New Warden Message Kuwait
Kuwait City, Kuwait
March 31, 2011
To: All American Wardens
From: Consular Section
Subject: Warden Notice 2011 – 8
Please circulate the following message without additions or omissions
immediately to all U.S. citizens within your area of responsibility.
According to the Kuwait Ministry of the Interior, demonstrations may take place
Friday, April 1 outside the U.S. Embassy. The U.S. Embassy is located in the
Bayan Section of Kuwait City. Traffic patterns in the area may be affected. In
light of this, the embassy recommends that this area be avoided.
Spontaneous and/or planned demonstrations take place in Kuwait from time to time
in response to world events or local developments. At times, even
demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly
escalate into violence. Avoid the areas of demonstrations, if possible, and
exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.
For the latest security information, U.S. citizens living and traveling abroad
should regularly monitor the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs
Internet website, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel
Alerts, as well as the Country Specific Information for Kuwait can be found.
Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling
1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside
the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These
numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through
Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
If you are a U.S. citizen in need of emergency assistance in Kuwait, you may
reach the U.S. Embassy by calling +965-2259-1001 and requesting the duty
officer.
U.S. citizens living or traveling in Kuwait are encouraged to enroll in the
Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so that they can obtain
updated information on travel and security. U.S. citizens without Internet
access may enroll directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By
enrolling, U.S. citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact
them in case of emergency. For additional information, please refer to “A Safe
Trip Abroad”.
This message may be accessed on the Embassy website, http://kuwait.usembassy.gov
Please note that the Consular Section is closed for U.S. and most local
holidays. The current holiday schedule for 2011 is posted on
http://kuwait.usembassy.gov/holidays.html.
Spring Break in Pensacola
Breaker’s car? This car has eyelashes attached above the headlights!
Like Cats
I was talking with a friend who had started in a new church about a year ago, around the same time we started at our church. I was telling her about the Service to Others Committee, and how I like everyone working on it, we were all kind of nerds, my favorite kind of people.
She looked a little down, and told me it seemed to be taking some time for her to find her niche in the church, and so I had to share with her my cat theory.
When you bring a new cat into a house where you already have a cat, you have to keep them separated for a while. You put the new cat in a separate room, with separate feeding dishes and litter box. Even so, the original cat is going to be a little wary. He can smell the new cat, it is something new and something strange, and it makes him uneasy.
People, it seems to me, are a little the same way, especially people who are settled. When a new person comes in, it just won’t do to try to be accepted. You just have to come in quietly, don’t intrude, let people get used to you. Little by little, people reach out to you. It can be discouragingly slow. If you have patience, it pays off.
Sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, you meet someone with a widely accepting outlook, and this time, I was lucky, I met a friend at the church who is just so full of life she bubbles with it. She makes things happen. She doesn’t have time for gossip or negative thoughts, and if you are willing to help, that’s good enough for her. She is organized and she is busy, and I feel really lucky to be her friend.
Slowly, people are starting to realize we are not visitors at the church, but here to stay, and are reaching out to greet us. It’s a good feeling.
Tomorrow, we have our first of two sets of house guests arriving. When our first guest leaves, I have 18 hours to get the room and bathroom cleaned, clean sheets on the bed, etc. They are all really good friends, very old friends, and all coming to escape the chill of a seemingly endless winter and enjoy a little sunshine. If you don’t hear much from me, it’s because I’m out playing. 🙂
Failure in Kuwait
This morning, as I was getting out sheets for the guest room, I had a happy surprise – one last 10-pack of personal tissue packets, with an Oud scent.
The first time I bought them, it was an accident. Our son and his wife were visiting, she had a cold, so I ran in to the store, grabbed a packet, (paid) and ran back out to the car. Later in the day, I wondered what perfume she was wearing, I could catch a whiff now and then. I asked her, and she said she didn’t have any perfume on, and she couldn’t smell anything.
We finally figured out it was the tissue. It smells like Oud.
From then on, I bought the Oud tissues. When it came time to leave ‘for good,’ I stocked up. A year later, I thought I had used them all, and I searched every store in Kuwait while I was there to stock up on some more, but – alas! – no one had them in stock.
