Early Dawn + Cold Spell
I happened to be up this morning pre-dawn:
So calm, so serene, and I just love that someone is out there fishing on the glassy waters. But it was WAAAYYY early, I went back to bed. . . no sunrise for me this morning.
WeatherUnderground shows a cold spell today:
But as you can see, it will head right back up there as the week progresses.
I am packing for another trip – one where we will be on a beach, but instructions on Virtual Traveller say “even the hottest summer day has cool nights, so bring a light jacket, long pants and shoes and socks.” I can’t wait!
Wrong, So Wrong
I was wrong, so wrong, and I admit it. I had scanned the news online. When I finally got my hands on a hard copy paper, I discover there IS news, news you don’t find online, and so much of it. Because I can’t copy it online, you will have to bear with my hand-typed-in renditions of the page 2 “In the News” section from the Kuwait Times.
1. Rehab Centers
Kuwait: Dr Haya al Metairi called for establishing a specialized health center to treat and rehabilitate homosexurals. She urged the authorities to impart moral guidance and offer psychological counseling to affected people (sic) instead of incriminating the phenomenon of homosexuality. She said she has already submitted a demand of establishing the center to the parliamentary committee for curbing negative invluences. She also called for the implementation of a draft law to evaluate the degree that the patient is psychologically affected. (sic)
Once diagnosed, appropriate psychological treatments should then be administered accordingly after referring those ailing from sexual deviation to the relevant health centers. She also called for subjecting them to periodic checkups as well as conducting awareness campaigns to expedite their rehabilitation.
Al Metairi urged the Ministry of Health to subject local pharmacies to strict surveillance, reported Al Watan. She said most pharmacies sell banned female hormone inducting drugs over the counter that could fatally endanger the lives of consumers. She said such pills activate female hormones, leading to weakening the male sexual organs. Prolonged use of such drugs transforms a man’s physical appearance to resemble that of a woman and also negatively reduced the power of their sexual organs.
2. Diplomatic Appointments
Kuwait: Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khalid Al-Jarallah denied the involvement of wasta in admission tests held for inducting diplomats. He refuted reports that the ministry resorts to wasta, saying “The ministry never subjects itself to pressure from anyone, nor does it accept wasta in any form.”
He said appointing diplomats is a very sensitive issue as this select group represents the country abroad. Speaking on qualifications required to qualify for the posts, he said the maximum age required to qualify for the examinations is 24. No applicant under 24 has ever qualified for the written tests, he added. All candidates then have to mandatorily undergo a series of other appraisals and examinations before being finally accepted as diplomats, reported Al-Wasat. Written exams, which are graded by an expert panel of officials from the ministry are then followed by personal interviews and stringent brain storming sessions while grading the applicants on their personal capabilities.
3. No Blackouts
Kuwait: Fears of impeding electricity outages this summer dominated the Cabinet’s recent weekly meeting, officials said. The Ministry of Electricity and Water Mohammed Al-Olaim briefed the Cabinet with a detailed report on the current situation as well as details of the expected consumption as compared with the actual production.
He assured the Cabinet that he does not expect any electricity outage; scheduled or otherwise. He said the overall situation was under control with production exceeding the state’s consumption. “We are safely within the parameters of the green consumption line.” he added. He however slammed some local dailies of sparking unconfirmed reports of a power crisis, reported Al-Wasat. He said the reason electricity in some areas, was disrupted recently was due to technical snags leading to an overload, resulting from an excessive increase in day temperatures.
He said residents do not have to worry as technicians are on standby around the clock to deal with any contingency that might arise at any given time or place.
4. Donkey Ordered Out
Kuwait: The Minister of State for Municipa Affairs Dr. Fadel Safar saw a donkey grazing on a green patch while travelling through the capital recently. He called municipal officials and snstructed them to clear the mule off, reported Al-Watan. The officials in turn called capital police who arrived and took the animal to the Capital Security Directorate.
Laugh? Or cry?
Small Weirdness
Sometimes little things happen any they are just weird enough to get your attention. A day or two ago, when I turned on my computer and logged on, it kept telling me that wasn’t the correct password. It WAS the correct password. After about ten tries (I am nothing if not persistent) I shut the computer down, went and got another cup of coffee, came back, started it up again and it all went fine. Good, right? I should just move on. Something about it keeps niggling at my mind; that shouldn’t happen.
