Random pictures from Kuwait

First of all I apologize for my last post not looking that great. Now for some pictures.

Dressed up for a visit to the Grand Mosque:


Sandstorm from the hotel window:


The famous Highway 80:

Kuwait Journal (pt. 3)

1/05/08: Today we went to Al-Babtain library which is the group that paid for our Jordan trip. It is a very nice library with a lot of rare books, Arabic poetry, books for school from Iraq, etc. Saba and I were looking for the book that helped to inspired Eric Clapton’s song “Layla,” as we were being shown around. I love the view to the outside which shows the gulf not too far away. The building is awesome. I would love to have a library like that always around. Josh, Andrew, and I found out we had to write a paper about the Jordan trip for the director before we left.

After the library we went to the hotel to eat lunch. Then we went to the market for shopping. I was able to get a scarf, hijabs, prayers beads, sheesha, a full sized hookah, and a bunch of CDs. It was a very good shopping trip.

We then headed to the hotel and passed the time before going to talk to Saba’s father. He is a retired General and a lawyer currently. He talked to us about security, terrorism, and the laws of Kuwait. During the discussion everything from the prison system to alcohol to Irish people came up. After saying goodbye we headed to a shop to find a flag of Kuwait for Stephen and me. I think Josh got one too, but Stephen L. and I really wanted one. After getting back I did some writing and hung out with Stephen and Eduardo a lot.

1/06/08: Today was the big day of visiting the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC). When we arrived we met Mohammad, and he is the guy that showed us around. After waiting for a bit we were taken to a room to eat breakfast. A presentation was given over the oil in Kuwait, the history, production, and other things involving the history of oil and the company. Afterwards we waited around because the new girl training under Saba and Olimat had to be cleared so we could have our tour.

As we began we were shown different parts of the refinery by bus, and we were even going to be given oil. Of course we had to think about the trouble of getting that on the plane, so we passed on it. It was really interesting to see the different operations rooms and to talk to workers. It is awesome to see all the work that goes into making the plant/refinery work. A lot of it can be over my head as it is more scientific.

Near lunch time we went back to the main office area, and we had a great lunch prepared with American and Kuwaiti food. Afterwards we toured the facility a little more, and Cole convinced them to let us dress up in the jumpsuits the workers wear along with helmets. We all had our picture taken together outside, and we had some of the group showing us around in the pictures too. It was very interesting, and we were there most of the day. We were there from around 8:30 to 3:30.

The day was really cold, and we had a sandstorm moving in which was fun to watch but not fun to breathe as it got closer. I spent time taking pictures from our rooms and writing my report for the director about the Jordan trip while waiting for our next meeting. We were supposed to speak with a female candidate from the last election, but she had to cancel unfortunately. Instead we went to talk to the professor from Kuwait University that we met a few days before. He gave us a tour of his newspaper offices. It was cool to see the place, but I enjoyed just sitting around hearing his thoughts and talking more especially once the dust from the sandstorm stopped bothering me. We talked about media and the U.S. Presidential candidates among other things. When we were done we went back to the hotel to eat and hang out. Stephen, Andrew, and I, maybe others, were going to go smoke sheesha, but we weren’t sure because of the sandstorm earlier. We ended up just hanging in our rooms.

1/08/08: The first thing we did today was going to the grilling of the Education Minister at the Parliament. Cina, Saba, and I had to set separately from the guys. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the grilling. Although it was still neat to see a Parliament session. Afterwards we went to the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce. The guys there were quite informative, and I loved hearing about the silk city that is being planned. The ideas for it look great. After the meeting it was around lunch time, so we all decided to go eat at the market area after dropping Olimat off at the hotel. The food was delicious and so cheap! It costs around one KD from each of us. To eat at the hotel it would have been around 10 KD!

When we were done eating we had to get to the U.S. Embassy. Saba could not make it, so the group went alone. The guys were really interesting. All spoke of their politics and how they had to keep that separate from the job. The first guy was easily a neo-con, and I personally couldn’t stand his views of Guantanamo and other things. It also seemed that he believes the Kuwaitis still owe us, and we can’t make them forget. Luckily the other guy, bigger guy named John, was great. He also kept his views to himself, but it was easy to tell that he is more liberal. He really made the job seem great after hearing the first guy. He is also so intelligent. I was quite impressed by him. Later that night we met with Sarah to talk to her about the trip and say goodbye. She brought gifts for us, and we all really appreciate what we got. I will definitely miss everyone. And it is too bad that Stephen and I fell asleep and didn’t go smoke sheesha since it is our final night. We were tired though. Too bad we have to leave.

