It’s Time

It’s time.  Time to start this blog again!  The blog app I was using was no longer viable.  I was all ready to publish, and it simply would not go through.  I got disgusted and discouraged and walked away from blogging until enough people asked me when I was going to post another blog.  My son came to my rescue and agreed to help get the blog up and going again.  So I’m back and ready to get my readers caught back up on my life what we affectionately call “the sandbox.”

I will slowly get you caught up on my travels. Not too much has changed in my work here at UAS, except for one small detail.  After this current school year, I will be retiring. Many mixed feelings, of course.  But one thing is certain; there could no better place for me to end my forty-three years in education than teaching my KG and elementary students here at UAS. Seven years ago I arrived in Kuwait, somewhat bruised and battered but not broken and not at all ready to give up.  I have taught all ages of students in the US, but my greatest joy was always my elementary students. When I was offered a job teaching only elementary students full time, I didn’t care if it was halfway across the world or in my own backyard. They were going to pay me to do what I love. I was all in. I had no idea that some of my students were barely out of diapers, but that’s a whole other story!

This will be a school year where I do a lot of countdowns;  the last time I direct a first grade concert, the last time I take an international flight, the last Thanksgiving I spend away from home.  Maybe there will be a sigh of relief now and then, but I know I will miss the routine of going to work each day.  And I will miss many dear friends and colleagues. But the time is right. I’m ready. My granddaughter was an infant when I left for Kuwait. I promised her that grandma would be there for her eighth birthday. Grandmas must never break their promises. It’s part of the grandma code that must never be broken. So I’m coming home.  They say it’s best to leave when they are sad to see you go.  I know that is true.

One More Thanksgiving in Kuwait 

My first Thanksgiving in Kuwait was 2013. I couldn’t conceive of a Thanksgiving where I would just sit around and stare at the four walls and feel sorry for myself.  When I found out there were really no particular Thanksgiving plans for those of us living in what we fondly call our apartment building, the Hawally Hilton, I decided to get one organized. So with the help of my good friend, Penny, we got to work.  The hardest part was trying to locate enough turkeys, not to mention little things like cool whip, turkey basters, and poultry seasoning. 

When you live in a foreign country, you quickly learn that it isn’t always easy finding common ingredients you may need in a particular recipe. You learn to improvise.  Sometimes it turns out better than you expect and sometimes it’s so bad the feral cats won’t even eat it!  I think that happened the first time I tried to make chili.  I’m pretty sure I accidentally bought mutton instead of hamburger. I can tell you that they are NOT interchangeable!  The package looked like hamburger so I assumed that is what it was.  I never made that mistake again!

So we had our first Thanksgiving in the basement of our building.  We probably had about thirty people who came.  We had people sitting around the table from all parts of the USA and a few from other countries who decided to join us. There were favorite dishes people brought that were certainly different than what I ever made back home in Iowa.  But that it was made it so fun and memorable. And certainly, a better way to spend Thanksgiving than sad and alone and missing the people you love most.  

A Weekend in Qatar 

One of the advantages to living in the Middle East is that there are quite a lot of interesting places to visit that aren’t very far away.  One of them is Doha, Qatar.    In 2017, my friend Barbara and I spent a long weekend in Doha, Qatar. I’m pretty sure I had never even heard of this country until the Gulf War in 1990.  Together with Kuwaiti forces, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the US Marines, they helped liberate Kuwait.  Qatari aircraft joined US, Canadian, and French fighter squadrons that flew daily missions from Doha.  They are now in a bit of a political spat with their Arab neighbors, but life goes on and politics aside, it was a pretty interesting place to spend a long weekend.

Museum of Islamic Art

World renown architect I. M. Pie was coaxed out of retirement at age 91 to undertake the construction of this museum in 2006.  It was completed in 2008.  It is located near the dhow harbor along an artificial peninsula overlooking Doha Bay.  This unique limestone building combines modern elements of construction with ancient Islamic architecture.  The Museum of Islamic Art houses 14 centuries of Islamic art in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. 

Souk Waqif

No trip to a middle eastern country is complete without a visit to the local bazaar.  The Souk Waqif did not disappoint!  This ancient outdoor market dates back to well over 100 years.  It underwent renovation in 2006 after much of it was destroyed in a fire in 2003.  It is full of shisha lounges and restaurants featuring local cuisines.  There are the main thoroughfare and many alleys and side streets featuring souvenirs, fabrics, carpets, and anything else that might tempt a local tourist to part with his cash. 

We had a great weekend in our little getaway in Qatar. We ended our stay with a walk around the Cornish in the evening.

Until next time.....I’m counting down the days.