After coming back from vacation, I was greeting the local harriss (guard/fix-it guy/ car wash guy) and then, as he watched, I slowly continued backing out, then forward – straight into a rubber wrapped pole.
I was going slowly. I have done this turn a couple thousand times before. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention, but it was really really embarrassing. Later, I checked my bumper, which has a dimple in it. It was so hot, it just sort of melted in, nothing broke. It’s just plastic, these bumpers today. I was hoping I could pop it back out, but it’s not exactly poppable, and it looks like maybe it was meant to be there, except there isn’t one on the other side. Why did I hit the pole? I’ve never hit that pole before.
I know, I know, I can hear you sighing in exasperation and saying “MOVE ON!” but these little things get snagged in my mind sometimes and bother me.
Women Are Women: Abayas and Hijab
One of the questions I get most often when I am back in the US is whether I have to cover, whether I have to wear an abaya, whether I have to cover my hair.
I tell them that in Kuwait, it is still a choice. Many Kuwaiti women do not cover their hair, but most dress modestly and are still traditional and conservative in behavior.
I tell them that in Saudi Arabia, I had to wear the abaya, but that the embassy instructions were to carry a scarf, but only to wear it if the muttawa / religious police made a fuss, as it was not the law of the country. The law stated that Moslem women would be covered, but not non-Muslim women. The Saudi women would tell me all the time that I didn’t have to cover, but when I mentioned the Muttawa – they all just sighed and nodded, and said that some people have a funny idea about religion, but that this was not the real Islam.
What I loved about women in Saudi Arabia is that they have a lot in common with women everywhere. When confined, they have ways to press the envelope. For example, the malls are full of stores with the sexiest shoes I have ever seen – and when feet are one of the few things that CAN be seen, guess where the money gets spent? There were also entire floors devoted to perfumes, and women would pass and you could nearly swoon from the delicious scents, an entire cloud of scents as they passed, cloaked in anonymity. There were glove shops, with the sexiest, laciest gloves you have ever seen. At the time, most of the abayas and scarves in Saudi Arabia were plain black, although occasionally you might see one with a discreet little trim, or a tiny little sparkle.
The kids told me they could tell their family members; they learned to identify posture and voices. They didn’t have any problems picking out their Moms and sisters.
Women would approach me in stores, standing next to me, pretending to examine some goods and whisper “Hi! Where are you from?” and “Do you like it here?” Many times, on planes, husbands would make their wives change places so as not to be contaminated by sitting by the likes of me, a wicked western woman with her hair showing, but the women would smile shyly when the husband was looking the other way. Women are women. We have our ways. We manage to get around restrictions.
On the other hand, I want to share with my Western readers the trend in abayas and scarves in the last few years. They are GORGEOUS, and there are times I am tempted to buy just because they are gorgeous.
On a deserted morning, I found these shop windows to share with you:
These are going-out-calling dresses, worn under abayas
These would probably be worn to an evening event like a wedding
Even the younger girls have special evening clothes
Not your old fashioned abayas
Love these details
Scarves to wear with abaya
Things We Love About Robin’s House
We had reservationsin Nkwali, the jumping off place for most of the Robin Pope Safaris, but we had to change the reservations by a couple weeks, and that meant a total reversal of the reservation. We started off in Tena Tena, then we went to Nsefu, then we ended up in Nkwali. We have always loved Nkwali, loved the cabins there, but this time we were happier than happy – they put us in Robin’s House.
Robin’s House is where Robin and Jo Pope lived before they built a gorgeous house on the other side of the camp.
It is perfect for two couples, or two couples and children. It is perfect in so many ways that I had to make a list of all the things I loved about being there.
* Space – spacious bedrooms, spacious, private bathrooms on each side of the house with a spacious common living/sitting/dining room in the center.
* Indoor/ outdoor living – the windows have screens on them to keep out critters, but indoors or outdoors, it all feels a part of a whole.
* Wrap around windows – a view anywhere you look
* Huge walk in shower, with animal prints molded into the painted cement floor. Love the whimsy.