1/09/08: Today we left Kuwait. Eduardo, Stephen, Stephen, and I were upgraded I guess. Either that or we had the best seats in economy. It was really nice. The flight went very well. When we got to the airport we made it through customs and said our goodbyes. The two Stephen’s, Andrew, Josh, and myself were trying to figure out a way to get out of NYC and back home. Andrew and I didn’t want to leave if it meant being stuck in St. Louis. Anyway, we all went to the Kuwait Airways counter to get our hotel vouchers. Afterwards we headed to the airtrain so we could go to the AA counter. Andrew’s bag got caught on the escalator, and he missed the airtrain. Josh and Andrew had a misunderstanding, so as we all waited for him he was going to terminal one instead.

Eventually we headed for the counter, and we waited for Andrew there as Josh tried to find out information. Stephen LaChance was able to get a flight back to Texas right away, so we all said our goodbyes to him. Stephen and I thought Josh would go to St. Louis and we would stay, but Josh stayed also. Although we found out that we wouldn’t have to go to LaGuardia the next morning, and we would also get home an hour earlier by leaving at the same time! We immediately changed our tickets and Andrew arrived around that time too. Unfortunately we could not check our luggage. I had too much with the two suitcases, computer bag, purse, and hookah. Luckily, Stephen L. helped me until he left. After that Stephen was able to help me out. We went outside and waited for a cab big enough for our luggage for what seemed liked ages. The guy told us to take the next van or SUV cab, so when we saw one we did. Naturally the guy watching did not know and he gives a ticket to our cab driver! We couldn’t believe it. Although the ticket was only around $3, and we made sure to pay that.

At the hotel we got a menu for a pizza place because we all decided we were too tired to go out. The funny thing is Nick and Cole were there too and they were assigned the same room that Stephen was assigned. Stephen walked in on them. Then I called Stephen, and the guy said, “No, this is Nick.” I hung up, and a second later Stephen comes in Josh’s room. He told us that someone was in his room. I said, “Let me guess his name is Nick.” Stephen shook his head, and he mentioned Cole. Then it connected to me who it was. I had no idea. Naturally I called Nick back and apologized for hanging up. I also let him know about the pizza, and when the pizza arrived we all hung out in Josh’s room to eat. We ordered way too much. When we were done we talked a little. I headed to my room to shower and spend some time on the internet before going to bed.

Kuwait Journal (pt. 2)

1/03/08: Today we went the traditional shipbuilder’s building/museum. It was really great to see all of the model ships. We were told what all the different ships are for, and were even asked questions to see if we understood what a captain of a ship should know. The shop room, where the models are made, was very cool. It is interesting to see how long it takes and the work that goes into the building. Afterwards we headed to the home of Sami. He is an expert regarding Iran and the politics of the area. He spoke at great length about Iran, weapons, and his career working independently from governments. He was very articulate, smart, and nice. We had a traditional Kuwaiti meal made by his sisters. It was delicious! The pumpkin curry was the best. I could not get enough of it. Meeting Sami is definitely one of my favorite moments of this trip.

1/04/08: Today we went to the mosque. Well, the guys went to the mosque. Cina, Saba, and I were trying to find a place for us to get covered up. We decided to drive to an area where we could get out. Cina actually drove the bus! Granted I can sort of drive a stick shift, but I was not about to drive a bus in Kuwait. It was a little nerve-racking, but it was fun! And it was hilarious how we had to maneuver around the other vehicles. Then after the guys were done they went the wrong way, so we had to go pick them up. That was great.

Afterwards, I guess we had a free day, so we went to a grocery store for water and snacks before heading to the Iraq/Kuwait border. I was hoping we could cross over for a second and get our passports stamped! The grocery store was interesting. I thought I would find a bathroom before going, and as I was looking a guy was following me. Then he kept asking me to follow him by waving his hand. I was afraid because he asked if I was American. And was I ever in for a surprise. As I was waiting for a key to the bathroom he came over closer and tried to grab my hand. Then he grabbed himself! I was so disgusted! Luckily, I looked upstairs and saw Cina. I said there is my friend and pointed before dashing up to her and Andrew. Cina was so surprised when I told her. I could not believe it. The good thing is we got out of there and headed for the border. It was pretty cool to be there and get our pictures taken. It is too bad the chaos of that country. Of course and the checkpoint we had to turn back.

On our way back we went off road to a tent. The guys didn’t seem that welcoming to us, so we left before too long. We weren’t going too long again before we were off road, and saw a bunch of camels. We spent awhile with them, and it was a lot of fun. Some of the group went for short rides, and the crazy thing is how afraid Saba is of camels! She had me watch Bebe and take pictures of her. We all really enjoyed being around the camels. It was the first time for some of the group to see camels in person! The Bedouins who owned the camels invited us to their tent. They were very nice, and it was fun to sit and hang out. Bebe accidently kicked my tea all over me because she could not sit still. Before we left we found out the guys offered to kill a camel for dinner for us. I am glad we didn’t do that. First of all, that is a lot of work. Second, I did not want to eat a camel especially after being around them! When we got back to the hotel we had time to eat and hang out a little. Later we went to Starbucks to drink coffee, talk, and hang out at a popular spot for Kuwaitis.

