Salamu Alaykum

It is official...I now am the proud owner of a dishdashah...don’t worry there will be pictures later.

I had an amazing time at the various diwaniyyahs that i have been to. The people are so nice and love to share about their culture and history. Plus, the sweets that are served with the coffee are delicious. I will have loads to post about all of this. Plus some excellent video that I took at one of the oldest houses/diwaniyyah in Kuwait (275 years old). I will have to update all of that later. I am spending almost every night out this week to practice using the language. Tonight I am off to a museum. Don’t worry; I will be bringing my camera...

ma'a issalamah


Oh, here is a picture of the old city gates of Kuwait...

Sushi

I tried sushi for the first time last night. I am pretty sure that I did not eat anything with raw fish in it (and I steered clear of anything with salmon). I was told that the sushi that I was eating had shrimp in it. I will say that you don’t really taste anything but the dipping sauce (soy sauce and wasabi). But I didn’t like the texture/taste of the seaweed. On a side note, they had a great lo mein noodle in hot sauce with vegetables and beef...And yes, I am eating a lot more vegetables here...Also, I ate my entire meal last night with chop sticks...I am becoming more cultured by the day...lol

Funny moment from last night...

So after dinner we (Me, My host mother-Diane and her friend Danielle) were walking through one of the malls here in Kuwait. Firstly, I should mention if I have not already that the malls here are filled with stores from the top designers around the world. So...We pass a store and I say "why would any one need Valentino bed sheets?" About three steps later, Diane realizes what just happened and drags me bag to the store and points out that is a store to pick out the fabric for your Dishdasha (the traditional male garment in Kuwait). Needless to say, we all got a pretty good laugh out of my ignorance...

Week in Review

Well, it has been awhile since my last post. Thanks for the warm wishes and responses to my blog. And, yes I am starting to feel a little homesick. Ramadan is not any fun, there is nothing to do during the day.

As some of you already know, there have been some problems with my classes here at AUK. It turned out that AUK was not offering any of the 20 courses that I got pre-approved from GMU to take. The people at AMIDEAST assure me that they are working with AUK to find some courses for me to take.

My Kuwaiti Arabic course is moving along. I am going on Wednesday to a diwaniyyah, which is where men in Kuwait gather to discuss all sorts of things. So I will update with full details and maybe some photos.

I will note that I am still uneasy of what I can and cannot take photos of, thus the lack of photos and video on my blog. But, as I continue to get more comfortable here in Kuwait I promise there will be more photos.

Also, I really hope to post video/photos of my new home and host family by the end of the week. And tomorrow is my host mother's birthday. We are going out for sushi to celebrate, Wish me luck (never had sushi). Also, I have finally got all the names of the pets and will include names with photos going forward.

And lastly...tonight I went out to the halaq (barber)....One shave and haircut = 2KD. Look on their face when I explained (in Arabic) that I am an American studying in Kuwait = priceless. "Why would you want to study here?"....LOL

AMIDEAST

Just wanted to post a picture to show everyone where i am spending my days here in Kuwait. I have Kuwaiti Arabic class everyday Sunday-Thursday for 3 hours at AMIDEAST.

My New Home

Just wanted to share a few photos of my new place. There will be much more to come.
So the first is of some of the family....



awww....And thats not even half of them. My host mother, Diane, has three cats and two dogs. The other two cats are pretty shy. And this dog loves me, the other one still barks at me everytime i enter a room. I will also have to get some photos of me and Diane. Oh and that is the chair in my bedroom. They love my room. When i leave for class in the morning the cat is still on my bed. (and i promise i will learn their names at some point)

I really need to get some photos of the outside of the building too. So, next is my bedroom...



And for all those concerned....lol



I actually do have a lovely bathroom! With a regular toilet! Well, actually the toilets over here have a button on the top that you push to flush the toilet. And as for the shower, during the summer in Kuwait you turn the cold water on for a hot shower.