To Dubai
Stores owners put out signs to let you know there hours, if they are open or closed. Real estate agents put out signs to entice potential home buyers, perhaps in today’s world travelers put out signs on their blogs when they post where they are going!
It is off to Dubai for the weekend to search for culture in Dubai, catch up with friends and laugh! Nothing more and certainly nothing less! It has been a while since I travelled but sometimes things have to be taken away to be enjoyed or at least used properly. For that I am thankful!
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
Time and Turkey!
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I have never actually cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving but this Thanksgiving weekend I did buy a plane ticket to the country of Turkey!
I haven’t been to Turkey in years so I am very interested to see how time has changed the country and how this experience creates new memories. When I think back to the first time I was in Turkey I remember one night in Istanbul, perhaps it was about six years ago, that night I was a tour escort. I had watched the whirling dervishes twirl, had an enjoyable dinner on the bosphorus. After the passengers were safely returned to the cruise ship, I put on my dancing shoes and went out with friends and fellow crew to a random bar in Istanbul. The name of the bar long gone from my lexicon. I only remember was a little black and white house cat that hung out by the stage.
To go back to Istanbul, this November, and try to find that restaurant on the water, that bar with the cat, it would be a waste of chronological time. I’ll never be able to re-create the experience of sitting with those friends, in bean bag chairs and smoking hookah or shisha for the first time. I am hopeful that this trip will create new memories.
I once went to a wax museum in Yalta. At the end of a tour you got your photos taken. Time on shore that day was running out. I left before I never got my photos. To this day I have never made it back to Yalta. Like sands through the hour glass, the pictures of that moment in time have slipped by. Time is an interesting concept. Chronological time is needed to keep order in society. People need to know the bus leaves at 6:00 a.m. and that the cruise ship pulls out of port at 5:00 p.m. To function in a society based on chronological time we have watches that beep, phones that talk to you or sing, computers with complex calendars, ships with loud horns and even PA systems that play music, all to mark the passage of time. From minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day and week to week we are conditioned to be and leave places at certain times.
Chronological time holds a certain level of comfort. Knowing that the elevator ride takes 1 minute and 36 seconds from your floor to the ground, that the contract officially ends in two years, the exact date you made a life changing decision are all little ways that numbers help people.
Psychological time travels at its own speed. Sometimes very quickly and sometimes it seems like forever. A decision in psychological time can take chronological seconds to be reached but can ripple across your heart for years. Should you even try to compare a past memory with a current experience? Why look ahead to what a future time might hold? Perhaps it is best just to enjoy the current moment in time and appreciate the past for what it was. Sometimes things seem like “just yesterday” in psychological time but were in fact many years ago. Holding onto psychological time can be limiting. Things change, countries change, people change.
Perhaps on this Thanksgiving weekend it is best to just be thankful for the past, embrace the current moment and be open to whatever interesting surprises the future holds. Happy Thanksgiving!
The ancient Masters
didn’t worry about the future
and didn’t regret the past.
When they made a mistake,
they corrected it and moved on;
when they achieved something,
they didn’t stop to take credit.
They scaled the heights, never dizzy;
plumbed the depths,unafraid.
Wherever they went in the world,
they were at home.
They realized that the less they knew,
the more they understood.
Thus they embodied the Tao.-The Second Book Of The Tao-
-Chuang-tzu and Chung Yung-
A Moment at 1090 Madison Ave
The booths in Nector Coffee Shop and Diner in New York at 1090 Madison Ave and 82nd Street are beige and plastic. The table tops are light brown and the wait staff wear white uniforms as they dance around the small space. After a day of classic New York experiences, singing at church in Harlem, enjoying Central Park and then touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art we were thrilled to sit down, enjoy a bottle of wine and debrief on our adventures. My open roasted turkey sandwhich, had bread perfectly soaked with just the right amount of gravy. Watching the table next to us struggle with getting ketchup from a bottle then lead us to a lengthy conversation about the fine art of the perfect way to pour ketchup.
