Swine Flu and Censorship!

Ah yes, the ever popular pandemic these days is the good ol' Swine Flu! Kuwait has decided that the Swine Flu is a serious concern over here and has had strict health guidelines in place since the beginning of school. For example, the lower kindergarten classes and all pre-schools and daycares are not allowed to start/reopen until December due to the concerns of having so many little kids in such close contact with each other. The Kuwait Ministry has ruled this and our school must follow the same strict rules. We're also not allowed to have assemblies with more than 100 students due to the risk of spreading the flu bug.....even though we're all in the same building together anyways!!

We've definitely had a fair amount of H1N1 cases in our school, but it's really not that big of a deal. Once their tests come back positive for the virus, the doctor says they have to stay home for 7 days and rest. All the kids who have come down with it have fully recovered within a few days. People here are over-reacting to this bug and panic has ensued! There are parents who refuse to send their kids to school for fear of contracting the virus and demand to know how often the doorknobs are wiped and how many times a day the garbages are emptied and desks are wiped. Ridiculous, as we've actually had more kids out with the regular flu and bad head colds than H1N1!

Some "interesting" facts for ya.......ok, so pigs are "haraam" or taboo to eat or really discuss over here due to the Islamic cultural belief that they are unclean and impure. I have found some, well let's just call them interesting, things based off this belief. When I first arrived, I remember seeing a large poster claiming that this 'swine flu problem' is spread by pigs and some other untrue facts regarding the spread of H1N1. That poster has since disappeared and new ones with more correct facts on them have sprung up. Although they do still refer to it as the "swine flu", it's starting to be referred to as H1N1 more and more.

Back to the pigs.....well, obviously pork is illegal here, so no bacon or pork roast or ham for Hawaiian pizza! Turkey ham is ok, but it's just not the same on a pizza or in the form of bacon! I never was a big consumer of pork when I lived in Canada, but when you can't have something, you start to actually really miss it! What I wouldn't give for some good ol' maple smoked bacon! Also, do you know that "Charlotte's Web" is even banned at our school!? Yup! All because the main character happens to be a pig. Sometimes this culture can be a very different culture to get used to.

Speaking of banning things......I was so excited to discover that our school does the Scholastic Book Club orders. I was given my package of flyers and a list of all the banned books that had to be censored out of the flyer using a big, black marker. So yup, you guessed it, "The Diary of Anne Frank" had to be blacked out as did "The Big Book of WWII" simply because it demonstrated sympathy for the Jews.....again, considered "haraam". I've looked at the high school history textbooks and they also have been censored to the point where pages have been ripped out and any mention of "Israel" has been blacked out, as are any pictures or maps of it. The Ministry makes the decision on what gets censored and if we are caught giving out uncensored flyers or textbooks, our school will be heavily fined. I'm thankful I do not teach any History courses over here because I would have a difficult time dealing with the blacking out of historical events!

Now with all that said, there are some censored items that I do appreciate! :) Picking up a copy of the latest People or OK magazine is always funny to look at. There's a nice stamp on the inside cover stating that it has been officially censored and then as you flip through, any inappropriate outfits or baring of skin has been covered with you guessed it, a big black marker! It's great! I mean, I do not want to look at Britney Spears or any other celebrity in their inappropriate outfits and I don't have to because they're all wearing matching ones that bear the coincidental black streaks! LOL

Alright, last comment on Kuwait's censorship.........something to think about anyways. You have to understand that Kuwait is an up and coming country in the Middle East due to the ridiculous amounts of wealth held by the people here. However, their systems over here are very archaic as is their infrastructure. They don't do upkeep on anything, so they wait until something blows up or breaks before they look at it to fix it. Hence the current problem with sewage water leaking into the drinking water in one district! With that said, they're not very organized yet, so I can't see them having anything fancy or high-tech to monitor things like phone lines or internet.

