Spring break

Living in s country with so little do to, you would think that I would at least be able to keep up a blog about school things.  But here it is already 3 weeks into summer break, I have long since left Kuwait for the summer and only now have a chance to write updates. Over spring break my parents came to visit.  They had wanted to see what see what the Arab world is like and this was the perfect opportunity.  I gave them only one requirement: we would have to leave Kuwait also.  With that being said we planned pour trip to Dubai. Kuwait doesn't have much to offer for tourist attraction but  among he first few days I took them top see my school which they really enjoyed.  Mom especially loved my starboard.  After spending some time wandering around school we went for the afternoon to the heritage souk.  There we wandered the streets looking at scarfs and looking for saffron.  We also took an evening trip down to Fahaheel to have dinner and to have a look out onto the sea.  during the first few days we also went to the aquarium and to an IMAX movie about the hajj.  It was interesting to see what that trip must have been like and to think t ourselves what it might be like now for the people who go to visit Mecca. Before leaving for Dubai we took a walk around my neighborhood.  My area doesn't have much to offer for w nice walk.  My neighborhood is still being built.  We don't really even have proper streets yet.  We took a walk down to the gulf road and out onto the nearest "beach" were dad quickly realized why we don't go there to swim.  The beach is anything but nice, it is very dirty!  After our walk we went home made something to eat and get ready to go to the airport.  Dubai looks like something out of the Jetsons.  Very futuristic, tall buildings that go on for days a very very modern.  Coming from Kuwait I could tell that this was a purpose built city.  Everything was very nice and clean and greener than Kuwait.  The morning after we arrived we were sitting at breakfast just doing our own thing and out of the blue my colleague approaches us and tells us that she has a car and nothing to do that day.  She was more than willing to drive us around and show us some of the sights.  With her we were able to visit 5 out of the 7 Emirates.  We had the chance to see the desert, camels crossing the road and even the mountains of Oman.  This also gave my parents the chance to ask her all sorts of Arab related questions because my colleague has been living in Kuwait for the past few years and knows a lot about the local culture and way of life.  In the end the day was a success. For our second day in Dubai we had arranged with a guy from the hotel for a personal tour around Dubai.  We were driven around in a very nice Lexus and shown all the main sights.  We really got to see everything and even things the tour buses wouldn't go to.  My favorite was going to the gate of the Amir's palace were there were hundreds of peacocks just freely wandering around.  Every where you looked there they were sitting in trees, sleeping among the flowers, or just wandering around.  We finished off the at at the Burj Kalife by going up to the highest point in Dubai.  Now that is a view!  In have had the chance to go to the top of many places around the world but this one you truly could see very very far.  Seeing the city at nice was also neat. On our final day in Dubai we decided to take the subway down to city's center and continue to wander around.  We went to the aquarium, which was nice but at the same time nothing too special.  We went to also find the souk to wander around.  It was different then the one in Kuwait but still interesting to see.  By the end of the day we were exhausted and ready to go to the airport to go back to Kuwait.  Upon arriving back into Kuwait and while waiting for my parents to get their visa, I noticed a group of boys from India observing me.  Now I have pretty much grown used to being watched (white, blonde, female . . . I kind of stand out in a crowd) so I was not bothered by it.  My mom finished first and she found it fascinating.  One of the boys approached us and asked if my mom could take a picture.  My mom though that they wanted a group shot of the boys . . .  No no they wanted pictures with me.  So I stuck a pose as the guys surrounded me ready for group shots and individuals.  Once again a common occurrence for me in the middle east. During the last few days of my parents trip, we visited the Kuwait Towers, which gave us an interesting perspective of the city. They aren't the tallest landmarks of the city, but one of them still holds water while the other has been made into an observation deck.  Once again I was asked to pose with people in a picture, just this time with a group of Asian females and a very cute little girl who asked her mom to ask me.  I will have to start charging per picture.  We continued to walk along the coast just to see an area that has been developed and made to look nice. Overall I think my parents enjoyed the trip to both Kuwait and to Dubai.  It was good also to get away from Kuwait and to see another Arab country.