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This is a lesson in how things are here in Kuwait.

Today, 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). They wash it with water and wipe it down inside also. They each do about five cars. For perspective, 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 in Shuwaikh. I’ve so far said no to the janitors. 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. The janitors also take up a collection at Eid which was earlier in November for a bit of a bonus. Eid is the equivalent of Christmas for them.

Finally when we move into a villa we’ll need to understand the system. Everything is stratified for the workers.

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

In the offices 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 and a bit more pay.

These people are employed under other contract companies.

There are are different levels of administrative and technical workers in the workforce. In my case the resource industry workplace.

I work with the TCNs (Third Country Nationals) from India and Phillipines. 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 with work experiance in Engineers India Limited. He has been in Kuwait for many years and did his PhD in Australia. So despite this education and experiance, based on his passport he’s paid as a TCN.

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 if they can be trusted not to steal as if they are in your house unsupervised and mostly alone. There is 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. The house and yard are are large and must be cleaned frequently as for a good part of the year a lot of dust accumulates in the desert climate.

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?

It’s 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 take away the damaged vehicles immediately if they are off on the side of the road. You’d think this would remind people to drive 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 getting 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 km/h and not crossing the street.
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Interesting article. A lot can be read “between the lines”.

CNN.com – Rice criticizes Syria at Mideast summit – Nov 12, 2005