However, here's what is 'weird' and something I'm looking into to find out what I can. The last three phone conversations I've had with my parents back home in Canada have had moments of disconnection. Now with the phone lines over here, that's not really all that surprising! What's surprising and strangely coincidental, is that every time we've been disconnected, I've been in the middle of talking about "church" over here. No other time have we been disconnected!!! I've asked around and apparently our apartment building is one of the only ones that consists almost completely of Westerners in this district - we have 77 Western people living in this building! If they were going to be watching/listening in on anyone, it would be our building they would have flagged, so perhaps the feelings of being "listened in on" are true! To solve the problem, we now just call church something else and again, coincidentally, we don't get disconnected! Odd, eh? Yeah, it could be just a strange coincidence or there could be something behind it. Honestly, one never knows over here!

Alright, that's all for now. If anyone has anything they want to know about, please fire me off a question and I can write about it. Take care and thank you for all the comments you've been leaving me - they are all super encouraging! :)

In Everything Give Thanks

As the sun rises for a new day, my first Canadian holiday over here has come and passed. It was Canadian Thanksgiving and we feasted on...........yams? That's right, yams! I hunted for a turkey, but the cheapest one was almost $50 and it was only 7lbs. I also couldn't find any cranberry sauce, cranberries to make sauce or brussels sprouts - all Thanksgiving must-haves. It is tradition that I make pumpkin pie from scratch every year (and I mean cutting up fresh pumpkin, steaming and mashing it!!) and I couldn't find a pumpkin anywhere......not even canned pumpkin!!! Not to mention, I couldn't find lard to make the pastry either! So alas, I was very thankful to at least be able to find yams and thus yams for dinner it was! They were sooooo good! My sister-in-law, Aubrey, has THE best recipe for cheesy yams, so that's what I made. Gillian (another fellow Canuck) and I ate yams and drank tea for supper. LOL :D Happy Thanksgiving!! :) I was definitely thankful for the yams and for good company! :)

The thankfulness continued this week.......I was telling my girls about my unsuccessful searches for Thanksgiving essentials and that I was disappointed that I couldn't find a pumpkin anywhere. The next day, one of my students came to school carrying this big paper bag and inside sat a nicely-sized pumpkin! :) Apparently, she sent her driver (yes, almost all the kids have 'drivers' over here....it's Kuwait, most people are very wealthy) in search of a pumpkin for me and after a few hours of searching, he found one. :) The funny part is, the bag it was delivered in was a Prada paper bag.....so that's a pic of my "Prada Pumpkin" and the darling that made my day! :) HAHAHAH! :)

I've had a lot of people asking me to hurry it up with the blog updates. I'm trying, I'm trying! School has been crazy busy with getting the girls and myself into a routine, but so far, so good. I have been tutoring 4 nights a week as well, and that has been a blast! :) The little boy I tutor always lights up my day, no matter how crazy or bad it is! It really is a treat to be working with him this year. :)

Ok, as for travel opportunities, it's official! I'm going to Jordan for the November break!!! Addie and I booked our tickets the other night because we found some AWESOME deals! :) So we are flying into Amman, renting a car and driving to the Dead Sea to stay at a nice hotel and float in the salty sea for a couple days, then off to explore Petra! I've been told Petra is the world's best kept secret.....we'll see! I'm really looking forward to driving, as I have been without a car now for over a month. After having had my own car for 12 years, I'm finding it very hard to suddenly be dependent on a bus to take me to and from school at set times and taxi's to take me to various places in the city. It's especially difficult because most of them do not speak a lick of English, nor do they know where anything is!!! Unless you know a reliable taxi driver, getting around here is extremely frustrating. Luckily, I have been hooked up with Ali, who literally knows every backstreet and alley in the country. :)

Well, as the sun is setting, I better get to marking some papers......doesn't matter where in the world you are, there are always papers to be marked! LOL! Bye for now! :)

Feels Like Home

Well, my apartment FINALLY feels homey......after literally 2 weeks of shopping! Addie, Gillian and I bought out Ikea one night and miraculously fit it all in Gillian's TINY compact car, along with two other people!!!

