Monday, June 13, 2011



I have arrived in Kuwait City!

It was the longest journey i have ever had, left brooklyn at 7:30 am on Sunday arrived in Kuwait 6pm on Monday. It wasn't too bad,i tried sleeping in lots of curled positions and got lots of neck and butt cramps. As soon as we got close we peered our heads out the window to see what our eyes could see and it was a whole lot of sand, rippled with a few tumbleweeds, brown is the color of this town from the aeroplane.

Super anxious to get a sense of what this country is like, i was quiet walking off the plane into the airport. It was a pretty severe contrast to what the outside landscape looked like to what the inside of airport is like. I have a feeling this is going to happen a lot, my pre-judgements about this place are going to be turned on their head a lot.

anyway, the airport is chrome shiny-ness, super clean everywhere. there were traditionally clothed muslim men with the checked scarves on their head and the little ropes on the top that look sorta like a halo, it's funny to have the connection with these scarves as a fashion of brooklyn!,They also were these long long shirts/dress thing that goes all the way to the floor and usually it's white. I was noticing how beatifully the men walked, they didn't move their shoulders at all, it looked like they were gliding across the floors. i realized that it must be cause the don't want to trip over those long hems and it keeps them having great posture. the women are with their heads covered, some their faces, but they were beautiful they had intense make-up on and super cute hand bags, then there are tons of military, there is still military present in kuwait but most of them are coming through kuwait to go to iraq. but the most beautiful thing was this family sitting next to me and sean at the visa desk, the little girl is coloring my little pony pictures and the little boy has a little elmo doll, I liked that. Then the call to prayer came over the loud speaker, i am use to hearing this in brooklyn but it always totally distorted, this was like someone was singing right next to me, it made me stop. it was beautiful. i wondered why people weren't reacting, arene't they hearing this lovely man singing, and shouldn't they be praying. as we left to get in the car i saw a room about the parking lot where all these men were in fact praying.

So i have done absolutely no prep for coming to this country, sean has a whole page of words in arabic that he is practicing, and is reading a book called the short history of islam. But i have done zero, the only info i had to go on is what the state dept website said and the nervousness of my mother and grandmothers voices after they heard i was coming here. I defiantly had the sense that there would be anti-american sentiment, and frankly that is why i thought they brought us. But Deborah from the embassy said the majority of Kuwaitis' actually have very positive feelings towards Americans because Bush helped in their liberation. So it's actually quite comfortable here for americans. Why don't they put that on the state dept. website? First judgement shattered.

We are staying in the holiday inn, there is every american franchise here, apparently there are more McDonald's here than anywhere else, considering the size of the country. (it's the size of NJ). But the holiday inn is pretty special, there is a chinese , japanese, middle eastern, indian restaurants all in the hotel, all the amenities, it's super nice. I am really just excited sleeping horizontally.



Sean and i got to walk by the persian gulf tonight, there was a boardwalk, stray cats and big buildings with lots and lots of lights. I did get to see the moon. I like seeing the moon, it makes me feel like he follows me where ever i go, and then i think that he is also following everyone else and where ever they go. he's such a busy dude!



Well, i will try and update daily as my mind is expanded in this place. I did forget my camera and the converter to charge my computer. but i have a super smart phone that might turn into a camera and video. Tomorrow there is an iraqi band playing at the festival that we are playing at. I hope to catch them.