I looked across the table and smiled at my friend. Like many of the other New York moments on this trip, this trip to the diner had now become a part of the story of us. A split second on the journey that is our friendship. All friendships have their own unique paths. The moments and ways you met, the times your friendships were tested and the days you just laughed together in the sun. Like the New York PATH train after 11:00 p.m. not all friendships travel in the most direct route but sometimes the starts and stops, like the ride to Hobeken, are needed.
Being away for a year I have missed a lot of stops on my friends lives. However this summer I have enjoyed catching up and adding new pieces to the stories of us. Together we are on a journey, though high school heart breaks, from first loves, to first wives, from fallback jobs, to careers, from babies to writing books. We paint new apartments together, take rides in new cars, embrace new adventures and quietly hold hands when someone we love dies. We are always in each others hearts even if we aren’t physically in each others lives. Friendship doesn’t come with an expiration date.
As we paid our bill and enjoyed a watermelon lollipop we smiled. It was good to be a diner in New York. It has been great to catch up with friends this summer. To add more pages in the story of us.
“Old wine and friends improve with age.”
New York Characters
Louis: I have to say, this is my first trip to New York…not for me.
The garbage, the noise, I don’t know how you put up with it.
Carrie: Thanks. I had a great time.
Louis: Wait, you’re going home alone? It’s rough out there.
Carrie: Nah. It isn’t so bad.
Carrie (voiceover): If Louis was right, and you only get one great love, then New York may just be mine…and I can’t have nobody talkin’ shit about my boyfriend.-Sex in the City-
New York City is filled with characters. Creative and interesting people are everywhere! They sit down beside you in the diner, stroll into the subway and start singing or serve you a perfect plate of pasta. From the bouncer on the street corner to the lounge singer that went to India to learn a new way to strum his guitar this city holds a treasure trove of characters, stories and adventures.
In a city that doesn’t seem to sleep we walked, explored and rode the subway and Path until the wee hours of the morning. The sun came up in Hoboken and we just hoped from New York restaurant to perfect pubs. Days spent enjoying the great New York green space and searching for great NYC shopping deals!
It has been said, ” Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard” and I get that. New York is a fantastic city but it has challenges. The subway can be hot, the city air at times seems un-clean but the energy, the people and the culture makes living in New York experience so worth having. It was only six days of New York wonderful and that has left me wanting more!
The Importance Of …
This summer vacation the value of un-plugging, from phones, email, blogs, facebook and all other forums of technology has inspired me. A grand vacation for me holds a balance between adventure, exploring, seeing, doing, touching, tasting and then resting, reading, reflecting, a little, and in general kind of percolating, like coffee. I like to allow time to let ideas, goals, thoughts and feelings bubble up.
I love technology, gizmos and gadgets galore, but regular periods of un-plugging, from all things that ring, beep or buzz, lets me live in the moment. When really living in the moment I am not planning the next moment, reliving past moments, recording this moment or reading about other people’s moments. I am just being and that is beautiful. ( Looking for more ways to just be. Check out Zen Habits)
Please don’t get me wrong I believe there is a time and a place to be connected with technology but there is also a need find time to connect with your own “personal computer.”
A teacher gave her class an assignment to list what they thought were the Seven Wonders of the World. There was some disparity, but among the most commonly listed were: the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Panama Canal, the Empire State Building, St Peter’s Basilica and the Great Wall of China.
One young girl seemed to be struggling with her list and the teacher asked if she needed some help. The student was appreciative of the offer for help because she said, “I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there were so many.”
When asked what she had listed thus far, the girl hesitated because her list was markedly different from the others. With some reticence she read, “I think that the Seven Wonders of the World are to see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to feel, to laugh, to love.”
From the Article, ” The Real Seven Wonders of the World”
By Nadene Grieve Deslippe-“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well yet.”
Joe Ancis
3 Great Travel Words!
There are three travel words that immediately stop me in my tracks. When I hear them I know something interesting is about to happen. Either I am about to have a wonderful adventure or I am about to meet a great person! I feel in todays rush rush world, that seems to demand peak customer service and instant gratification, people often don’t say these three words that speak such truth and help develop customer loyalty. Hearing these words let’s you start a whole new kind of conversation or journey.
