from Kuwait to the States 2012

Here's what happened...

Chris had been planning to teach summer classes this year for a number reasons, one of which being that he just likes to work. We had been talking about the possibility of staying in Kuwait for an extended time this summer since about March, so I also found summer employment, teaching EFL at the British Council in Kuwait. My regular school year finished with students on May 31st, and teachers were required to be at the school until June 12, packing up our rooms and getting ready for Grades 1-3 to move to the new extension building that should be finished by the end of summer. I should have had plenty of time to rest between June 12th and June 20th, the date I was supposed to start at BCK. Obviously, that did not happen.

After asking many times about teaching summer classes, Chris kept coming away with little information, though he was assured he'd be teaching. He wasn't aware or informed that the enrollment for summer classes at his university began at midnight of the first day of summer classes. That morning, Chris went in and only three students had enrolled in his section, upped to six or seven by mid-day. (Generally, summer classes are pretty light, anyway.) When he talked to his supervisor about it, she said that the students could be placed into other sections or she could have someone else teach his course, because there was a long waiting list to teach. (Summer classes compensate very well.)

French colors on International Day/Last Day

When Chris mentioned this to me on that Sunday morning, I sort of jumped to reason with him about leaving. I was looking forward to unhurried time with friends and teaching in Kuwait until the end of July, but now the chance to spend extra time in Massachusetts and/or PA was presented. After a few hours of going back and forth on the phone about it (I was at school packing, Chris at his school), considering some recent events at home, and Chris calling in the opinions of some of his friends, he decided to pass off his class and head for the States. The following day. One. Day. Later. And, he wanted me to be ready to leave with him.

cat nap in D.C.

That presented a hitch, because I didn't have my ticket info. from the school's travel agent yet, which meant I couldn't change my ticket until I got it, which generally would have resulted in failure because nothing in Kuwait is done quickly or efficiently. But, we had favor. I asked the director on Monday, June 11th if I could have my ticket information and leave that evening, because I had already packed and secured everything in my room, all of my accounts, etc. She said yes! So, I then spent the next four hours on the phone with the agent, United Airlines, and everyone in between trying to iron out my flight details. I was also trying to ready our flat for the summer dust by covering furniture, cleaning out the fridge, taping some of the windows, etc. 

My ticket was booked with an agent, but I changed it online (WARNING: never do this), so I talked to the whole staff. Even at the airport, Chris and I were at the check-in counter for at least two hours, dealing with the fact that my change of ticket and fare expenses had been paid. My newly printed itinerary had been confirmed, which I had a receipt and print-out from, but it was not reflected in their computer system. Finally, and by the grace of God, the guy said, "I don't have time to do this anymore. Here's your boarding pass. You'll have to get your onward ticket in Washington [D.C.] and take care of any fees there." From that point, we had fifteen minutes to go through security and get to the gate before they closed it. Thankfully, the Kuwait airport is relatively small, they are not too strict in security measures for Americans, and it was uncrowded because it was 12:30a.m.

ready to ship from BOS

In the 12 or 13 hours it took us to cross the Atlantic, one of our three attempts to pay the extra $$$ must have gone through, because the lovely attendant at the United counter in D.C. simply printed and presented my onward boarding pass to me. Sleep deprived and ready to be in Boston, Chris stated, "I love America," thanked her, and we waltzed over to customs. After checking our accounts later, we were in fact only charged once for the change of ticket. It was just another (harrowing) opportunity to trust God and learn a few things about the airline industry in the process.

We arrived in Boston somewhere around 10a.m., Chris like a zombie, and myself as fresh as a daisy. I really like sleeping on airplanes...don't be jealous. 

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

"Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Psalm 8:3-4, 9 (ESV)

Whirlwind

As many are already aware, we are within the contiguous United States! I'll detail the whirlwind of events that led us to getting here later, but I'm incredibly thankful to have arrived on Tuesday, with my husband, with our luggage, and only two hours past the scheduled time. I'm also thankful to have flexible in-laws, family, and friends who can deal with our spontaneity and unconventional style of decision making. Finally and most importantly, I'm thankful for God's providential hand, his perfect timing and organization of our lives' circumstances.

"You are my God and I will give thanks to you; you are my God and I will extol you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 118:28-29 (ESV)

The Dream Team

I remember watching these guys play and hearing about them when I started playing basketball in elementary school. Who says that girls don't follow sports? And who still has Wheaties boxes with their pictures on the front? My dad probably does...either that or a Coke can in his gun cupboard... (note: There are a few curse words used by players in the video.)



video borrowed from 22 Words

A Kuwaiti Wedding, Part 2

Last April, I wrote a post called  A Kuwaiti Wedding, Part 1, which I intended to follow with a Part 2, Part 3, etc. Well, it's been a whole year, and now having gone to another Kuwaiti wedding, I thought I just might finish.

