All about Kuwait

This is an excerpt of an email I sent to a friend. She had asked several questions about Kuwait and here are the answers. I'd been meaning to blog much of this but it seemed so overwhelming when I only have a few minutes here and there. Over several days I added to the email and finally sent it off. I've cut and pasted much of it to here.

Schools--I would say they are not as good as the US. Some of that could be that they just don't have the student population to justify having all the programs that are availalble in the states. My kids go to a school called the American School of Kuwait. It is a K-12 school. The campus is larger than you'd expect. I think there are around 1200-1500 students. My kids have only attended one other school before this and that was Whittier Elementary in Salt Lake. Well, a couple of my kids have had short stints at Newman Elem. also in SLC and those schools are comparable. Based on what my kids were doing at Whittier, I would say the schools aren't as good here. My kids were in a program called Extended Learning Program. Technically it is a gifted and talented program and there were kids in their classes that were amazingly gifted and talented. My kids just had a lot of support from home which I think is one determinate of success at school. They weren't necessarily gifted--especially compared to some in their classes. They were challenged, however. Now coming here to ASK, they are ahead of their classes. They aren't expected to do much homework. This is nice in some ways but Todd and I liked some homework as a way to teach them responsibility and all that goes with that. We fill our extra time though with other things. They considered moving Clara and Calvin up a grade because they were so far ahead but it is illegal in Kuwait to skip grades. If you think the gov't holds a heavy hand over education in the states, you should see Kuwait. They are required to take Arabic and the schools have to provide religion classes for the Muslims. I like it that my kids are learning Arabic though. It's fun to hear them communicate and argue about the finer points of proper pronunciations. Just like in the states there are a wide range of levels in each classroom so the teachers are doing their best to challenge our kids and keep them interested. We try here at home to push them along and I think that's why their Arabic is coming along so well because they have time to focus on that because it is new to them and they don't have to spend time with math and spelling homework, etc. I have heard that elementary grades are behind the states, Middle School grades are about on with the states, and the High School here is more advanced than the states. Since I don't have high schoolers, I don't know if that's true or not. And we probably won't be here in Kuwait long enough to find out. Looks like we'll be moving to Bahrain at the end of this school year.

Houses--they are different. The roofs are all flat and they actually have different levels of roofs. For example, most houses have a door that you can walk out onto part of your roof. Then there is a ladder to get up to another level of the roof. And sometimes there are more ladders to get up to different levels. We saw the other day that someone had put their trampoline up on their roof. I guess they're making the most of the space they have. Having different levels is the same inside the houses, though not as extreme. The houses are open spaces but there are different "rooms." To signify a change of room, they put it up or down a step from the adjoining room. Instead of walls dividing the rooms, there are steps, if that makes sense. In our house we have a few steps but we also have raised thresholds. You don't just go through a doorway to another room. You have to step over a raised threshold or you'll trip. The first several days I was here I did trip going from room to room or I would forget there's a full step up or down as I walked around. We were lucky nobody sprained an ankle or anything. We're used to it now.

Maids--I love the maid. Her name is Jesse (she's from India--her "real name" is something much longer but she's Americanized it and shortened it to "Jesse"). She comes one day a week. She has a routine of things she does like the floors, the bathrooms, and the ironing. But she's good at seeing what extra things need to be done and she'll do those as well. She may wipe down the kitchen really well, clean the windows or the walls, straighten up papers and books, etc. It is so nice to come home to a house cleaner than when I left. I've gotten very spoiled. It'll be hard to go back to the states where it is more expensive to have a maid and I have to do the work myself. I have this fantasy though that my kids will be older then and they won't make as many messes and they'll be better at cleaning up. Those with older kids tell me "dream on." Jesse doesn't look like the other maids though. The Kuwaities make their maids wear a uniform of sorts. When I go to pick up my kids from school I'm surrounded by women wearing basically the same outfit, just in different colors. It took me a while to realize that they are the maids and nannies of the children. Jesse works full time for a Finnish family who happen to be in our branch. They must not make her wear the "uniform" either.

Cars--We are driving a Suburban now so we don't need to take two cars everywhere we go. The company policy is to rent a car for the employee. Since it was taking the company so long to help us with residency, they agreed to rent us a Suburban and we would just pay the amount over what the car was costing. It is expensive to rent a car and would've been cheaper to buy one, but since we're only going to be here til June then doing this rent thing worked out better. The company has already started moving employees without families to Bahrain so we also still get to have a car left behind by one of those employees. We'll have to go through this process again in Bahrain but we're starting the process of residency now so hopefully it won't be such a headache like it's been here in Kuwait. One interesting thing--here in Kuwait "suburban" is pronounced in such a way that it rhymes with "Superman."