When spoken the words, ” I don’t know” demonstrate respect for yourself and for who you are talking to. I love the unknown, the mystery and the journey of learning about new things so hearing, “I don’t know” means we have a challenge to solve.
As I traveller I love to not know what is around the corner. As I traveller I would also rather hear someone say I don’t know, instead of giving me bad directions that send me on a wild goose chase. Building trust between people often starts with those 3 powerful words.
“The true test of character is not how much we know how to do,
but how we behave when we don’t know what to do.”
-John W. Holt Jr.-
Peace, Paint and Play
“We do not quit playing because we grow old,
we grow old because we quit playing.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes-
Yesterday I sat with a paint brush in my hands again. I listened to a creative artist share about how instead of “taking” a single picture she had painted her way across countries. I turned backwards, upside down and sideways as I listen to an inspired women connect the practice of yoga to the way we live and play.
So wonderful to sit and learn. Amazing to see how play can inspire your everyday.
Today the plane tickets and hotel got booked for an amazing city, with plenty of incredible places to play!
Start spreading the news. I’m leaving today ( Well August! )
I want to be a part of it – New York, New York
These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray!
Right through the very heart of it – New York, New York
I wanna wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep.
-Frank Sinatra-
Take A Trip to …
There is the theory that some people travel for therapy. That the modern vacation has become more then just a chance to see new things, eat in an exotic restaurants and shop for local souvenirs. That we have allowed our lives to become filled with so much daily stress and pressure that people look at vacation as a medical escape to return to a normal state of sanity. That vacation has some sort of healing power. Looking for a way to recover from stress at work, a bad break-up or to escape a problem people don’t call a friend, don’t call a doctor but instead call a travel agent.
“Take two trips and call me in the morning!”
-Karen Schaler-
The issue with travel therapy is that the problem you went on vacation to escape will still exist when you return but perhaps you will have gained a new magical vacation perspective. When I booked this trip to Abu Dhabi I might have been looking for a little escape, a little travel therapy, however just knowing that soon I was going be on the plane to a new adventure I started to wonder what did I need to change before I left so I wouldn’t want to travel to heal but instead travel to celebrate a great year!
The idea of theme travel trips appeals to me. From the weekend farewell celebration, to a girls adventure at the cottage travel to celebrate each other travel to celebrate is much more joyful and perhaps just as transformative.
Ordinary Miracles
Sarah McLachlan sings a beautiful song about the power of ordinary miracles. The idea that, “you don’t need to teach a seed to grow and the sky knows when it is time to snow.” As I watched the baby turtles on the beach at Ras Al Jinz this song kept echoing in my heart.
Here are these amazing little creatures, crawling along, to what to them must seem like giant mountains of beach. The level of perseverance and determination that these animals show is inspiring. They know what is important and their natural instincts take them to the water. Unaware or undaunted by the task the baby turtles push forward until they reach their goal. A simple and beautiful ordinary miracle.
The sun comes up and shines so bright
It disappears again at night
It’s just another ordinary miracle today.-Sarah McLachlan-
Traveling with the Turtles!
“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only
when he sticks his neck out.”
-James Bryant Conant-
We woke-up at 3:30 a.m. to drive the dark and winding road from Sur, Oman to Ras Al Jinz, Oman to see green turtles. At 3:30 a.m. I had no idea why I was awake much less up and going to look for turtles but sometimes you just got to have faith that what you don’t want to do will lead to an experience you will never forget.
We arrived at the Ras al-Jinz Scientific & Visitor Center parked the car, paid our 3 Rial and tried to wake-up. The turtle guides quickly explained the guidelines of our turtle visit and we all headed to the beach. The stars twinkled in the sky and within minutes we were standing in the darkness beside a huge green turtle. The turtle was laying eggs and then using her arms to move almost 2 meters of sand over the eggs. We sat quietly in the darkness and watched nature un-fold.
