Tea, treatments and total relaxation

Well for those of you who read the previous post you know that I went to my first BLS tea on Monday. I was a little nervous about going to someone's home that I had never met and being in a group of british women that had already forged friendship being the new person. But it was all for no reason. Every Monday the British Ladies Society meets for what they call coffee mornings. Really it's just a time to get together and catch up with other ex-pats living out here. I had a wonderful time once I got over the akwardness of not knowing anyone. The group is a little small right now with most of the people away on vacation for the summer but I would say we still had 30+ ladies there. I met a lot of great women from all over the world not just the UK. There were several Americans, even one from Austin. I also met some ladies from Australia, New Zealand and Holland. It was great to talk to different women and find out how long they have been here and the different knowledge of the area that they all have. There are stitching groups, and library groups and just all sorts of activities that branch off of the BLS. I think you could be busy everyday of the week if you wanted to be with activities. There is also an American Women's Association but they are on break for the summer. I am hoping to go to a couple of their meetings and see what that is all about too. What a lifesaver these groups will be for me!



Now, I feel compelled to share some of my spa experiences with you because they have been pretty wonderful all-in-all. The first day we arrived I went to the spa to have my roots done. But they immediately looked at me and asked when I was going to have some waxing also! They were most fascinated with the hair on my forearms even though it is blonde! The women here have all their body hair removed. I have had my legs and eyebrows waxed before but never my arms. So I went back a few days later and had my arms waxed and then eventually my legs. It is a totally different experience here because they do arabic waxing and it is pretty much pain free. In the states the waxing I have had done previously involved warm wax being rolled on and then the strips of material and ripping out the hair. Here they use a very soft wax and apply it by hand in lines and then they gently lift and the hair is removed before you know it. After they wax you they apply parrafin to the area and the result is the smoothest skin you have ever felt. Now as far as the eyebrows are concerned. They believe that wax is way to harsh for the face and instead do threading. It's an ancient art that I think originated either in India or the middle east. I actually had it done once in Austin before we left absolutely loved it. It goes very fast and my eyebrows looked the best they ever have and afterwards you are not even the least bit pink. So I was totally onboard with the threading for my eyebrows here.



I have had one massage since I have been here and it was amazing as well. It was a two hour massage, which I have had as well in other places, but not to this extent. Of course here you will only have a woman massage and woman and a man massage a man for discretion which is totally okay with me but Andrew says he will pass! Anyway, she did a great massage with essential oils but before she worked the area she applied warm damp towels or hot water bottles to the muscles. That was interesting but also good because it helped the muscle relax before she started working on it. Just about the time I thought the massage was over she put this gel on my legs and arms and wrapped them individually in warm towels for about 15 minutes. The gel must have had some peppermint or some similar oils in it because it wasn't long before I could start to feel the skin tingling and then it was the coolest sensation of blood flowing in those areas. She said it was to improve circulation and I believe it did. She ended it with a fantastic indian scalp massage and I was just a big lump of jello after that. I know I won't be going every week for these massages but I sure am glad that I did this once.



Now for an update on the housing situation. We had signed the pre-contract with our sponsor for the apartment. But when it came down to signing the final contract the landlord had changed his mind and decided he wanted more money to have a seaview apartment. He proposed putting us in an end unit which would have us looking over a sand lot and other buildings. Even though the inside is amazing we decided we really didn't want that as our view for the next year. So we asked our sponsors to start looking for some smaller villas with swimming pools in a good area. The downside to this is we will be stuck in a hotel for at least another month or more. I supposed the upside is we are accumulating points. But we both believe that good housing is the key to being happy here. We are hoping to find a home in the area that most of the ex-pats live in because it will make it easier for me to get to the meetings and get togethers with the other ladies. We will have to be patient and see what they find.

Another Fun Day in the Sand.

Well it's hard to believe it but we are starting our third week here in Kuwait. Even though we spend most of the day in the hotel we have progressively been exploring the different areas around us. We went to the open market last week and that was quite an experience! There are vendors for everything you can imagine. It happens every weekend and literally you can buy anything from fresh produce to furniture. I can't wait until we are actually in our home so that I can buy instead of just looking. There are all kinds of booths for persian rugs at amazingly low prices. We didn't actually buy anything this time but I got lots of ideas for our new home.

Our sponsor thought we should look at some other villas before we signed our lease to be sure we were happy. So we went to see what they had in mind. The first villa was crazy big and not even a consideration. It had 12 bedrooms plus separate quarters out back with two apartments for the maid and driver. We told them we weren't interested of course. The next day they took us to see a villa that belongs to an ambassador here. It is in a very nice area and a quiet neighborhood. This one had only seven bedrooms and was much newer. It was really nice with an outdoor pool. But it is still way too big for our purposes. We decided we would just get lost in a house that big so we are back to the apartment. But we did find out that we will be the first tenants in the building so we will have the whole place to ourselves. I think we will be much happier and if after the first year we decide we need more room we can look at villas again then.

In the meantime, we have discovered that the sponsor company is not one that meets the right requirements so he has to start the process over again. Not really that big of a deal but it does mean that he will have to do his medical again and he is not looking forward to having more blood taken. The biggest downside to it all is that it will be at least five more weeks before he gets his work permit and then he can apply for his base pass. If it all goes well he should be going to work around the end of October. So we may have to work in some vacation time between now and then. We are going back and forth on either France/Italy or Thailand. We have around 10 days to use before the end of the year so we have a few options.

We haven't really been doing too much other than stitching and hanging out in the spa. I am going to my first coffee morning with the British Ladies Society on Monday. Hopefully I will make some nice contacts and get lots of tips on living here. It's very quiet here right now because most of the residents are on vacation. They should start coming back at the beginning of September and then it will turn into a much busier place with people and lots of cars on the road.