In Part 1, I described the setting, the general concept behind the gathering, and who goes there. In this installment, I'll finish describing the rest of the proceedings from the first wedding, and I hope to compare the two Kuwaiti weddings and briefly describe the second one that I've attended in a Part 3.

From the wedding, April 2011:
Some time after 10:15 or 10:30pm, the bride made her first grand entrance, starting at the end of the ballroom behind a curtain with a spot light shining on it. She came out in a traditional green-colored Kuwaiti wedding dress, with a gold, crown-type covering on her head and walked slowly to the center of the dancing aisle to sit on a stool that was waiting for her. At this point, the dancing had temporarily ceased for the bride's entrance, so most people were sitting or standing to the side. Her walk to the center of the room took approximately 10 minutes- not that the room was that long, but it's a very drawn out, stately process.

Once the bride was sitting, her close family members all held the edge of an ornately decorated green scarf/blanket to wave it over her, in a modern version of the traditional Kuwaiti "jalwa" festivity. (The closest activity that I can compare this to is from elementary PE classes, when all of the students stand at the edge of  "parachute" and move it up and down, trying to bounce foam balls off of it.) After they recited some things and sang (all of this in Arabic), they gathered the blanket and the bride moved to a type of loveseat/divan on a stage at the front of the room, while her close family danced for her. After about 20 minutes, the bride left the room, and the general party and dancing resumed.

After another hour, say 12am, the bride came back to make another nearly royal entrance, this time in a white, western-style wedding gown. Again, her walk to the front was long and stately, pausing for a thousand pictures by the professional photographers along the way (no exaggeration). After the bride was seated on the stage again, her close family and friends danced for her, then the rest of the guests joined in, and people started going up to take pictures with her. Soon after, there was an announcement indicating that after the following song was played, the men would be entering the ballroom. In an instant, all of the women in the room who "cover" (wear the abaya and/or hijab) wrapped themselves in their covering garments. It was like a sea of black washed over the room, the bright colors and sequence of dresses no longer to be seen. Even the women who do not "cover" often put on some kind of jacket or shawl out of respect.

The photo on the left is of me before the first wedding, April 2011. The picture of a traditional  "bisht" was taken this spring at the Sadu House, Kuwait City.
 
At approx. 12:30am, the doors at the end of the room were again opened and the groom, bride's father, and groom's father entered in their best dishdashas and bishts. (The clothing made and worn for weddings is elaborate and expensive, and all of the men wear their best. The bisht robe can be variations of black or brown, depending on the quality and materials used to make them.) Following them was a small group of trusted friends of the groom, brothers (if any), and other close cousins they chose to include. Accompanying the men was a small group of singers and drummers from the live wedding band.

taken at the second wedding on Thursday night

The men did not take nearly as long as the bride to enter, walking straight up to the stage. As the three most important greeted the bride, they kissed her and each other on the forehead as a sign of respect, and then the bride was presented to the groom. (At this point, the bride and groom are already legally married via signing marriage documents, so this is permitted). In turn, the other men went up, shook the groom's hand and kissed him on the cheek as a sign of care and respect, and left the room. After all the men but the most important were gone, the musicians did an about-face, and left the room to re-join the rest of the band. Then, the mothers and other family members went up to be photographed with the couple.



*side note: The musicians at a wedding are stationed in an adjoining room throughout the whole evening and festivities, because they are traditionally all men. The musicians are mic-ed and play live for all of the dancing. A woman similar to a wedding coordinator communicates with another man coordinator in the room with the band via walkie-talkie, to tell him which songs the band should play, based on the time and stage of the evening and at the requests of the bride's mother.

After another 20 minutes, a gigantic cake was wheeled in for the bride and groom to ceremoniously cut. The groom escorted the bride to the back of the room, which was next to the dining room where the dinner buffet was to be held. The guests followed, and the couple cut the cake with a traditional saber, then left the room to spend time alone together. At this point, the guests were invited to eat or continue to dance as they liked, because no men were left in the ballroom. This might have carried on for another hour or so.

This is the kind of wedding cakes that you see in Kuwait, though this was not the actual cake.

photo borrowed from yaaluwa.com- Omar Addihaoui, pastry chef in Kuwait

There you have it. That's my best attempt at including the most important details of a more traditional Kuwaiti wedding. In Part 3, I'll give an extremely brief explanation of what the men do (because there really isn't much to tell) and write some tidbits about the most recent wedding I went to on Thursday night, as well as include some more pictures. I know I said cameras weren't allowed, but my friend took some photos while the men were there, since all of the women were modestly covered. This was the best we could do with an iPhone!