* High, airy ceilings, with ceiling fans
* natural materials, canvas colored curtains, a neutral palette with beam accents
* great big soft fluffy bath towels
* all our favorite drinks stocked in the refrigerator, and a liquor bar, which we barely touched, that had Amarula, which I love.
* electricity! We could recharge our own camera batteries without going to the camp itself
* being taken care of by a hostess, a cook, a dedicated guide and Thomas and Amos, who took care of us without over-taking-care of us – they gave us plenty of privacy when we needed it, and were there when we needed them.
* variety of seating for people of different heights
* Tribal Textiles accents – pillows, covers, etc – in rooms
* a book case! With books! and games!
* multiple views of hippos, and hippo sounds at night
* grand, comfy beds with good sheets, good pillows and good mattresses
* kikoys provided for our use
* shaded porch with a variety of seating options
* a hammock with a view
* insect repellant – with a good smell and nice texture, and it really seemed to work
* ditto shower gel and shampoo and conditioner provided
* a drying rack for swimming towels, washed clothes, etc.
Our last day there, LawAndOrder Man and EnviroGirl had to leave for their 32 hour return to the USA, flying Mfuwe – Lusaka – Johannisburg – Dakar – Atlanta – Pensacola – imagine. And they had to work the next day. It was such a sad parting, and we were all glad to have had the last days together in this beautiful, very private location.
Photos:
This is the wing of the house where AdventureMan and I stayed
This was our room (sigh!)
And this is the shower we loved
This was the living room/sitting room where we would gather
This was the second bedroom – there were additional beds for kids
This is the pool. Other guests from the camp could use it, but no one did while we were there. It was separate from the house but very close.
These spaces for outdoor sitting were outside the other wing, where our son and his bride slept
They served our meals privately, too. What wonderful luxury privacy is
You know, the little Alaska girl is still alive and well inside me, and I am always fascinated with fishing techniques. This was right across the river from Robin’s House, and they caught quite a few fish.
Robin and Jo Pope have expertise, and also VISION. Problems, to them, are opportunities. Need to get tourists to the camps? Invest in an airline. Need to get them to the national park across a river? Build your own pontoon bridge – it gives Zambia additional park revenue, provides additional employment, and gives tourists a thrilling experience. When they solve a problem, everyone wins.
We crossed several times on this boat, and once, in pitch dark, got caught on a tree snagging us from under the water. It took about 15 minutes to maneuver us off, and to get across, but it is not like this ferry is on a schedule. It goes back and forth when vehicles are going into or coming out of the park.
How the boat is pulled across the river
We had some fabulous game drives; I will only bore you with this one. The hippo ponds are covered with nile cabbage, and I just loved this hippo with his nile cabbage blanket
The Sunshine Vitamin
This is from The Washington Post and you can read the entire article by clicking on the blue type.
Vitamin D deficiency is, ironically, a serious issue for Middle Eastern women who stay out of the sun and who cover – wear abaya, hijab and niqab. The body makes Vitamin D from sunshine – which we have here in the Gulf in great abundance. Even exposing your skin for ten minutes a day in a secluded sunny spot will help your body create the Vitamin D it needs to build your bones and your system.
Some Seek Guidelines to Reflect Vitamin D’s Benefits
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 4, 2008; Page A01
A flurry of recent research indicating that Vitamin D may have a dizzying array of health benefits has reignited an intense debate over whether federal guidelines for the “sunshine vitamin” are outdated, leaving millions unnecessarily vulnerable to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other ailments.
The studies have produced evidence that low levels of Vitamin D make men more likely to have heart attacks, breast and colon cancer victims less likely to survive, kidney disease victims more likely to die, and children more likely to develop diabetes. Two other studies suggested that higher Vitamin D levels reduce the risk of dying prematurely from any cause.
In response to these and earlier findings, several medical societies are considering new recommendations for a minimum daily Vitamin D intake, the American Medical Association recently called for the government to update its guidelines, and federal officials are planning to launch that effort.
But many leading experts caution that it remains premature for people to start taking large doses of Vitamin D. While the new research is provocative, experts argue that the benefits remain far from proven. Vitamin D can be toxic at high doses, and some studies suggest it could increase the risk for some health problems, experts say. No one knows what consequences might emerge from exposing millions of people to megadoses of the vitamin for long periods.
