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 New Year and other random things

Well, here I am back in Kuwait and enjoying all of my own amenities again. I love visiting the States and being around many of my favorite people, but there's something to be said about not living in a suitcase.

I spent the New Year on three different airplanes. This time, my trip back went from Pittsburgh to Chicago, then Abu Dhabi, final destination Kuwait. I'm not sure why, but on my 2 hr. trip from Abu Dhabi to Kuwait, I was upgraded to Business Class. What a great surprise for a 2am flight! I left Christmas and the snow in Chicago, though I understand that the East Coast has actually become cold since I left.

at O'hare International

Since coming back, we've been tutoring students for exams a lot. Many of the American schools in Kuwait have their semester exams in the next week or two, and my bread-winner is out making the dough. That makes our schedules are a little more hectic than usual, but I like finding these little treats when that happens.

We also celebrated our friend Dina's second 29th birthday last week, at a Chinese restaurant called Tang Chao. It's near our house at the Holiday Inn complex, which I've been to twice in two weeks, the other time for a breakfast with my friend Anita. The buildings are less than a block away, but I really haven't had a reason for going there, so that makes three total times since moving here.

Me, Rasha, Dina, Shetha, Chris

When it rains here, it either pours or drips mud, and we've been having a lot of the pouring kind lately. It's the season for it, and it characteristically starts and stops somewhat suddenly. The heavy rains are usually thunderstorms, so sometimes we get to see some spectacular lightning shows. At any rate, it's enjoyable.

holiday packing

I'm currently pacing around my parents' house, trying to remember all of the things I need to take with me back to Kuwait. I tried making a list, but I keep getting new things and thinking of different things to take or not, so making sure I have everything on a list has become futile at this point. I also keep getting "honey-do" messages from a certain you-know-who (the best you-know-who in the world, by the way). All that to say, packing is slow and highly unorganized at best, and it seems to continually be interrupted by one of three things:

1. these little sweethearts

Rebekah, 2

Nick, 4

2. sports/dinner/hunting commentary with the family

3. lunch, dinner, and parties with friends

My solution is to try and keep things in one general area of the house and then throw it all in my bags before I go to the airport on Saturday. That's probably why I often wait until the day of departure before I pack for any trip.

Time in the States has been good this Christmas. Generally, I try to maintain a low-key schedule when I'm here, just to be sure that it's relaxing and that I'm not totally exhausted by the time I start teaching again. Inevitably, those good intentions are shattered because a lot of our friends are in town for the holidays, too, so it's hard to pass up opportunities to get together. I can always sleep on the plane...and if Chris were here, I know we would be a lot busier!

Back to Kuwait

Tonight, I head back to Kuwait and to my dear husband who has held down the proverbial fort for 2 weeks by himself. After a busy but relaxing time here, I'm ready to go back again. My flight from Pittsburgh is at 5:30pm, and I should arrive in Kuwait around 9:30pm (1:30pm EST). Thankfully, the weather is warmer today, so I hope I don't have any snow or ice delays.

I had a great time in Pennsylvania with everyone, so thanks! And, Happy New Year!

In the States

We are back in the U.S.! Last evening, I flew into Logan International in Boston at about 8:30pm, anxious to get off of my 8 hour flight, but had to sit on the runway for another 45 minutes. I guess they need to expand their airplane parking.

After a good 10 hours of sleep, I feel adjusted and ready for whatever the summer may bring...which could be any number of things. For now though, I am ready for some rest. This funny picture that Chris took of me unexpectedly kind of sums up how I feel after two weeks of traveling.

Getting to Sri Lanka

We arrived to a hotel late late Wednesday night after a whole day of traveling:
We left our place after 3am to get to the airport for our 5am flight. When we got there, the Qatar Airways agent said they only had one seat left because they overbooked the flight to Doha (where our connection was). Thankfully, we checked in the night before and since we didn't have any bags to check (we're backpacking it), it wasn't a problem for us. We had to wait forever though, because a local and his 10 family members and 2 servants were on the same flight, and we were stuck behind him in line complaining about how the seats weren't all together. At this point in a week of craziness, we contemplated finding a same-day flight back to the US for good and just leaving all of our stuff at our apartment, but reason struck us.

After we made the flight and the short layover in Doha, we had a 4 hour flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Upon our arrival , it started to POUR, so that was interesting experience. We had to hop a series of buses to make it to the train station and catch the 7:30pm train out of Colombo to head south toward Galle. Due to the kindness of an upstanding gentleman, who told us which buses we needed (and even paid our 7 Rupees fare!), we made the train and took the 4 hour ride to arrive in Galle around 11pm. We rode in third class, but we got seats because we made it to the train station about an hour early, and were able to enjoy the cool night breeze coming in the windows.

We headed into the sleepy town in a took-took, a motorized three-wheeled covered bike of sorts, and stopped at the hotel where we planned to stay. All the lights were out and no one came to the door (these are small, 3 to 4 room family-run hotels mind you). Our driver took us down the street to another one of the same sort, and after ringing the bell and rousing the couple from sleep, we got a room. There was no A/C, so that made it a little muggy and inconvenient, but we were glad to have beds with sheets and a hot shower...today we moved to a room with A/C. God is so good to take care of us in each step and generally make things happen when we don't have a clue! The young couple that runs our hotel is super sweet and really helpful.

More about today coming soon after we do a little adventuring. Happy Thanksgiving and love to everyone at home.

In Dubai

I guess we're finally in the Middle East. Our plane trip from NYC to Dubai was about 12 hours, although getting on that flight was quite a challenge. It's about 10:30pm in Dubai, one hour behind Kuwait time, and we arrived about an hour ago. Here are some of the "boring" details.

Our first flight from Pitt to NYC was canceled due to weather, but not until after 11pm. The airline gave us a hotel voucher, but sent us to a hotel that was already booked solid. We headed across the street and did end up staying in a nice room, not going to bed until about 1:30am EST. Yesterday (Was it yesterday? I'm a bit lost.), we took the 6:15am out of Pitt, which didn't actually leave until 9:30am. Needless to say, we missed our 11:00am connection in NYC, but after the re-booking process, we got to spend the day with our great friends Erin and Megan, who live in Manhattan. We didn't have to be back at the airport until about 9pm EST, so we spent the majority of the day hanging out in Chinatown and being pampered by Erin; at that point, we really needed it.

We caught the NYC to Dubai flight last evening at 11pm EST. The Emirates flight was the best international flight I've ever taken; it provided good food and services, I watched Nim's Island, 21, Prince Caspian, and I am Legend, and slept for about six hours. Chris did not really sleep. We didn't sit right next to each other, but in the same row with two seats and an aisle between us. We could call each other on the in-flight phone and occasionally make faces, so I was grateful. I shared an end row with a girl whose parents are from Afghanistan, but they have lived in Dubai for the last 12 years. Each summer, they travel to the States to visit extended family for a few months. It was cool to get some insider commentary on the Middle East.

We leave Dubai at 1am here, and are to be in Kuwait at 2:30. Once the welcome service helps us with our visa, etc., our school's van driver will take us to our apartment. I'm really excited to sleep and shower!

We'll try to update again soon.
Were in good Hands.
Love to all,
Steph