A view of my backyard after a recent snowstorm.
I know that title is such a cliche. But I never truly understood the meaning of the phrase until I spent Christmas in a Muslim country. Please don't take these remarks regarding the Middle East as a criticism of their lack of holiday spirit. People who practice the Muslim faith in the states don't see too many Westerners getting excited about the holy month of Ramadan. There are Christmas trees and decorations all over the school and a few Christmas trees are displayed in store windows. And I must add that I am very thankful to be living in Kuwait where Christians are allowed to worship in peace, especially now.
This year I decided I would come home. It was so nice to walk in my door and smell the scent of a fresh evergreen tree sitting in the corner of my living room and walking into St. Paul Lutheran in Eldora, Iowa and seeing the magnificent live Christmas tree and and all the beautiful red poinsettias surrounding the altar. My daughter greeted me with the most gorgeous poinsettia when she met me at the airport. It was such a joy unpacking the Christmas ornaments and decorations I have collected over the years. And cooking in my OWN kitchen was pure delight....still not too excited about the clean-up part! It was fun making all the Christmas cookies and candy, but my waistline isn't too happy with me!
Many of my friends visited exotic locations all over the world. I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly jealous, but seeing my granddaughter open her gifts and put out her little arms and say "Up, up!" are priceless memories, not to mention the joy of being surrounded by family and friends once again.
Souk Al-Mubarakiya
One of the many entances to the Souk Al-Mubarakia
This is one of my favorite places in Kuwait. A souk is an open-air market in the Middle East. In the west they are better known as bazaars. This souq is located in downtown Kuwait, just a short bus ride from my apartment in Hawally. The souq is roofed over and there a many long narrow alleys. I have gotten myself lost a time or two! The souq is divided into specialized areas such as the fabric or gold souk.
My first visit to the Old Souk (a nickname used by the locals) was a memorable experience. We stepped off the bus and in a few short steps I felt like I was in some kind of a time warp. Suddenly I was walking down narrow ancient cobble stone streets and everyone around me was dressed in traditional clothing. Here was this old market right in the middle of ultra modern skyscrapers. It was like stepping into a time machine. I stayed very close to my friend who was showing me around. It doesn't take much to get me lost and the Old Souk with all its twists and turns is not a good place to get lost for someone without a good sense of direction!
I made my first purchase at this gentleman's little basket shop. He enjoyed posing for the camera!
A view of the Liberation Tower from a street in the Old Souk. It always makes me think of the old Jetson cartoons I watched when I was little.
I had never eaten fresh dates before. He is standing right in front of a box of fresh dates. They actually tasted pretty good.
This is the fruit market as you can see. Everything is always displayed so beautifully.
My friend, Linda, took this interesting shot.
This bench sits outside our favorite tea shop.
You could spend several thousand dollars on this authentic silk rug hand made in Iran.
This is a portion of my UAS Singers. We did eight shows in two days. This was our last performance. They were getting a little tired!
I fly back to Kuwait in a couple of days. It's hard to think about leaving Iowa and going back to the Middle East. I'm still not quite sure how my life turned upside down in a matter of weeks. One day I am teaching in small town Iowa and before I can blink, I'm employed at one of the largest international schools in the world. I have nearly 800 students. I have three or four boys named Abdullah in each class. God seems to have quite a sense of humor!
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