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.
