of many) to brave the 19-hour flight and heat. Actually, the weather in Kuwait in December is quite nice and reasonable - Hope actually wore a light jacket at night, but Larry stuck to the staple of shorts and a t-shirt! ☺
Hope and Larry arrived just in time to get to visit the school and see Karin’s classroom. Hope spent one day at school getting to meet the students and to watch the Middle School Talent Show (And, of course, Karin’s Chair-Ballet routine! Can anyone say, “The Dance of the Nutcracker”?).
The students gave lots of advice for places in Kuwait to visit, but we actually ran out of time to see it all! We did make it to the Kuwaiti Towers, the Grand Mosque, Marina Mall (and the Harley Davidson store), and several restaurants. Karin and Hope enjoyed many hours of shopping at both the very modern and hip malls as well as the more traditional Heritage and Fabric Souqs. Paulo was able to show Larry the car repair places (there is one picture of a guy actually sitting on our engine while he was working on it!) and take him out to breakfast at Johnny Rockets. Larry even did some clothes shopping himself - he got a “Shepherd Costume” and a custom-made military vest.
We also enjoyed having Hope and Larry here for Christmas. We had lunch with several other ASK families who were still in town, and Karin’s sweet potatoes and Grandma Jean’s famous Cranberry Frozen Surprise were a huge hit!! It was fun getting the gifts people had sent with Hope and Larry from the States too. Thank you so much!
Kuwaiti Towers
Go up into the Famous Kuwaiti Towers for your very own glance at what it’s like. These towers were trashed during Sadam’s occupation.
While Karin’s parents were visiting Kuwait, we were able to take them to the Towers with our great friends Jassim and Lana. Jassim is Kuwaiti and Lana, his wife, is an American who came to teach in Kuwait.
Has anyone seen my wife?
What an interesting afternoon! We headed off the the Friday Market (the weekend market where you can buy everything from rugs to laundry soap to clothes to a goat) to find some Kuwaiti “souvenirs” and ended up buying an abaya for Karin. No, she has not converted, but she thought it would be a good, cultural experience and she needed one to wear through Saudi. Karin and our friend, Tara, were trying on abayas, they became the “main attraction” for everyone who walked by. There were many smiles and chuckles from most of the people who passed by, some took pictures with their camera phones, and one man even stopped to get his picture taken with the “Kuwaiti Women.” It was pretty fun!
Oh! And to complete the experience, one of Karin’s students told her at school the next day that he had seen Paulo at the market but had not seen Karin. “Miss,” he said, “I looked all over for you, but I couldn’t find you. Mr. Paulo was talking to these two Kuwaiti women, but I didn’t see you anywhere!”
And We’re Off to the Races Again…Camel Races That Is
Today we made our first actual trip out into the desert and got to watch camel races. There is something timeless about seeing camels walking across the desert…
We went with the AWARE Center to the Camel Races. We were expecting open desert and standing right out by the track. Instead, we were inside watching the races on TV and drinking fruit smoothies. The camels start on the other side of the track and race around to the finish line directly in front of the boxed seats where we were.
Camel racing has evolved significantly in the past few years. The jockeys used to be small boys that would sometimes fall off and get injured. They recently have gone to robotic camel jockeys. They are 22kg robots that sit on the camels; some of them have remote-controlled arms with whips the owners can control from the cars they are driving along the track. It is actually hilarious to watch!
After watching one and a half races inside, we decided that was enough of that, so we snuck out and tried to go down by the track. After trying a few different ways around, we ended up back where the camels are herded after they race. We got some amazing photos – and Paulo even got to ride one. I think they wanted to mess with us foreign monkeys, so they went and found the oldest, orneriest camel they could and offered to let us ride. The old geezer bellowed and hollered the whole time! Check out the A Day with Camels Photo Album to see some pretty great photos!
The Kuwaiti Heritage Museum
Our first weekend in Kuwait we took a trip to the Kuwaiti Heritage Museum with our wonderful New-Teacher Orientation Coordinator, Linda Shields. We traveled back in time to see what Downtown Kuwait looked like “before.”