After hitting up some of the big malls and then A LOT of the local markets such as Al Mubarakeya (which I recommend taking someone with you who knows the place, else you will definitely get lost amongst the hundreds of stalls...), my place feels like a home instead of a hotel. I bought a bunch of different textiles, a lamp, some pillows, and a bookshelf - what a difference! :) Before and after photos........

Alright on to answering some questions.......for those of you who have been asking for my mailing address: DO NOT send any type of package through the regular mailing system. The postal system here is, well quite simply, corrupt. It takes weeks and weeks to arrive in Kuwait, and then sits in the post office until one of the workers decides to finally sort through the mail, goes through the package and then takes whatever is in it. It will never arrive at its final destination = I will never receive it. If it is just a letter or a card, then the regular postal system is fine, but if they feel anything other than a letter or card, it will disappear. The ONLY way to send packages, is through either FedEx or DHL. It will cost a fortune though, so don't feel bad for not sending it! My mailing address is:

Miss Lisette Lively

c/o American Creativity Academy

Al Muthana St, Block 6, Hawally

PO Box 1740, Kuwait, 32018

Onto questions about my school.....well, the whole idea of Kuwait "time" holds true to my school as well!


Yes, that is a picture of my Arabic clock. LOL! As of right now, I still have a completely empty classroom, and no one seems to care, not even slightly! No desks, no chairs, no teacher desk & chair, no shelves, no whiteboard, no bulletin boards.......just four walls and a tiled floor. So HOPEFULLY ("insha'allah" as they say here....meaning 'God willing') there will be furniture by Sunday, our first day of class! LOL! One can only laugh at this point.....this year will definitely be an adventure for sure. A huge positive - It's soooo nice to have windows in my classroom that open, and the building is a very open-air concept because it never rains here, so the halls are open to the courtyard. It's a bit hot right now, but once winter comes, the cooler, fresh air all the time will be great! :) I'm hoping to post some pics of my school, but I need to first gain permission.

We had the beginnings of a sandstorm yesterday, but it quickly blew over. I was greatly disappointed. I am holding out for a big one to come and then I'll post some pics and maybe video if I can figure out how to get the battery back into my camcorder. I took it out, but for some reason, it will not go back in! Oh and for all you Mac users out there.....if anyone knows and can email instructions to me on how to import a Quicktime video clip from a regular digital camera into iMovie, I will be forever indebted to you!!!

That's all for now! :)

Seeing Some of the Sites Around Kuwait City!

I have learned the importance of having patience in this country already! LOL One really must be able to go with the flow and let things roll off the ol' back in order to make it here. It's funny how much North America is governed and run by "time". Granted it makes for structure and solid schedules, but over here there doesn't seem to be a lot held to "time". And maybe there's something to be said for the more laid-back approach to life! Perhaps we are too caught up with time....

Yesterday, we had to begin the resident visa process by getting finger printed, have our work visas approved and then get more blood tests and another chest x-ray. We were told to be at the school by 10am to begin the process and we were going to be done in a couple hours. Well when we got to the school, no one was there to meet us and after waiting an hour and a half, someone finally did come and off we went across the city to get finger printed at this shady looking place (I think it was actually a police office) that we entered through a sketchy back alley entrance. After that we then drove back across the city to the government visa office and waited in line for awhile before being issued a stamp. We were then rushed off to get blood tests done. Next we needed to go to yet another building and have our chest x-rays done. All-in-all, we got home at about 3:30, making the adventure 5 1/2 hours long! To top it off, there were three people who didn't get to finish the process because the airport visa desk forgot to stamp their passports, therefore making them invalid for this whole registration process! I was thankful that my passport did get stamped. :) Here is a good shot of us sweating it out in a very sketchy and dirty bus. We wanted to take a pic to remember how smelly it was in there! LOL

After we were able to rest for a bit, we were off to the world's largest Dhou to take a look. It was pretty big! It was right on the Gulf, so again the view was beautiful and the woodwork inside was stunning. They had some interesting pictures on the wall. This one is of all the past Amirs (Kings) of Kuwait.

