More February

If you check them album February '10 again, you'll be able to see the rest of our celebrating during National Day weekend. Weighing the costs, we decided to go out to the streets, or rather, the main street where most of the celebrating takes place on the 25th. With Chris as our official male escort and armed with silly string and foam, we headed out into a street of mayhem.

It's only a block or two to walk there from our apartment building, so we were surprised to see how much noise and litter could be found from one block to the next! Because traffic was stopped on one side of the road and all the U-turns were blocked, cars were traveling in one direction clear up the Gulf Road- a good 12km or so long. People had vehicles decorated with stickers, emblems, and flags, and some even had special paint jobs for the occasion.

The game is, if you spray someone first, they will spray you back with water, string, foam, etc. Generally, if you don't look threatening or if you say you aren't participating, people will leave you alone. In some cases, boys will run by a car, open the door if it's not locked, and spray the person inside. Guys will crack the tops of their windows so that they can spray out, but no one can spray in. It's quite the game.

To paraphrase Chris' take on the evening, "What better way to celebrate your national freedoms than by throwing junk in the streets and violating people's personal rights." He was not interested in getting sprayed...and neither of us really were. Most of the adults we saw didn't have their clothes messed up at all. It was quite a sight to experience once, but I think next year we'll travel like last year.

February Celebrations

Pictured with me is my friend, Kristen.

As promised, here are some more pictures this week. February '10 I actually took these pictures this week, too, so I would say I'm doing really well with getting them up quickly. I'm still working on more, and I'll continue to work through our 5-day weekend. "Teachers get a lot of time off," you may say, but you have no idea how hard we work! I read somewhere that the #1 group of patients that are given prescription sleep medication consists of teachers. I suppose we just think too much...

I tried to take more pictures of what's around that's decorated, but it's awfully hard to do with the dust in the air! So, here's what you get. Also, we had a celebration at school today for the Kuwait National and Liberation holidays. The students did some nice presentations and there was a guess speaker (not really sure what she said, because it was in Arabic...), and there was a ton of food. At the very very end of the day, the kids busted out some silly foam, and my friend Andrea and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Since we were already foamed, one of my favorite students decided to increase the damage. It was pretty funny.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Upon the urging of many others, including my husband, I am finally able to put up some more pictures this week. We've had a lot happening recently, so here is a short run-down and the first of several links that you'll get to see.

To Begin the Beguine, Chris traveled to Yemen during the last weekend in January. Because different parts of the country are restricted (due to obvious reasons), he mostly visited the Sana'a area, which is the capital.

The Saturday that he was gone in Yemen, I went to my first camel race here in Kuwait. A bunch of girls that I work with went out with a group of people from the AWARE Center (Advocates for Western Arab Relations), to enjoy the desert sights and take in a dinner and diwaniya at a local "farm." Your idea and their idea of farms are probably a little different...Here are some pictures

Chris was back for a few days after his short jaunt to Yemen, but then left again with our friend, Kyle, to see the sights of Greece. They spent most of their time around Athens and on the island of Santorini, and it just so happened that the Greek public sector went on one of its predictable 24-hour strikes while they were there. What is it with places he travels to?

In the mean time, I started a new semester with 33 new students. Currently, I'm teaching three English blocks (hooray!- all one subject), one of which is Advanced English for 11th graders. If any of you real English teachers out there have any hints or fun activities to pass along, please do so.

Our niece, Rebekah, was born on February 12th- just short of Chris' 27th birthday, which was February 14th, and two of my friends' birthdays on February 16th. My cousin, Tiffany, also had a baby on the 16th, increasing the number of celebrations held each February. I guess it's a good month!

Finally, because we hadn't seen much of each other in the previous 2 1/2 weeks, Chris and I both took personal days from school on Thursday and headed to Doha, Qatar for a 3-day weekend. Doha is the capital of this small country located an hour's flight from Kuwait, just north of the UAE. We spent much of our time milling around without much purpose but to spend time together and take in a few sights. Fortunate enough to be there during a festival weekend, we were able to take in a concert, some street performers, and some amazing food in addition to the regular Old Souk (market). It was so relaxing!

An addition

Yesterday, around 6:30 pm EST, we welcomed an addition to the Shankle family. My new niece, Rebekah Grace Tew, made her appearance as a much bigger baby than my nephew, Nick.


Rebekah, Day 1

Nick, A few weeks old

Hala February

Each February since Kuwait's celebrated day of liberation, there is a series of festivals and events that are part of "Hala February," or, "Welcome/Hello February." This ranges from large arts' festival type events to having vacation days at school for the national and liberation holidays.

Each year, National Day is celebrated on February 25th, commemorating the day that Kuwait transitioned from being a British protectorate (thanks to World War I) to an independent country in 1961. Liberation Day is celebrated the following day, February 26th, when most Iraqi forces retreated from their occupation of Kuwait in 1991, although some sources say that the official day of liberation was the 28th. If you're too young to remember the "Persian Gulf War," do a little research on it. (Persian is in quotations because around here, the Gulf belongs to the Arabians.) I found it quite interesting to learn what America has said about it, and to be able to compare that with first-hand stories from a few Kuwaitis. Just fascinating...but then again, I like history!

In light of these events, February is a month for celebrating. Before the early days even arrive, festivals are held at shopping malls and parks to welcome the month. Throughout the 28 days, but most especially on the weekend that falls nearest to the 25th and 26th, exhibitions are held by locals; concerts, art exhibits, and craft shows can all be seen. In addition, people seem to be out more, cooking out and walking in parks and along the seaside. On National Day weekend, the public generally goes crazy. In the spirit of fun and celebration, people flock to the coast to gather for a time of pranks and merry-making. Many of the young adults and teenagers will run down the street with silly foam and spray people in their cars, while adults will dress up their small children in red, white, green, and black gear. The U.S. has nothing on these guys when it comes creating national clothing paraphernalia. All month long, extra decorations can be seen by hanging flags on the sides of buildings, weaving lights into hedges, and changing office/restaurant designs to patriotic logos and phrases. Kuwait has the money, and they go all out.

The pictures here are a few that I took during last February, so I will try to take some more this month and post them. We've seen some neat things so far!