As the sun rose the turtle felt that her eggs were safely buried underground and it was time for her to return to sea. She stuck her neck out, and used her legs and arms to pull herself back to her ocean home.
“Try to be like the turtle -at ease in your own shell.”
-Bill Copeland-
A photogenic country!
From the walk along the the Muscat Corniche or the stop at the top of the giant statue of a frankincense , the country of Oman fills your camera lens with pretty pictures. Be it the Grand Mosque at night, the mountains of Nizwa, the marvelous Wadis or a classic Oman door, each part of this country seems to be more graceful. It is a country waiting to take your breath away with its beauty. Just waiting to pose, waiting to give you another perfect picture.
Magnets with Memories
I bought another fridge magnet today. It is a fridge magnet of a camel and a palm tree. It came from the amazing souq in Muscat. Now I haven’t seen any camels in Muscat yet but the palm tree will help to remind me of all the glorious green I am seeing in Muscat, Oman.
The day before I left to come to Kuwait I took out of one of my five suitcases the three bags I had filled with my collection of fridge magnets from around the world. They weighed a lot but now I wish I had brought them with me. They are great reminders of so many interesting travel stories.
The flying nun magnet I got on a whirl wind afternoon to Rome. Jose, a shipboard waiter, and I had 6 hours off. That seemed like just enough time to take a train and tour Rome. We made wishes in the Trevi Fountain and he desperately wanted to mail a postcard from the Vatican to his grandmother. He kept saying, ” I want her to know I am thinking of her. I want her to know I was here. I want her to know I love her.” After a tour of the Coliseum we hoped on a train and made it back to the ship just in time for work. Jose’s Grandmother passed away a month later. He went home for her funeral and never came back to sea or to Rome. His Grandmother knew he loved her.
I’ve realized that I need to start putting dates, names and places on the backs of my fridge magnets. The tall buildings or Dubai skyline magnet that I bought last week will read, “Dubai 2009, 6 ladies, lots of laughter, friendship and red wine. I turned 33 in this fantastic city.” I do hope all that fits on one fridge magnet. I look forward to trying to remember the dates and stories behind the rest of my fridge magnet collection. I also am excited to add new memories and new magnets.
Today we are leaving Muscat and heading for Nizwa, then Sur and hopefully we find Bahla somewhere in between!
The Dubai Difference
Malls are standard in any big city. Many malls across Canada and America are like huge mega cities filled with stores for miles, food courts for all and even fairs wheels and roller coasters. The Dubai difference is that you will find a mall with its very own indoor ski resort. Ski Dubai, located inside the Mall of the Emirates is
22,500 square metres covered with snow all year round. Ski Dubai has 5 runs that vary in difficulty, height and gradient, the longest run being 400 meters with a fall of over 60 meters.
For those who have never woken up to fresh Canadian powder this snow experience is unforgettable. The students in my class come back from Ski Dubai raving about their snow adventures. When you check in at Ski Dubai you are given all necessary equipment to ski, snowboard or sled (toboggan). Funny to think that a snowsuit is considered necessary rental equipment but that is just another part of the Dubai difference.
In many cities you will find gorgeous condos and rows and rows of luxury hotels but only in Dubai do you find these condos and hotels on a giant man made island, shaped like a perfect palm tree created by drudging up desert sand. Palm Island, Jumeriah defines the what make Dubai so different, so over the top.
Dubai is a Middle Eastern city that not only welcomes the tourist but is prepared for them. We spent the better part of the day viewing the sites on Dubai Big Bus, a hop on hop off tour bus. Being a welcomed tourist in the Middle East is a lovely aspect of the Dubai difference. Why being able to sit back, relax and be spoon feed city facts I didn’t even mind that a large number of bus stops were to super malls.