Today was a lot less exhausting.....we actually did some touring around and saw a few sites! Our first stop was The Grand Mosque. It was quite beautiful! As women, we had to don abiyas (long robes) and hijabs (head scarves) to enter the mosque. Our tour guide was quite informative and spewed out loads of facts while he intermittently talked on his cell phone! LOL The interior of the mosque was quite cool and the interior architecture was beautifully crafted. We had fun attempting to take pictures of the inside of the dome by laying on the carpet and looking up. Don't worry, the guide told us we could do it! We had a lot of fun wearing the traditional coverings and taking pictures. This one is of Addie, me, and Stacey. :)

The next stop was The Kuwait Towers. These are one of the most famous symbols of Kuwait. There are three of them. The main one is the viewing sphere with a two story observation deck that has a rotating deck on the second level. It also houses a restaurant and many pictures of what the Iraqi Military did to it during the Invasion. Sidenote, they refer the the Gulf War over here as "the Invasion". The second tower is a water tower and the third is for electricty/lighting. The view from the top was breath-taking as you could see a lot of the Gulf coastline and all the buildings along it. We could even see a bunch of sheep in what we assumed was some sort of slaughter house. It was pretty hazy today so you couldn't see very far out into the Gulf. Looks like a possible sandstorm trying to roll in!

The third point of interest today was the famous Souq Sharq - a really nice shopping mall. There were MANY Western stores and places to eat in this mall and a really neat fish market across the street! I finally had time to have my first Starbucks coffee in Kuwait. I even have photographic proof! LOL It didn't cost quite as much as I thought it would. 1.2 KD, which is equivalent to about $4. Granted I had an iced coffee and those are usually less than $2.50 back home! Ah well, it was definitely worth it! :)

Anyways, that's what has been happening these last few days......busy, busy, busy! I am looking forward to getting into a routine and starting school. Tomorrow is the first day of actual school meetings where we will finally get to see the curriculum and the classrooms. Can't wait!

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.

Why? Why? Why?

I have found it a bit overwhelming to have had a multitude of people ask me this specific question over and over in the past few weeks. Some with excitement and some with disdain. Here's my answer: Sometimes in life God clearly points you in the direction in which you need to go. He opens the right doors and slams the others so the path is clear. He also gives you that peace about it that is simply quite unexplainable. That is why I'm going. I know I'm supposed to be in Kuwait this next year. There is no other way to explain it. I have trusted God with many smaller things in my life and am trusting Him with this HUGE thing! Like I said, I know I'm supposed to be there. Am I scared? No. Am I nervous? No. Why? Because I know I'm supposed to be there! :) Philippians 4:6-7

I don't know how to add a song to my blog so that it will automatically play (I know, I really am a technological dolt!), so here are just the lyrics and a link to the song I am adopting as my theme song for this adventure. Check out the link to actually HEAR it! LOL

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Where_You_Lead_Me/547431

"Where You Lead Me" by MercyMe

What is life? A thousand roads, a thousand ways.

So why am I so afraid to move? I crossed the line.

I'm stepping out so come what may, I give it all cause I'm drawn to you.

As long as my heart is beating...where You lead me, I will follow.

Where You lead me, I give my life away.

Where You lead me, I will follow forever and a day.

I can't deny your very presence is my life and why would I ever turn away?

Cause deep inside I know that I cannot rely on anything less than faith.

As long as my heart is beating...where You lead me, I will follow.

Where You lead me, I give my life away.

Where You lead me, I will follow forever and a day.

This is all I'm dreaming of, to live completely in Your love.

Where You lead me, I will follow. Where You lead me, I give my life away.

Where You lead me, I will follow forever and a day.

The Last Step in the Paperwork...

Well, as of tomorrow when I send off my work visa, passport and all necessary papers to the Kuwait Embassy in Ottawa, I have officially completed the last step of this mountain of paperwork needed to escape from Canada!  What's left you ask?  Simply waiting to get that package back from the Embassy and my airline ticket in the mail. Ahhhhh, the long, daunting process is over and peace has settled in. :)  

Herein lies a question: What on earth do I pack when I'm not coming back to this continent for 10 whole months?  Any suggestions?  I'm open to them all!