Shopping--Grocery shopping is an experience. Everyone tells me The Sultan Center is a great place to get American products. It's a chain store and they have several here in Kuwait. Truthfully, I haven't been that impressed with TSC. They do have American products but they're so expensive. Sometimes there is a Middle East equivalent and I'm learning to get those things so hopefully we can cut down on our grocery budget. For example, cottage cheese here is called Jocca. It's only sold in very small containers. I've been able to find most things I want/need but again, once I see the price on some things I have to really think if it is a want or a need. Cereal is pretty expensive--around $4 a box. I can't find Cheerios--my favorite. I can find Honey Nut Cheerios but I want the original. They have a ton of different kinds of chocolate cereal and wouldn't you know it, my kids don't like them. They're all basically the same flavor but just in different shapes and sizes. Chocolate cereal is a very popular thing here. Nutella, the chocolate spread, is also very popular. I have yet to find some good old wonderbread type sandwich bread. They have things very similar but they seem so dry compared to the states. We haven't been able to find tortillas or tortilla chips but we can find hard taco shells and salsa (but again, expensive). I also shop at a place called Carefour. It is a French-based grocery store. Lulu hypermarket is another favorite of mine. Instead of "supercenters" they call them "hypermarkets." They are stores you can get everything from clothes to hardware to toys to groceries.

One thing I find interesting is the "availability" of help while you're shopping. I first noticed it when I was in Claire's (the accessory store) one day. I'd start looking at something and as I'd move, someone just behind me would move with me. I kept thinking to myself, "Why is this person following me and wanting to look at everything I'm looking at?" I started just moving around the store and sure enough, this person stayed right with me. At first I didn't want to turn around and look because I thought they probably didn't realize it was annoying me. But after a while, I couldn't help but turn around and look to see who it was and why they were doing it. I turned around and realized that it was one of the workers. As I've been here longer I've realized this is not unique to Claires. In every store--unless it is exceptionally crowded--the workers will follow you from aisle to aisle as you shop. I've learned to ignore it. I try to see the positive in that if I have a question I have someone right there I can ask instead of having to look around the store to find someone to help me. Unfortunately though, the couple of times I have asked questions they don't know the answer or don't speak English well enough to understand what I'm asking. These "personal shoppers" are especially ubundant around the make up counters. You can't just go and browse the make up. Someone is right there to ask you what you're looking for and they help you choose it. Once you've made your selection, depending on the store, you pay for the make up right there because it has it's own separate checkstand. OR they put it in this safe-type box that you can't unlock yourself. Then when you're ready to pay for all your purchases you take it up to the checkstand where they have the equipment to take off the box. One day I was in City Centre and I got a couple of things from the makeup department. City Centre is a store that you pay for your makeup purchases right in that department. I only had a big bill and the checker didn't have enough change in his till so what was the solution? He pulled out his own wallet from his back pocket, gave me the correct change, and I was on my way. I was a checker at ShopKo while I was in college and that so would have been against the rules. I love Kuwait! He just solved the problem and I didn't have to wait for him to call a manager, for the manager to respond, for the manager to call the service desk to get money from the safe, then wait for them to record it all on a paper . . .

I won't go into it here--hopefully I'll remember later to put it on the blog--but shopping at a souk and the fish market are experiences in and of themselves.

UPDATE: I found some Cheerios!!!! I went to TSC the other day and their whole shelf was stocked with many American cereals--including Cheerios! I wondered how I had missed it before. I stocked up on a few. When I got them home I of course told Todd of my great find. He asked if I bought all of them. I told him no, I bought one each of a few of our favorites. He recommended I go back and get a supply. He's heard that these cereals only come once in a while and when they do you should stock up because you don't know when they'll come around again. No wonder I had never seen them before. I haven't made it back yet. I'm hoping they'll still be there when I return.

Activities, sports, music, etc.--We joined a health club and that has become our main source of extracurricular entertainment. They have a creche (nursery) that takes kids ages 3 months to 5 years old. I take the little ones there while I exercise. They've got treadmills, bikes, rowing machines, steppers, hydraulic weights, free weights, etc etc. and all sorts of classes from basic aerobics to tae bo, spinning, Latin Dance, pump, water aerobics, step, yoga, pilates, and the list goes on. They have a juniors program for ages 5 to 15 and they have access to a game room with computers, playstation, tv, etc. They also have a juniors squash club, tennis club, volleyball club, billiards, darts, chess, ping pong, arts and crafts, yoga, dance, and that list goes on as well. I usually go to the club in the morning with the little ones then a few times a week we go back after school for the other activities. However, my kids' favorite thing to do there is to swim in the pool and on occasion they will participate in the organized activities.

