1 month later...
I've just made it over the one month milestone!
Congratulate me.
I have to admit, I am starting to feel slightly claustrophobic. Kuwait IS small. I just put that to the whole 'settling in' experience. Physically things may seem small, however on a social level the boundaries are somewhat more expansive (to a degree). Not helping also is the fact that I am starting to feel 'homesick' for SoCal. The little apartment and garden I had. My stolen Tonk, Zouina, the Pacific, which was only a 7-10 minute walk from my domicile. The Mosque over on Vermont and Exposition I would go to every friday, my friends... my good good friends. sigh...
I've found my niche with one person only and she'll knows who she is (whenever she reads this entry), but I have yet to find my niche with a 'group', so to speak. Every girl has that one guy-friend who is there to help her out whenever she's in a jam; console her on broken hearts, advise her on her latest suitor, beat up those who offend her honour, or simply drive 50 miles over to help change the oil in her car. The position is vacant, any guys out there who wish to apply, simply send in a headshot of yourself along with a list of your can-dos, and female friends' referrals to bigcurls@gmail.com.
My weekend so far:
Wednesday night I joined DesertGirl and Bunny along with Nazareth and SheeshaGirl for dinner on the beach at the Hilton. Very good food and ambiance. There was a Barney walking around with an inverted tail. I do not think the person beneath the purple was very happy about the job; he/she (probably some Filipino) got attacked by kids popping their baloons in its face, and adults, such as yours truly, grabbing it by the tail from behind.
Thursday, ritualistic sushi outing with Desert Girl over at Sakura. We later picked up some BBQ items for our Friday outing to Mutlaa (Kuwait's Grand Canyon, i think?)
That night we headed out to "Liver" at Plant Boy's Farmhouse for a friendly BBQ. El 'Surfin' Mexicano was there, along with SheeshaGirl and a couple of her 'underaged' friends, one of whom works for Kuwait's Secret Police . On our way back home we stopped at a checkpoint, and SheeshaGirl was gushing and going on and on about how we will all (3 cars) get through without hinderance, since we have a secret agent in our group. Talk about evil eye! We all got through exept for Secret Agent who ended up getting arrested over some missed (cell phone?) payments. How do they get you for that?!!
Friday was a pretty low key day. As you can imagine, due to the sudden storm that whipped up the sand, we cancelled our Mutlaa BBQ, and instead had lunch over at a traditional Kuwaiti restaurant (forgot the name) over by Dar Al-Funoon. We (DG, SheeshaGirl and myself) later moved across the street to have some (go figure) sheesha! Well it was all for SheeshaGirl, who really is addicted to that nasty stuff! We sat in a corner, wind blowing around us, in the very dimly lit darkness, observing clandestine rendezvous taking place between couples.
This followed by a short visit to Marina mall, then taken back home.
Now, I have to get back to work...
Congratulate me.
I have to admit, I am starting to feel slightly claustrophobic. Kuwait IS small. I just put that to the whole 'settling in' experience. Physically things may seem small, however on a social level the boundaries are somewhat more expansive (to a degree). Not helping also is the fact that I am starting to feel 'homesick' for SoCal. The little apartment and garden I had. My stolen Tonk, Zouina, the Pacific, which was only a 7-10 minute walk from my domicile. The Mosque over on Vermont and Exposition I would go to every friday, my friends... my good good friends. sigh...
I've found my niche with one person only and she'll knows who she is (whenever she reads this entry), but I have yet to find my niche with a 'group', so to speak. Every girl has that one guy-friend who is there to help her out whenever she's in a jam; console her on broken hearts, advise her on her latest suitor, beat up those who offend her honour, or simply drive 50 miles over to help change the oil in her car. The position is vacant, any guys out there who wish to apply, simply send in a headshot of yourself along with a list of your can-dos, and female friends' referrals to bigcurls@gmail.com.
My weekend so far:
Wednesday night I joined DesertGirl and Bunny along with Nazareth and SheeshaGirl for dinner on the beach at the Hilton. Very good food and ambiance. There was a Barney walking around with an inverted tail. I do not think the person beneath the purple was very happy about the job; he/she (probably some Filipino) got attacked by kids popping their baloons in its face, and adults, such as yours truly, grabbing it by the tail from behind.
Thursday, ritualistic sushi outing with Desert Girl over at Sakura. We later picked up some BBQ items for our Friday outing to Mutlaa (Kuwait's Grand Canyon, i think?)
That night we headed out to "Liver" at Plant Boy's Farmhouse for a friendly BBQ. El 'Surfin' Mexicano was there, along with SheeshaGirl and a couple of her 'underaged' friends, one of whom works for Kuwait's Secret Police . On our way back home we stopped at a checkpoint, and SheeshaGirl was gushing and going on and on about how we will all (3 cars) get through without hinderance, since we have a secret agent in our group. Talk about evil eye! We all got through exept for Secret Agent who ended up getting arrested over some missed (cell phone?) payments. How do they get you for that?!!
Friday was a pretty low key day. As you can imagine, due to the sudden storm that whipped up the sand, we cancelled our Mutlaa BBQ, and instead had lunch over at a traditional Kuwaiti restaurant (forgot the name) over by Dar Al-Funoon. We (DG, SheeshaGirl and myself) later moved across the street to have some (go figure) sheesha! Well it was all for SheeshaGirl, who really is addicted to that nasty stuff! We sat in a corner, wind blowing around us, in the very dimly lit darkness, observing clandestine rendezvous taking place between couples.
This followed by a short visit to Marina mall, then taken back home.
Now, I have to get back to work...
posted by Truth Seeker at 3/04/2005 10:41:00 PM
10 Comments:
Don't worry, Stella, you'll get your groove back! It just takes time to make new friends and find the ones that you are the most comfortable with. It took me a very long time. I had old Kuwaiti friends from the States that I kept up with when I got here, but even that wasn't the same: They moved back and got into different routines that I wasn't part of. I didn't even party here for the first 2 years. You'll find the right niche and you've already got a good head start because you have the right attitude and you can easily make friends. Nothing will keep you from being homesick, unfortunately.
You should start gardening now before it gets too hot! Remind me and we'll go to the nurseries.
I thought the only gardening girls do in Kuwait is by laser beam to wipe out unwanted bush
Bo Jaij:-)
you be talkin to -us-... remember?
Oh my God - Bo Jaij's comment was so funny - and you let it go!
MArtist - do you mind getting down in the dirt? I don't think so!
amerab: not at all! ;-)
Bo jaij... wanna help?
Thanks
I'm too busy being a feminist and going after Islamists
Bo Jaij - You git 'em boooooyyyy! :) We got your back.
MuslimArtist - you suck for not posting/writing more often.
Oh, Gawd! DG! Didja HAVE to mention the word suck infront of BoJaij!?!
Readers may get the wrong idea!
ROTFL! Funny mental picture.
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