A.J. Roach - Revelation

Great album. Check it out.
http://www.mediafire.com/?0hcwv4hgtm9

Official website:
http://www.roachmusic.com/

Soon

I will post the last half of my Kuwait journal soon. I hope to have it up tonight. The trip was magnificent, and I don't even think the journal does it justice anyway.

Some pictures

A preview of all the pictures. So many more are available at photobucket.

Never mind

Edit

My Kuwait trip so far

Kuwait Journal

12/28/07-12/29/07: Andrew and I left Poplar Bluff late which had us arriving around 3:00 a.m. in Springfield. I had to rush around washing/drying clothes, taking a shower, and packing before we had to take a cab. We left later than we wanted to, but getting at the airport at 5:30 a.m. was not a problem. We met up with Stephen, Josh, and I met Cina for the first time. All of us going to Kuwait were “randomly checked.” The lady told me it was random, and then asked if I was with a group. I pointed out the other four in my group. It’s something we laugh about with the supposed randomness of the check. All went well, and we flew to St. Louis which was a four hour wait. When we got to NYC we had a six hour wait until 9:15 p.m., so we decided to go out and eat. We weren’t very organized and had a tough time deciding what to do in the end, but we found out that our flight was delayed until 2:00 a.m. and then 5:00 a.m. in the end. Cina decided to go see a friend, so the rest of us went together. At Rockefeller Square we got separated leaving Stephen with Josh and Andrew and I together. Ultimately we saw Central Park, Rockefeller Square and then Andrew and I saw different areas including Times Square. There was a lot of walking and we dreaded leaving Angelo’s by Letterman’s studio, but when we did it was a short walk to 53^rd and 5^th Avenue. We were surprised. It seemed like we walked miles from it. I guess we did, but it was all around the same area. Anyway, we were the last to get back, so our voucher for the Holiday Inn meant nothing as there were no more rooms. After a long ride on the subway one way we got off to soon. A cool Jamaican guy helped us out, and we found out if we stayed on we would be heading back to the air train. We took an unnecessary 45 minutes or so. Once we made it to the airport we got our tickets and waited for the Holiday Inn bus for at least 45 minutes. Finally we made it back to the hotel. Once again we had no sleep. There was no use considering we had to be at the airport around 3 a.m. We used our vouchers given to us by the airline to get a few sandwiches, fruit, and drinks right at closing of the bar and restaurant. I was dying for water and juice. We all talked and took short showers to feel cleaner. Once we got to the airport we had a fun time making of Captain Obvious. Cpt. Obvious being the guy explaining the security check. Everything from the difference between liquids and other substances to how a conveyor belt works was explained. He mentioned my laughing and commenting when I got up to the point to show my passport. The guy was cool and found it funny. We waited a few hours for boarding. We boarded around an hour after the 4:30 time. On the flight I tried to sleep most of the way as it was really hot most of the time, and I really had nothing to do plus I was running on no sleep for awhile.

12/30/07: We arrived at the airport today. Nice airport. It’s nothing huge or super fancy, but very nice looking. We got our luggage after a wait where Olimat was being checked out. Everyone had their luggage arrive safely except for Stephen E. It is weird because it is not like his luggage blends in completely. We waited around for him to report it, and then we got on the bus to get to the hotel. I don’t even know where to begin in regards to the amazing hotel. We pulled up on a sweet Four Points Sheraton! I couldn’t believe my eyes. Once we got inside we all had our mouths dropped open. We sure didn’t expect something this great no matter what Olimat said. I was astounded that I’m paying such a minimal price and staying there on top of everything else. I am so thankful for this trip for sure. And if the people being nice along with the lobby wasn’t enough we got to our rooms and soaked in everything told to us after seeing the beautiful rooms. We have free room service, buffet meals, mini bar fridge, laundry service, and local calls. Free! Insanely cool. After five hours of sleep we gathered downstairs in the lobby to head to a meeting with Abdullah Al-Khalidi, director of the Foreign Media Dept. of the Ministry of Information. He was a very nice guy that told us about the freedom of the media there, and compared to some countries he was quite right. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind about others in the country. After that we headed to the Kuwait Stock Exchange. It was quite an experience to see all doing their work. Next, we headed to the Grand Mosque. It’s the seventh biggest in the world counting Mecca and Medina. It is an amazing, beautiful building without a doubt. The special reception room was off the charts really. Ever moving we continued on to meet Dr. Naser Al-Saneh, parliament member. He was a very nice guy, but I was weary of what he said about women. He said he supports their right to vote. I am not so sure. The room though. Wow! It was awesome. I’m continually amazed by the architecture and styles of buildings and rooms. At this rate I won’t have any adjectives to use without being redundant. Later that night we went to the market which was a lot of fun. One street reminded me of Fremont in Vegas without the images on the ceiling though and with a traditional Arabic market area. I know what I mean even if I cannot describe it.

