As implied by the postings on this blog to date we are moving to Kuwait where she won’t get the cool weather and exercise that she deserves.

Cleo is a Border Collie Lab cross.

We would like to give her away to a good family as it would be better for her in the temperate climate of Canada then in Kuwait with the heat.
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Then the movie, cost 2.5 KD ($10 CAD) and got oversalted (with that fake flavor salt) popcorn to eat with a Pepsi.

The movie, Flightplan was quite good. A few unbelievable stretches of reality but the overall plot had some good twists. Here’s an overview on IMDB, but if you read the reviews they’ll spoil it or you.

Tried a new restaurant, Lebanese on the water at the Al-Kout mall. Boy you pay a lot for the decor. But the food was nothing special.

My mouth is watering. Above we have, in clockwise order: a plate of kababs, hommos, a kabob sandwich, fresh pita bread and tabouleh. Photo from the Kabab-ji site.Kabob-ji is still is the best. They make fresh pita bread and that makes the day. Check out their web site, they have a neat Flash screen.

Well, when I got up I saw it was foggy. And then when I went out the condensation on the front polished marble steps neary sent me for a very rough tumble. But I recovered.

Then after the dentist it was still foggy as I made it into the office by about 9:00 a.m. The visibility on the road was at times only 50 to 100 meters.

It is looking a bit greener in the desert. The natural desert does have a bit of grasses and now with the moisture some green is showing. The open desert is overgrazed by the sheep and camels. I saw a pretty big flock yesterday. But in the security areas where the grazing is not permitted that is where you see more of the grasses. Of course, not like a law, just patchy scrubby bunches.

This is a lesson in how things are here.

Today now, my car is getting washed on the job. The janitors have been asking me on and on to wash it daily for 5 KD per month ($20 CAD). The wash it with water and wipe it down inside also. They each do about five cars. A couple of weeks ago I got the car fully washed outside, underside and inside including vacuumed for KD 2.5 at a washing place. I’ve so far said no. Then a co-worker explained the system to me.

The janitors are hardly paid anything. So they make a bit extra by washing cars. It is like a charitable thing here. Also the janitors took up a collection at Eid earlier in November as that is the equivalent of Christmas for them.

Also, when we get the villa the system needs to be understood. Everything is stratified, financial standing being the driver.

There are different social classes, education levels and of course, pay levels.

You have the janitor level. They don’t have too much education and not much english.
Then there is the tea boy level, with better english.

Also these people are employed under other contract companies.

Then there are different levels of administrative and technical support.
I work with the TCNs (Third Country Nationals) from India and Phillipenes. They are experienced engineers. Some have advanced degrees from western countries. For example the very nice and experienced Process Engineer that I work with is from India, formerly long time ago, with EIL and did his PhD in Australia.

So, when we get the house, to get help, it is even possible to get the janitor or tea boy level people to help part time. The critical issue with any domestic help is that they can be trusted not to steal as if they are in your house unsupervised it is pretty open. And of course, such a huge wealth discrepancy!

It will be an interesting thing for the children to understand. For sure we’ll need help around the house and yard. It is so big and also you need to clean a lot as for a good part of the year a lot of dust accumulates.

In the newspaper Friday Times of Kuwait (near the page on driving in Kuwait) was the following article on burying the dead in Kuwait. I’ve almost literally plagiarized it.
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Click here for a full size image.
This has got to hurt. How fast were they going?

A typical scene, though usually you see rollovers. Every weekend in the morning you can see the results. Usually in the 30 km drive into the city there are a couple along the way. And they don’t actually take away the damaged vehicles right away if they are off on the side of the road. You’d think this would remind people better on driving more safely. The problem is, once you spin out if you don’t fly off and do this, you’ll catch a wheel in the soft sand at the side and roll.

Click here for a full size image.
This police vehicle had just flown by my friend when it hit the side of a large truck. How do they explain this to the boss?
Well, I’ve been doing it firsthand for three months now. I’m gettign used to it. It isn’t easy and has many hazards. But it can be done.

The average is three deaths per day, two being pedestrians.

Of course, no right of way for pedestrians. But also they take chances. You have to assume that even on a side street the car is going 150 kmh and not cross.
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The Guardian says, “It’s tempting to see her as a grown-up Pippi Longstocking with a satellite phone”. Certainly she and her books have received lots of attention. It helps that she is smart, well spoken, tall, blonde Norwegian with excellent English — one of five languages she speaks.

I saw a BBC Hardtalk interview with Asne Seierstad about her book, The Bookseller of Kabul. Interesting. She said in Afghanistan there is a saying not, “to be or not to be”, but “to say or not to say”. She also said that “love is taboo” and “emotions are taboo”. So in fact some of what she writes comes from poetry as the people will not say the real answers.
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Giving condolences is an important aspect of Muslim faith and culture. I went to offer condolences to a Kuwaiti as his father has passed away. It is a very respecful event and demonstrates the close ties within the society. The most senior family members sit and stand to accept condolences from each visitor. The most senior members are the first to accept the condolences. Then the visitors sit, and after an appropriate time take their leave. This is how it is done for the men. The ladies are in a different location.

For some good information on condolence go here. One of the things they give is this verse of the Koran that may be reiterated at the condolence:

These are the words of Allah, Peace Be Upon Him:
Every soul shall have a taste of death and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only those who are saved far from the fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object [of life], for the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.

Wow! I heard some rain when I woke up this morning. It was overcast and light rain. So I left a bit early for the office. Good thing.

Here’s a photo of the impacts on Kuwait City from Arab Times Kuwait.

Driving in to the office it was very dark to the east. Then I drove into the dark storm. It was as thick or thicker than a tropical rainstorm! At 15 km/hr at times I could still barely see the road because of the wind driven rain. The rain eased up between storms and then there were some serious puddles on the road, up to 10 cm deep and flowing. This is because the water doesn’t soak into the desert, due to the fineness of the sand and also as the road has some low points and drainage isn’t considered generally when the road is built.

Also, while driving, what lightning I saw. Big sheet lightning and some amazing multiple strike bolts. One was two bolts almost simultaneously ahead of me about a km apart.

I was close to some of it though the thunder wasn’t too loud.

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On the way home, I saw the results of the rain better. The wind and rain flattened the sand berms quite a bit and there is a lot of standing water including some stretches on the road.

They don’t allow for any drainage so the water just stands in the lowest spots and being so flat a place …