Day 3 - Kuwait
Greetings from sandy Kuwait! Today was another quiet day before I get to work tomorrow. As such, the length of these messages will shorten until the weekends when I can have an adventure or two.
It started well enough at the breakfast buffet downstairs. It was one of the nicer one I’ve seen. Being in Kuwait, there was Turkey Bacon and Beef Bacon but no Canadian Bacon. To ensure that the hotel guests don’t accidentally violate Islamic dietary restrictions, no pork is served here. No worries as the beef bacon tasted very much like its pork counterpart. In addition to the traditional Western menu of eggs, breakfast meats, cereals, fruits and pastries there were Arabic items such as cheeses, yogurt, nuts, hummous and other delights. I quickly determined that I wouldn’t do all of it in one day as I plan to use these two months to trim down, not to bulk up. But with a start to the day that is so bountiful your eyes get pulled into and your stomach goes along for the ride. I felt pretty good about eating a relatively lighter breakfast.
After breakfast I met Leo, who is my main contact here in Kuwait. Leo is a friendly guy, always looking to be helpful in whatever way he can. We drove over to the office (about 30 minutes away) where I had to get an ID badge for work. Apparently security is a big thing here in Kuwait. Even the hotel has a gate with a barrier that prevents vehicles from just driving in until they’ve been inspected by a pair of security guards. One looks under the hood to check the engine and the other walks around the car with a mirror angled at the end of a pole so he can look at the undercarriage. I guess that’s how they keep the other half from walking all over the hotel grass or something…
I got my ID badge and then headed back to the hotel. I wanted to take pictures of my new surroundings but there were a lot of “No cameras allowed” signs posted everywhere. Being a guest here I thought it wise to not wear out my welcome on my second day in country. So the pictures will have to happen on the weekend when I can find touristy things I’m allowed to photograph. And even if I were allowed to photograph, there is enough wind kicking up a dust that visibility isn’t all that great. In fact, by the time I was headed back to the hotel I had sand stuck to my head and face, and I could feel the grit between my teeth just like when you have spinach that wasn’t washed completely.
Back at the hotel the chambermaid (that’s housekeeping in American) knocked on my door and asked whether I wanted my room cleaned. It took me about 5 seconds to locate my swimming trunks and head down to the pool. Outside I swam a few laps before retiring to the large wading pool at the shallow end that was covered by an overhead tarp. I sat there for about 45 minutes trying to keep everything under water except for my face. I knew it was going to be hot – the turndown service left me a card with today’s forecast: 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). But I never imagined that my eyelids would burn faster than the rest of my face. That’s right – my eyelids! As I sat in the pool keeping most everything beyond the reach of the wind, that blast furnace hit my face and I felt my eyeballs starting to boil. I began to periodically duck my head under the water for some relief, but the wind would dry my face in a matter of minutes. A quick shower later and I was back in my room reading a book for school. (Professor, if you’re reading this I brought 11 textbooks with me.)
Not much else for the rest of the day – I even lacked an appetite for dinner. Part of that is having had a full and complete breakfast; the other part is the heat just wears on your desire for food. Also my options in the hotel are limited and overpriced, and I have yet to explore the city. I’d better find the local shawarma stand soon.
Looking back at the day, I can thank God for a lot of things – Leo, the swimming pool, choices at breakfast, safety on the roads (another story, another time). But what was really cool was during the process of getting the ID badge, Leo looked at me and said, “You’re a really patient guy.” It’s nice to see that when the Fruit of the Spirit is hanging on your branches, it’s visible to everyone.
Time for bed. Talk to you all tomorrow!
It started well enough at the breakfast buffet downstairs. It was one of the nicer one I’ve seen. Being in Kuwait, there was Turkey Bacon and Beef Bacon but no Canadian Bacon. To ensure that the hotel guests don’t accidentally violate Islamic dietary restrictions, no pork is served here. No worries as the beef bacon tasted very much like its pork counterpart. In addition to the traditional Western menu of eggs, breakfast meats, cereals, fruits and pastries there were Arabic items such as cheeses, yogurt, nuts, hummous and other delights. I quickly determined that I wouldn’t do all of it in one day as I plan to use these two months to trim down, not to bulk up. But with a start to the day that is so bountiful your eyes get pulled into and your stomach goes along for the ride. I felt pretty good about eating a relatively lighter breakfast.
After breakfast I met Leo, who is my main contact here in Kuwait. Leo is a friendly guy, always looking to be helpful in whatever way he can. We drove over to the office (about 30 minutes away) where I had to get an ID badge for work. Apparently security is a big thing here in Kuwait. Even the hotel has a gate with a barrier that prevents vehicles from just driving in until they’ve been inspected by a pair of security guards. One looks under the hood to check the engine and the other walks around the car with a mirror angled at the end of a pole so he can look at the undercarriage. I guess that’s how they keep the other half from walking all over the hotel grass or something…
I got my ID badge and then headed back to the hotel. I wanted to take pictures of my new surroundings but there were a lot of “No cameras allowed” signs posted everywhere. Being a guest here I thought it wise to not wear out my welcome on my second day in country. So the pictures will have to happen on the weekend when I can find touristy things I’m allowed to photograph. And even if I were allowed to photograph, there is enough wind kicking up a dust that visibility isn’t all that great. In fact, by the time I was headed back to the hotel I had sand stuck to my head and face, and I could feel the grit between my teeth just like when you have spinach that wasn’t washed completely.
Back at the hotel the chambermaid (that’s housekeeping in American) knocked on my door and asked whether I wanted my room cleaned. It took me about 5 seconds to locate my swimming trunks and head down to the pool. Outside I swam a few laps before retiring to the large wading pool at the shallow end that was covered by an overhead tarp. I sat there for about 45 minutes trying to keep everything under water except for my face. I knew it was going to be hot – the turndown service left me a card with today’s forecast: 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). But I never imagined that my eyelids would burn faster than the rest of my face. That’s right – my eyelids! As I sat in the pool keeping most everything beyond the reach of the wind, that blast furnace hit my face and I felt my eyeballs starting to boil. I began to periodically duck my head under the water for some relief, but the wind would dry my face in a matter of minutes. A quick shower later and I was back in my room reading a book for school. (Professor, if you’re reading this I brought 11 textbooks with me.)
Not much else for the rest of the day – I even lacked an appetite for dinner. Part of that is having had a full and complete breakfast; the other part is the heat just wears on your desire for food. Also my options in the hotel are limited and overpriced, and I have yet to explore the city. I’d better find the local shawarma stand soon.
Looking back at the day, I can thank God for a lot of things – Leo, the swimming pool, choices at breakfast, safety on the roads (another story, another time). But what was really cool was during the process of getting the ID badge, Leo looked at me and said, “You’re a really patient guy.” It’s nice to see that when the Fruit of the Spirit is hanging on your branches, it’s visible to everyone.
Time for bed. Talk to you all tomorrow!