For me, because I live in Kuwait, a place currently without a real big fantastic book store, the difference I might have loved the best was going to a Borders book store. Now I do believe in all due time many major stores, in shallah a bookstore, will eventually arrive in Kuwait. Why Dean and Dulca and Payless Shoes have come to Kuwait within the last year. However a large scale bookstore isn’t here yet, maybe because of the issues around oh say book and magazine censorship, so the Dubai difference that thrilled me the most wasn’t the big buildings, the feats of incredible architecture and design but just reading and buying books and magazines without the giant black censorship marker! Hanging out in the bookstore was Dubai difference that I enjoyed most, well that and real red wine.
So on the weekend of the 27th of March, two thousand and nine I spent two days learning some of the differences in the city of Dubai. A wonderful fact is that I think I have only seen about 1% of all the difference and wonder the city of Dubai has to offer.
I am looking forward to one day taking another trip to this huge Arabian playground.
No dust on my passport!
I am addicted to traveling. I’ve never asked myself ‘why?’, the urge has just always been there. I know I’m not alone in this. There are thousands out there are just as addicted as I am for various reasons. There are the usual ones … new experiences, meeting new people, becoming bored with routine, etc. But what really makes us yearn for new places, sights, sounds and experiences? Deep down, why does travel always keep us coming back for more?
-Article “Why is Travel So Addictive-
I must say that as I type this I am in the midst of what I can only explain as a crazy week of travel. I wish I could bottle up this feeling and keep it for the days when I feel my passport is collecting dust. We returned from Dubai, United Arab Emirates late Saturday night. My suitcase is barely un-packed and the photos are still being sorted as we make plans to leave this Friday for Muscat, Oman for seven nights and eight days.
This series of trips just sort of ended up happening so close to each other because of timing and dates. A birthday weekend in Dubai was a logical thing to do and when you have ten days off for spring break you need to take full advantage of that.
I am not the type of person to go somewhere just to say I have been there. I travel because I like new experiences. I travel because I like surprises, (like chocolate raspberry coffee care packages) and new adventures. I enjoy different cultures but if I had to pick the one reason I travel it is because the unknown amazes me. Not knowing what is around the corner, over the next hill or in the next building makes life interesting. I love not knowing who is going to walk in the door.
So if it doesn’t matter where I have been then why do I write about the adventures? I find writing has forced me to think about what I learned on the road. Writing lets me share my love of travel with others who love travel. Writing lets me share with those I love, even when they are far away. With so many travel memories, moments, experiences and lessons get lost if they don’t get put somewhere special.
So with an half un-packed suit case and laundry to be done there is only 4 days till Muscat Oman! I am excited.
Your Favorite Thing to do in Kuwait?
Now that I have lived in Kuwait for almost 7 months it is more challenging to find new and exciting things to do in this country. After you have done the standard Kuwait tourist things like going up to the top of the Kuwait towers, ventured to Failaka and Green island, see the Scientific Center and watched the 3-D movies you start to realize you are going to have to put some effort into finding the fun.
Never one to back down from the challenge of finding fun I have started asking people who have been here for several years what is their favorite thing to do in Kuwait. The answers seem to be as varied as the people I have asked.
Tonight my evil twin from Texas and I went for a walk along the Corniche, a lovely ocean front boulevard. Why as the gentle breeze blew off the gulf, the sounding of crashing waves filled the air and I admired the palm trees for a moment I really did feel like I could have been in South Beach, Miami. The men in leopard print speedos had only been replaced with the thankfully more conservative men in dishdashas.
Tonight on the Kuwait Corniche the sky scrapers shone with bright lights, the teenagers ran in and out of the Kuwait Hard Rock Cafe and the ice cream vendors sat on the sea wall waiting to sell to the people walking by. Miles and miles of flat pavement. A perfect walking, biking or roller blading path. Beside the playground equipment men took time out to pray. The families sat on the ground, some barbecuing and some simply enjoying each others company.
It was a lovely night on the Kuwait waterfront! I think I may have found a new favorite thing to do in the country of Kuwait.
Spring Break in Oman!
I’ve spent spring break in Florida, Mexico and now I am happy to say I will be spending seven wonderful days in Oman! After a great internet search we booked cheap plane tickets for spring break. For thirty-seven and a half KD you too can fly round trip from Kuwait to Oman.
