Random Observations

August 14, 2009

Random Observations

The days are tripping by at an accelerated pace now that we are in our home. We hope to get our household goods before Ramadan as we’ve been warned that not much gets done once it starts. Perhaps the echo will diminish in these halls when our “stuff” arrives. Update on bathrooms: I found another one, bringing the total to 8. As for what the calls to prayer are like; let’s just say SHOCKING. Around 3:30 the speakers begin to blare and it sounds like a competition to see which of the 3 mosques in the neighborhood can drown the others out. Last night I heard two at one time and just when they were over, the 3rd one began. To my sleep starved brain, it seems like there are horns blowing as well as the sing song mantra of the Imam. We promise to capture it on video soon to share with you! Robert slept thru it the first night, Emily lay awake, anxious about her new school until about 3, then slept thru the call last night. I’ve gone right back to sleep for which I’m thankful. My mantra when I hear the call is “There is only one God and Jesus is his son. We are his servants; how can we serve best today?”

We are so excited about an answer to prayer: Molly got a “summer hire” FULL TIME position at the US Embassy starting at $7.25/hr! She begins Sunday in the shipping area and will work until this fund dries up… hopefully by then she will have made herself indispensable! She will continue to look for opportunities to tutor. There is a senior guy from a really nice family we met who is also doing summer work there; he has told her he will meet her for lunch at the café…can’t wait to hear how it goes. She will have to get to work early so Robert can take her on the way to his office which is not at the embassy.

Thursday we did our first local grocery shop at one of the CO-OP stores.(see photo) This was a bit un-nerving but mostly, people were really nice and helpful. It was difficult to find English speaking people here and I did a lot of pantomime. I love having an excuse to approach the women when I have a question, most are helpful if they understand me. I was one of only 2-3 Western dressed women in the big store, the ONLY woman in a smaller market. We were able to taste cheeses and olives and decide what we liked before purchasing. I asked the man at the deli if they had hummus and he pointed off in the distance; an older woman was not happy with his reply so she took us herself to someone who spoke English…he took us to the dry garbanzo beans and I explained I wanted “ready made”…he took us to the CANNED garbanzo beans and I gave up! Guess I’ll be making my own hummus! I asked for chocolate chips and was taken to the “Snaps” which are canned chocolates in the shape of potato chips…aw shucks it takes a long time to shop hereJ Later, the same man found me hunting in the baking goods and took me to the Hersheys chocolate chips which were reasonably priced. Later at a “Sultan Center” which is a private grocery with ALL things American, they had Nestle Baking chips but the KD price converted to $9.70 a package! We could have about any brand name food we craved at the Sultan centers but we may get things cheaper by flying to a Kroger back in the States! I’m really thinking that having a once a week maid who can also teach me to cook with locally grown foods would be quite beneficial.

Thursday at the “All Hands” meeting our family was introduced and invited to the end of week briefing. The recent arrest of several who were plotting an attack on our main base here, Arif Jan, has heightened the already high security here. One of the new “Force Protection” measures introduced is that the military members can no longer travel to work in uniform. They must wear civilian clothes, change, and change back to civies any time they leave their work site. We were taught to use our radios that must also be kept in our “safe room” and tested monthly. The new general stressed how much our safety meant to him and the importance of looking out for each other’s back side. He is a very amicable guy and always seemed to be serving others at the social that followed. His 17 yr old daughter just arrived and she & Molly hit it off quite well. On inspection of our vehicle as we were leaving Arif Jan today, the guard saw the pierced hole in the side of our Tahoe (not obtained since we’ve had it) and said in his southern drawl “where I come from, that would be considered a bullet hole.” Robert insists that it is not from a bullet but the kids love the story anyway. Again, the general stressed the very critical issue of safety on the roads, much more dangerous than terrorist activity.

The Happy Hour was constant meeting, greeting and good food from Ruby Tuesdays this time. It was very easy to chat with everyone and I was again impressed with how genuine the people are. There was a whole table of teen girls and Ethan met 2 more guys his age who will also go to ASK (American School of Kuwait.) Emily must have heard too many stories about the school as she got very sad, worried, and homesick for London when she got home.
Friday meant church, and we also had dental intake appointments at the base, so we visited an Anglican church that was in that direction. With the exception of the Chinese congregation, we made up about 20% of the worshippers. Church was held in the basement of a villa; the Seventh Day Adventists met upstairs. We received a very warm welcome and met 3 Brits who were attending. The “reader” carefully distanced themselves from “evangelical” when I was talking to him…funny, as our Anglican church in London was clearly evangelical but titles don’t always mean the same thing in different places. Here the preacher is not a vicar, he is the “chaplain.” The sermon was quite good on the flesh & blood of Christ, but it was slow going as it was translated into Chinese as she preached. The service lasted 1 ½ hours and included communion and a very liturgical style.

We all had initial exams by the military dentist so he could then refer us to a Kuwaiti dentist/orthodontist for Ethan who will need braces (our London orthodontist thought he was fine) and a peridontist for Robert. We had lunch in the mess hall where the troops eat and we were not even charged. It was nice to see how well fed they are.
Any time we drive here, my anxiety still climbs the scale. I must tie on every “Fear Not” I can think of, then I lower myself down one step at a time while I scan 360 degrees to try and help Robert stay aware. Today I counted discarded cars along the road from Camp Arif Jan: five. We are learning to expect to be passed by speeding vehicles on EITHER side of the car. Drivers who can’t be bothered to wait in a turn lane to make a U Turn (the only way to get onto the road going the opposite direction) will just stop in the next lane over and nudge their way in. Drivers talk on cell phones, adjust their head scarves, and let their kids play unbuckled in the front seat while traveling at high speeds. Every day in the paper the accidents are listed with graphic photos of the traumatic scenes…this does not seem to be a deterrent as “Inshallah” (as God wills) is the prevailing philosophy. The ONLY good thing about driving is the price of gas: it is so cheap! The government subsidizes the cost so the pump price is under a dollar a gallon…that would explain all the Gas Hogs on the road, including ours.

Tonight was my first time to cook in my new kitchen…so we invited guests! We met a family who has a son that is 12, and a daughter, 15; they will be in the same grades as Emily & Ethan. The mom is so delightful and their dad works very long hours and could not come, but we had the rest of the family. We had a lovely time together and the kids played “Sardines” and had a blast hiding on all the floors. It was a great way to celebrate our new home even though we had to improvise for every kitchen item not found in our borrowed “welcome pack.” Delores brought me my first table cloth with camels on the border! It is really beautiful.

My heart is so full of praise for the faithfulness of God in our lives. I can’t wait to find a way to give back.