12/31/07: At 9:00 a.m. we had a meeting at Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. I really enjoyed hearing about their work and how it’s expanded outside the Arab region. I really couldn’t think of anything to ask, but the questions asked helped to clarify. At 10:00 we went to the Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) which I greatly enjoyed. I think I would like to work for them as long as they are in operation. It is sort of a place that brings NGO’s, governments, etc. together to help out in Iraq when it comes to medicine, food, etc. They seem really helpful though I’m disappointed that people are pulling out of their when troops pull out of Iraq. HOC is a good thing. It is not about hurting people. Lt. Col. Johnson works there, and she seemed quite nice, and I think she really enjoys helping on the medical side. Although I think she was justifying the war somewhat when I heard certain things she said and the way she said it. I could be wrong, but that is my view. Afterwards we went back to the hotel to eat and hang out, and at 5:30 we met the Kuwaiti Women Society. They make sure they have great press coverage for sure. Then again they should. I really couldn’t focus with 12 cameras flashing in my face non-stop plus one crew recording. It seems the group really tries to do great things to advance the rights of women. I love that since I’m a feminist myself. Anyone should be though. I need to read the information given to us to find out how much more they do other than helping educate women about voting, breast cancer, and other concerns. We ended up stopping at the Kuwait Towers afterwards to take pictures and I guess reserve for our dinner later in the week. It was an amazing view being 600 or so feet up looking over Kuwait City. The building itself is beautiful especially at night. We finally made it to the main Sheraton for our New Year’s Eve party. The place was even more amazing than our hotel! The food was delicious per usual, and we really started to get the party hopping an hour or so before NYE. We even did a countdown in Arabic and shouted “Happy New Year!” I am not so sure noise makers should be given to our group. Also, I think we broke a law along with the waiters and some of the Kuwaitis there. It was a blast! To end the night most of us headed to a sheesha place close by. In the end Eduardo, Stephen, Andrew, and I were left there after about two hours. We got back to the hotel around 2:30.

1/01/08: Today was pretty much a free day. We first went to see some Kuwaitis with Harley-Davidsons. Some members of the group went for rides. It was pretty cool to see, and the guys were cool. After we went to the area of the gulf with the mall and looked around. I saw a Hard Rock Café, and I had to go there. Josh, Eduardo, Stephen, Stephen (Texas), Andrew, and I went. It was nice to see though quite small. I bought a shirt for a souvenir. Afterwards we went to look at the harbor area and wait around. Unfortunately, Cole ate something with peanuts and had to be taken to the hospital. I was somehow oblivious to this, and maybe Eduardo and Stephen (Texas) were too. We went to the Virgin Megastore since I could not resist. I bought four Arabic CDs and could have easily gotten more. When we found our way back to the bus everyone but Olimat, Cole, and Saba were there. That is when I found out about the allergy. We waited and waited and eventually they showed up. We made it back to the hotel in time for a late lunch before going back to our rooms. We thought about seeing a movie or something as we had the night completely to ourselves. All of us ended up asleep. I fell asleep from 5:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. I have been up since then with no plans to go back to sleep until tonight.

1/02/08: As I said, I’ve been up forever today so far. I have had time to upload photos, catch up on the journal, talk to friends, email, and I’ve been drinking everything juice from the mini bar fridge. I went down for breakfast for the first time. It was really good. We met in the lobby around 10:00 a.m. to go to the Kuwait National Museum. It is about the occupation and liberation mainly although also the history of Kuwait such as independence in 1961. It was really cool actually with the models and lights to document the history in sort of a play scene with models. I think it’s understandable, but I am not sure how to describe this all of a sudden. Our next stop was the Parliament again. We were supposed to meet Marzouk Al-Hubain of the Foreign Affairs Committee, but unfortunately someone was in an accident. We did get a tour though which was cool. We sat in the Head of Parliament’s chair and later in the Amir’s chair. Our last stop today was the Sabu Museum to show traditional outfits, carpets, etc. that are made. It is to preserve the history of Kuwait. Some beautiful items there at the museum. Not too long ago we came back to the hotel for lunch, and we are probably about to go out and smoke sheesha. At 6:00 p.m. the guys will go to a party of the men from a wedding. We are still a little unclear about it. Cina, Saba, and I will go do something else. Saba will probably show us around somewhere. I am not sure.