Don’t know much about Oman? At this point neither do I, however the beauty of living in a fishbowl of well traveled fish is that you are surrounded by fish or people that have been to or even lived in Oman. After listening to the fantastic travel stories of those swimming around me, hearing the love and joy in their voice as they spoke about Oman, I am looking forward to the adventure to Oman!
I like the journey from facts and images to actually feeling, seeing and tasting what a country is all about. I look forward to seven days of life in Oman!
FAST FACTS ABOUT OMAN
- Official name Sultanate of Oman
- Capital Muscat
- Area 309,500 sq km
- Population 3.1 million
- Country code 968
- Head of State Sultan Qaboos bin Said
- Annual number of tourists 1.2 million
- Stereotype A country that has only relatively recently emerged from isolation
- Surprise An infrastructure that any country would be proud of.
Amazement
This year I will travel to five new countries; Kuwait, Egypt; Bahrain, Dubai and Oman. The power, beauty and the fact that I am privileged enough to have that statement be my reality never fails to amaze me!
National Parties?
This week Kuwait celebrates two national holidays: Independence Day and Liberation Day.
Though Kuwait officially became independent on June 19, 1961, National Day is celebrated in February in honor of Sheikh Abdullah Al Salim Al Sabah (1895-1965) who came to power in February 1950. [And possibly because it's too hot to go outdoors in June.] The Emir guided Kuwait during its transformation to modern statehood and earned the moniker “Father of the Constitution.”
What does Kuwait National Day look like? A four day weekend, lots of flags, trees and houses decorated with giant house size flags. Sparkling lights hanging from lamp posts and everywhere you turn pictures of the Emir. In many respects it is simply a country celebrating its national holiday. Cars covered in flags, I love Kuwait hats and T-Shirts on sale everywhere and lots of barbeques and parties. However somehow, somewhere along the way Kuwait National Day became more then a celebration of culture and traditional food and dress. A part of Kuwait National Day is now about foam. Yes cans and cans of foam and sticky string in the hands of hoards and hoards of teenagers, kids and even some full grown adults. Just like Halloween candy is sold in Canada, the stores here stock their shelves and make giant mountains of foam cans. All to sell or arm the people of Kuwait for National Day.
In the early evening and late into the night people line the streets, drive around in their cars all with the goal of spraying people with foam.
This photo from breitbart.com shows just one moment of foam in action on Kuwait National Day.
As with any giant national party there are a group of people who take things to far. You here stories and see bald men who got sprayed with cans of Nair, hair remover, instead of foam. You hear about people who mixed white paint with foam and destroyed cars and you have to wonder why do a few people have to ruin a good time?
Kuwait isn’t the only country that has a wild national event that sometimes becomes the cause for debate. Spain has the running of the bulls which each year has animal rights activists up in arms about the treatment of animals. Since 1924 15 people have died during this event, with hundreds more injured. The last death at the running of the bulls was in 1995 when Matthew Tassio, aged 22, died while trying to run with the bulls at the Pamplona Running of the Bulls at the San Fermin Festival. Yet like the foam that continues to fly the bulls continue to run and the people continue to run from them.
This is my first Kuwait National Day. I have stuck close to the comforts of home. The limited foaming I have seen does seem to have some level of mutual agreement by the foamers. Like the bull riders who get into the race, the foamers seems to know what they have signed up for. Each foamer holds up their can of foam and from there the battle commences. However with the fringe extereme element of foamers this is not the case. The randomly attack anyone and this is what sparks the debate about if foam should even be sold.
The other challenge is similar to the issues faced in Thailand during Songkran – The Thai New Year and Water-throwing festival. The sheer amount of foam that is sprayed makes the roads slick. The Kuwait emergency services prepare for this event.
Besides the police points spread all over the Gulf Road, there are 12 emergency points and five emergency clinics, 18 ambulances, and dealing with four hospitals. The main point is located in Salmiya besides the Sultan Centre.
