Goodbye Canada, Hello Kuwait!! :)

I have officially landed in Kuwait! The past few days leading up to my flights are simply a blur at this point. So many things to do and people to see, but all were done and my send off at the airport was touching with so many people coming out! :) I am truly blessed by the friends and family I have.

My flights were pretty good. I had an "intersting" issue arise 15 minutes before boarding my first flight...apparently when they say you can take on 2 pieces of carry-on luggage, British Airways means that you can have a laptop bag and a purse - no more! Needless to say I had just that plus a backpack. I ended up having to check my backpack in a mad rush at the last minute and had to pay a whopping $171 for it!!! Can we say ridiculous!?!? Anyways, there really was nothing else I could say or do to change the rules, so I just paid it and made a mental note not to bring 2 pieces of carry-on next time! LOL

The 9 hour flight from Calgary to London was pretty bumpy with a lot of turbulence, but that don't bother me, so I was ok. It took a long while for me to settle down and go to sleep, but once I did, I was out for a few hours. London Heathrow is immense! I had no idea that an airport could be that large. I guess that's why it's the largest/busiest airport in the world! lol The 8 1/2 hour layover there was pretty long as I decided not to venture forth from the airport into London......but next time I definitely will. I did manage to find a Starbucks and enjoy a good coffee! LOL

The second lag of my journey was fairly uneventful as well. It took just over 6 hours to fly from London to Kuwait, and again I slept. In fact, I was quite annoyed with myself after waiting around for supper to be served on the plane, I fell asleep and didn't wake up again until after it had been served. I sat hungry for awhile before once again falling asleep! My moment of surrealism came when I awoke to my first Middle Eastern sunrise and I looked on the flight map to see where we were at that present moment. We were flying over Iraq, just north of Bagdad. It finally hit me that "I am really half-way across the world in the Middle East!" As we were landing I got to really see the landscape of Kuwait and it is flat! I thought Southern Alberta was flat!? Nope, Kuwait takes the cake. I didn't expect to see so much sand either. I assumed there would be some green spaces or trees around, but I guess those don't belong in a true desert environment!

After landing I had to wait 40 mins in line at the visa counter at the airport. I was warned that the people at the counter are normally quite rude and abrupt, but the man I had was very kind and inquistive once he found out I was a teacher! He also had taught English some years before, and was excited for me to experience Kuwait! It was awesome. While standing in line at the visa counter, it struck me odd that after looking around, hearing Arabic being spoken left, right and centre, seeing all signs in Arabic and me being one of the only white people in the crowd, I did not feel out of place or uncomfortable. I felt like this was where I belonged! What a great feeling. :)

After claiming my baggage, I met another new teacher (Addie) and she and I were driven to our apartment building. We were introduced to Bill, a teacher who has lived here for a bit already, and he hooked us up with loads of useful information, bottled water, and the most important part - the internet!!! :) We chatted for a long while and then as our eyelids were starting to close on their own accord, he sent us off to get some rest! I couldn't go to sleep until things were unpacked, so I unloaded my luggage and attempted to make it neat and tidy. Then, I decided to have a little nap.....7 hours later when Addie called and woke me up......LOL. So much for a little nap! We decided to venture out and get some food. As soon as we opened the building's doors, we were assaulted with a blast furnace! Well, that's what it felt like anyways! The sun had set a few hours before and it was still 41 degrees!!!! Thankfully, this place was only 2 blocks away and was semi-air conditioned. We ordered 2 completely different dishes, but ended up being served the same one only Addie's had a deep fried fish and mine had a side of deep fried chicken! LOL We had to take a picture of our first meal in Kuwait. Geeky, I know, but still! :) Anyways, there's an update of the last few days and my arrival into this intriguing little country. I will post some more pics later showing my apartment and the view I have.