So it was a truly happy surprise this morning when in the very back of my linen closet, I found this one last remaining 10-pack. I will try to stay as healthy as I can, so I don’t have to use them all up before I can figure out where I can find them around here. The package says they come from Dubai and (wooo HOOOO!) there is a website!
News from Better Books and Cafe in Kuwait
I found this in my e-mail this morning, and I am happy to share it with you – another book store in Kuwait, and this one sounds like it has wonderful books.
I am only curious about one thing . . . they sent it to me by my real name. At my real-name e-mail address. . . How do they know me (she ponders . . .)?
News from Better Books and Cafe – Kuwait’s only used bookstore and cafe (don’t miss the contest!):
Collectible and Rare Books for Sale: 10 KD – 300 KD to include The Arab of the Desert by H.R. Dickson and 40 Years in Kuwait by Violet Dickson. Also, a book signed by President John F. Kennedy.
Return Policy: Return a book bought from us and get 1/2 purchase price back in store credit for your next purchase. Read, return and save.
Book Buying Policy: We give store credit for most books. Bring them in for evaluation.
Hours/Phone/Location: 10am-8 pm daily. Cell 66637351. Behind Al Rashid Hospital.
Directions:
Take 4th Ring Road to Salmiya
Past Highway 30
Past Fire Station on Right
At light – Amman Street – take right
through next light
See Al Rashid Hospital on Left
At Roundabout take a U-turn
Now see attached map
Look for RED/ORANGE door (photo attached)
TOASTMASTERS MEETINGS –
Desert Pioneers Club 2nd and 4th Tuesday 7.15 – 9.05 pm
Timbre Talkers 1st and 3rd Tuesday 7.15 – 9.05 pm
Capitol Speakers 1st and 3rd Saturday 6.30 – 8.30 pm
Bright Horizons 2nd and 4th Friday 9.30 – 11 am.
GAVEL CLUB MEETINGS Every Friday Night 5.30 – 7.30 pm.
In April, there will be Healing, Meditation, and Reiki classes at Better Books. Email jsshetty99@yahoo.com or call 99315825 for more details.
Better Books is now on FACEBOOK! Click THIS and ‘like’ us for regular updates – new arrivals, events etc.
Better Books sells 1 KD books on http://www.souq.com FREE DELIVERY
Contest from Better Books and Cafe:
Answer the following questions correctly and be among the first five correct email replies to receive 1 KD off your next purchase.
1. Who wrote 40 Years in Kuwait?
a. H.R. Dickson
b. Violet Dickson
2. What organization do ‘The Capitol Speakers, Desert Pioneers, Bright Horizons and Timbre Talkers’ belong?
a. Toastmasters
b. Gavel Club
3. What well known British saying adorns a red poster at Better Books?
a. Keep Calm and Carry On
b. When going through hell, keep going
Just return this email with answers to 1, 2, and 3.
Feel free to forward this email to your friends.
Here is what the entrance looks like:
If I were in Kuwait, I would be on their waiting list for copies of The History of Architecture in Old Kuwait City by Saleh Abdulghani Al-Mutawa, one of the most interesting books I read in Kuwait about how houses used to be built, why, and why modern architects need to pay attention to the lessons of the past.
Kuwait National Seismic Network
I don’t know why I am suddenly getting a lot of hits on an old post I wrote when we had an earthquake in Kuwait, and discovered that Kuwait was vulnerable. Somehow, we thought Kuwait was a low risk earthquake area. I thought about it a lot, on the 10th floor of my tower in Fintas, as I watched how other tall buildings were being constructed. 😦
If you need information on earthquakes and / or tsunamis in Kuwait, here is the best place to start: click the blue type
UWF Festival on the Green
Thank you, EnviroGirl! I would go to this festival just because the poster for it is so gorgeous!
Celebrate spring with a visit to the University of West Florida campus during the 11th Annual Festival on the Green on Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2. Come be a part of Pensacola’s rich history and diverse culture by experiencing a fine arts show, hand-made crafts, music, live performances, a book sale, food and Saturday’s children’s craft festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year’s festival will include a Run with the Dogs 5K and 1 mile fun run and the grand opening of UWF’s Olympic-size swimming pool. Festival on the Green is a FREE and FUN way to spend the weekend. For more information, view the Festival Schedule.
There is a wonderful schedule, which you can read for yourself by clicking here. It includes food, arts, crafts, a book sale, a senior fest and more!