Clara and Calvin are in the school bands. Clara plays percussion and the saxaphone. Calvin plays the Clarinet. We don't have our piano yet and my kids have actually said they miss it and are looking forward to getting it. We should be getting it the first part of January sometime. I looked into getting them a teacher when the piano arrives but it costs about 10 KD for a 45 minute lesson once a week. That's about equivalent to $40 per lesson. Again, since we're only going to be here til June, I'm thinking we'll save the $$ and I'll teach them for those 6 months and see how it goes. Then we'll reevaluate in Bahrain after we see what it's like there.

This has been another good thing about Kuwait. There really isn't that kind of pressure to have the kids involved in so many things. Kids here spend time with their families. They go shopping together. They go to the beach. They go to relatives homes. The school has opportunities for extracurricular activities if you want--perhaps not as many as big schools in the states--but they do have afterschool drama, choir, band, etc. A couple of my kids have done afterschool iceskating where they were transported to and from a nearby rink.

Language--Enough people speak English here that we get along pretty easily. Once in a while we have an issue. Todd mostly communicates with the educated people and they all (including Todd) speak both English and Arabic so that's easy. My contacts are with the men (no women) who take my groceries to the car, fill my car with gas, basically the blue collar people and many of them only know a few basic English words. Sometimes I pull the talking in a louder voice or doing charades to communicate thinking that will help. Of course it doesn't. It's only been a problem a couple of times. For example, we've been having problems with one of the refrigerators so there have been people that have come and taken it away and brought it back a couple of times. We try to communicate but it doesn't work really well. If Todd is home, I just defer to him and he handles it. There's a guy who washes our car and sidewalks and stuff and sometimes he tries to tell me something but I have to wait til Todd is home so he can tell him. A couple of times there have been what I assume are door to door salesman. It doesn't take long for them to realize they won't get a sale at our house because I have no clue what they're trying to sell so they move along to the next place. Those are just a few encounters where we can't communicate. Generally most people speak English and we get along just fine.

Religions--We are able to meet without any problems but we can't advertise that the villa we meet in is really a church. We are working on getting the church recognized here in Kuwait. Recently the new 2008 manuals were shipped here in the name of our Branch President who is Philipino. You should know that the majority of Philipinos here are the working class and are looked at as second class by the Kuwaities. So when these books came through customs in his name, they thought maybe he was starting a book selling business or something and really gave him a hard time about it. Another member of the branch presidency is American and another member is Finnish. The Finnish member is a CEO of Wataniya (a huge telecommunications company here) and has a lot of "wasta." Wasta is "influence" and if you know the right people it will get you far. So when the branch president went to collect the books he took with him the American (Kuwaities love Americans--especially so since the Gulf war) and the man with wasta and once they saw that the Philipino knew these men, then they gave him the books without much problem. The important part of this is that through this process they got a letter from the Ministry of Kuwait with the church's name mentioned in the letter. Evidently this is a huge step in getting the church recognized here. The Lord works in many ways.

As far as us and the Muslims we've seen, they couldn't be more kind and generous. Todd's coworkers that are Muslim are so gracious and friendly and accepting of our ways and customs. They have been to our house a few times to eat and we of course have a blessing on the food. The other night one of them invited us over to dinner and before they started they asked one of our kids to say a prayer as they knew it was our custom. In the blessing Emma thanked Liana for making it and then Liana blurted out "and Arfan" so Emma said "and Arfan" then Liana said "and Ahmed" so Emma said "And Ahmed." We're not used to interruptions like that during the prayer but nonetheless, they let us offer it. These are our missionary opportunities. It is illegal here to proselyte. You can answer questions but you can't approach others. Emma will be baptized in March and she was wanting to invite some classmates to come but we think that won't be allowed.

It is becoming fun to hear the call to prayer. In Utah there is an LDS church on every corner. Here it is a mosque on every corner. The mosques have loudspeakers and 5 times a day you hear the call to prayer. It is in Arabic and it is a man singing a song calling everyone to prayer. It used to wake me up at night but now I'm able to sleep through it. No matter where you are in the city, you can hear the call to prayer. This past week started their winter Eid (holiday). The first day they had special calls to prayer. They were longer and more repetitive. This prayer did wake me up but you learn to roll over and ignore it. It was fun to see the men and even the young boys out and about all dressed up in their finest dish dashes (the long robes). My boys got a bit of an education, of sorts. The day before the first day of Eid they were out walking the neighborhood and saw a house with a yard full of goats and chickens and such. Then the first day of Eid they happened to walk by the same house and saw them just finishing up a slaughtering of one of the goats. That's something we didn't see from our neighbors in Salt Lake.

And to FINALLY finish up, we don't have an address. There is no mail system here. We have a couple of friends that work for the military and we've had a couple of things sent to their APO boxes. We also have received FedEx pkgs but it costs a fortune just to send a letter. Email is really the best way to keep in touch. Thank goodness for computers. We could get our own Post Office box but again, since we won't be in Kuwait for long, we've opted to just wait til we get to Bahrain to get something more permanent.