Some cases are only light injuries, and others require transfer to the hospital. “The most common cases are the run over cases by cars especially of kids running in the road. Then come the allergy and infection cases of eyes caused by foam sprayed by children during the celebrations. We also received some cases of asthma, and injuries caused by fighting,” said Abdulredha Abass, the assistant director of the Emergency Medical Service at the Ministry of Health.
In Thailand traffic deaths hit a yearly high due to a combination of motorcycles, alcohol and roads slick from talcum powder and water. I can’t even begin to imagine staying in Thailand and reading the headline’s provided by state news that says, “ The Road Accident Prevention and Reduction Center reveals that the recorded number of road accidents during the first two days of the seven-day road accident close watch period for the Songkran Festival reached 1,220, with the death toll reported at 104. The number of injuries has already reached 1,411.” Yet millions of people visit family and celebrate the tradition of throwing water at each other to wash away bad spirits and wish for plentiful rain for the coming rice growing season. Something about a national party seems to make the threat of physical harm inconsequential.
Kuwait, Thailand and Spain are not alone in the national party that has an edge. New Orleans has Mardi Gras and Rio has Carnival.The question if you live in one of these countries or cities is not really if festivities will occur but will you join in? Someone also asked me the other day how come the Canadians don’t have a holiday with such a wild and crazy twist? For that I have no answer but perhaps it is only a matter of time before one is invented.
Wonderful Words!
I live in a community and have life friends and family who are very culturally diverse people. Individuals who have interesting life experiences and an astounding amount if general and specific knowledge on a variety of topics. I swear one day someone I know will be a star on Jeopardy for sure. Sometimes after a night at the embassy or an evening of engaging conversation I find my head delightfully swimming with new concepts, new ideas to research and new stories to write. I hear or read words that expand my vocabulary and can’t help but think how blessed I am to exchange ideas with such colorful spirits.
Sure in a small community gossip and yuck can spread around to dirty the water in the fish bowl you live in but fortunately enough there are people around who talk of books, ideas and funny stories and keep the water clean so everyone can keep on swimming. With this in mind as I work to keep track and remember my days or perhaps years in the middle east I am starting a new blog category about wonderful words.
As you travel you meet people who have an entirely different schema. Sometimes their frames of reference and prior knowledge is based around topics you know nothing or little about. So as they explain their area of expertise they use diverse language to articulate their ideas. It is from the articulation of these thoughts that wonderful words can often be found. I hope this new category will act as a net to help me, if only for a moment, capture and remember some of these words and conversations.
Stay tuned for the words I find.
The Ordinary and the Extraordinary!
As the weeks get busier I have quickly come to find that to keep laughing in the land of sand and camels it is important to make the ordinary extraordinary and the extraordinary seem ordinary. By this I mean that the weekend trip to the mall becomes a very civilized and delightful shopping adventure with the lovely ladies. That every once and a while an ordinary day at work is spiced up with birthday celebrations and beautiful pancakes. That flowers in your kitchen and candles in the hallway are just as important as milk for your coffee. That the walk on the sea wall always holds breath taking beauty. That the random funny text messages, emails and listening to someone share the wonders of their day is really what is important. When you start to overlook the healing power of a cup of tea or how marvelous it is that you work with people who make you laugh every day you are in trouble. The way you appreciate and celebrate the ordinary, the daily wonder brings you a sense of inner peace.
To keep that sense of inner peace sometimes the extraordinary, like wind and sand storms, bomb threats at other schools or mad Kuwait drivers need to seem ordinary. That things you never imagined would be part of your life are just the things that happen on Wednesday. That when the place you live kind of looks like pictures you have seen from Mars the best this to do is take funny photos. Living with the extraordinary can be tiring. It is much easier to think that seeing a camel is just part of your daily life rather then getting excited about every darn camel that crosses your path.
Kuwait City, KUWAIT
Christine Oastler is a freelance travel writer, teacher and artist, currently living in Mahboula, Kuwait. Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Christine obtained her Bachelor of Arts at Trent University and her Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. Currently traveling around the Middle East she finds herself riding the odd camel and embracing a new culture!