Put Your Mind at Ease

Hi there family and friends



I thought I would take a few moments to hopefully put some minds at ease. I have spent in total 6 years in the Middle East during my career, with 3 recent trips here in Kuwait. Over this time I have gained not just experience in the region, but an actual sense of what's safe and what requires that 'extra' bit of attention.



When the opportunity first presented its self to us to move to Kuwait , I was not concerned at all as I knew how safe Kuwait can be. What concerned me most was how Danielle would react to the cultural shock wave that was about to wash over her like a tsunami!



As those of you who have kept up with our travels over the years will know, I have subjected Danielle to one cultural shock after another each of which she has taken totally in her stride. I am happy to report that so far she has really taken to Kuwait. I have come to recognize the signs when new sights, history and cultures grab her attention and this is one of those places (there is even talk of language school!)



The one thing that always helps Danielle is regular contact with her family and friends. I have no real way of expressing how much this means to her. I can always tell when I get home when a 'message from home' has made its way through, she has a smile ear to ear!! So, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone for your input.



I hope this little addition to her page will help those of you who are concerned regarding our location. I have often been accused of being over protective of Danielle, I make no apologies for that and hope it helps put some minds at rest.

Week One in the Desert

Well it's hard to believe but we have already been here in Kuwait one week today. It has gone faster and also slower than expected. Strange I know, but in some regards time drags on because we are living in a hotel and trying to fill our long days. And of course in other ways it goes quickly because we are taking care of details such as registering with our individual embassies, etc. Nothing goes quickly here with regards to business.

So we arrived on Monday and made it easily enough through the airport. A bit of a blur for me really as it was shuffle from one spot to another to complete the visa process and collect your bags. But I have to say from the very moment you step off the plane you realize you are in a totally different world not just because of the way people are dressed and the heat but because you are immediately surrounded with people that want to do everything for you. They bring in people from all over the world to do the jobs that they prefer not to do themselves. Most of the workers come from India, Egypt and the Phillipines. Even simple tasks like getting your luggage off the conveyor belt is done by someone else. We never touched anything from leaving the plane until we were put into the Hilton's Mercedes by our driver.

We are staying in a seaside chalet which I know sounds very nice but I have to admit after living in hotels for the last six weeks it really just feels like a big room with a nice view! They delivered all sorts of nice things to us on our first day like flowers, fruit, chocolates and oh, yes, a gold fish. We named him Gil and thought what a cool thing. Unfortunately, when we woke up the next morning Gil was on the bottom of the bowl and apparently fish don't sleep?! A bit sad for me because I was actually looking forward to having a pet for a little while.

We arrived very early Monday morning so when we got to the hotel and rested a little I decided I would venture to the hair salon in the hotel to have my roots done. It was rather nice as I also got a manicure and pedicure at the same time, literally. I had all three of them working on me so it was a little overwhelming not knowing which way to look. It took them two goes at my roots to get them to blonde but they think now they know how to do it for next time! So, when it came time to pay I thought that I would be able to charge it to my room but the salon was not actually included in the hotel. They called Andrew and asked him to bring cash down to clear my account. Unfortunately, Andrew didn't realize that the salon is one place that the women here who wear a burqa can relax and take it off. So when he walked through the door they all started getting upset because a man was seeing them uncovered. I'm sure if we could have understood arabic it would have been a very animated conversation. We considered it a very eventful first day.

The rest of the week has been filled with registering at the embassies, getting our vehicle and just little things day-to-day. We are both trying to get to the thalasso pool everyday for exercise and relaxation. It feels really weird to me not to have a stitching project to be working on but all of my supplies are in the shipment we sent from Texas. It is here and cleared but too big to have delivered to the hotel. But a bit of a switch for us, I now get to sit and watch Andrew stitch his needle point. We went to the shop in Burford, England and bought him a needle point pattern that is a beautiful hound and fox hunting scene. I think it will take him a while as it is 2 foot by 4 foot. We are hoping to be able to start the hunt for a place to live in the next week or two. As I said, nothing happens fast here.

Our week starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday so we have already went through our first weekend. Not really too much different from a week day. It is the summer vacation time here for the kids so most of the people have left the country to go on their holidays. Everyone keeps saying how quiet it is here and how empty the roads are right now. I think I am lucky to come at this time as it might have been very overwhelming to arrive when things are much busier. The roads for the most part I think just like our highways in architecture. The difference is that everyone drives how they want to instead of what we would be used to. It appears that rules are more of a suggestion than a strict rule!

Oh yeah, if you're curious to know about the heat. It has reached 140 but it really doesn't feel any hotter than Texas to me as the humidity is only about 5-10%. I told Andrew it really reminds me of Arizona. A lot of sand and palm trees and of course sun.

Look What I Did!

Can't believe it but I finally finished my fairies for Cathy's birthday. I started them at the end of February finished them the morning that we were to meet her! It was a little scary washing and ironing the pattern after I had spent so much time on it and not knowing how it would turn out. Andrew kept saying, "Don't do it! It's going to make the colors run." But Decah had given instructions on exactly what to do and it worked! Andrew did the hard part of trimming and framing it which I was very thankful for as I can't cut a straight line to save my life.

To say the least Cathy was very surprised and equally happy when she opened her present. I am sure that it already has a place of honor in her home. And now she can look forward and see her fairies from me and when she looks in a mirror she can her fairies on her back. For those of you who didn't know, the reason I picked this pattern for her is because she has the exact same pattern in a tattoo on her back!