“The data are intriguing and serve as, no pun intended, food for further fruitful research,” said Mary Frances Picciano, at the Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health. “But beyond that, the data are just not solid enough to make any new recommendations. We have to be cautious.”
The current clash is the latest in a long, often unusually bitter debate. Some skeptics question whether funding by the tanning, milk and vitamin industries is biasing some advocates. Frustrated proponents accuse skeptics of clinging to outdated medical dogma.
“It feels kind of ridiculous working in this field sometimes,” said Reinhold Vieth, a professor of nutritional sciences and pathobiology at the University of Toronto. “Every week, I get interviewed about the next important publication about Vitamin D. But this field remains mired in the muck.”
Vieth is one of a small but vocal cadre of researchers pushing doctors and patients to stop waiting for new official guidelines. Physicians should routinely test their patients for Vitamin D deficiencies, and more people — especially African Americans — should take supplements and increase their exposure to the sun, they say.
“The bottom line is we now recognize that Vitamin D is important for health for both children and adults and may help prevent many serious chronic diseases,” said Michael F. Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University.
Scientists have long known that Vitamin D is a vital nutrient the skin produces when hit by ultraviolet light from sunlight and other sources. The amount of Vitamin D produced varies, depending on where the person lives, skin pigment, age and other factors. African Americans and other dark-skinned people, and anyone living in northern latitudes, make far less than other groups.
With people spending more time indoors surfing the Web, watching television, working at desk jobs, and covering up and using sunblock when they do venture outdoors, the amount of Vitamin D that people create in their bodies has been falling. Milk and a few other foods are fortified with Vitamin D, and it occurs naturally in others, such as fatty fish, but most people get very little through their diets.
“Humans evolved in equatorial Africa wearing no clothes,” said Robert P. Heaney, a leading Vitamin D researcher at Creighton University in Omaha. “Now we get much less direct sunlight, and so we don’t make nearly as much Vitamin D.”
How Hot is It?
Here is a photo of what it looks like this morning, not quite 7 in the ay-em:
It’s hot. It is so hot that I will need to run to the grocery store any minute now, before it gets too hot. It is so hot, I don’t even sweat, the sweat evaporates right off my body. It is so hot that a crayon left lying on the ground will spontaneously dissolve:
At 0730, it is 97°F / 36°C.
Hot as . . .
Night before last, for the first time, I saw my husband’s temperature gizmo in the car register 50°C – and that was at 8 PM.
In Kuwait, if the temperature registers 50°C, work is supposed to cease. The official temperature gauges on buildings downtown never go above 49°C. But if the temperature outside is still 50°C at 8 at night, wouldn’t you think it would be higher during mid-day?
He had visitors in town the other day, visitors who were so fascinated with the heat that they took photos of his dashboard temperature gauge.
It is unbelievably hot.
Electricity Bills Certificate?
Back in May, we saw the following in the Kuwait Times:
“the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) has decided to ask all expatriates before exiting the country – whether on holiday or permanently – to obtain a certificate of clearance from the ministry. The certificate is only valid for one month. If the expat doesn’t have it, he will be returning from the airport the same day . . . “
School is out, people have fled the heat in droves, even with the atrocious airline prices. Has anyone heard of this policy being implemented? I haven’t heard of anyone being halted from travelling because of an unpaid bill, nor did anyone look us up when we were departing on holiday.
Masumbe’s Wisdom By the Campfire
Every night before dinner in these camps is a time for gathering around the campfire, sharing stories, getting to know the fellow guests. At Tena Tena our third night, we are sitting with Msumbe, the assistant camp manager, and listening to him talk about Zambia.
Zambia is a peaceful nation, and it is a miracle. More than seventy different tribes, and that many different languages and dialects. Rich in natural resources, full of children hungry to learn, Zambia has placed a high priority in educating everyone in getting along with one another.
“So like when you come across another person, not from where you are from, you don’t start in with a lot of questions. First you ask ‘How is it where you are from?’ and then you listen. When you know where he is coming from, and how are things there, then you can ask better questions, and not offend someone.”
Hmmmm, I thought, good advice. Sometimes I feel a little shy, especially when there are large groups of “others” like South Africans, or British, and they have their own values, their own ways of communicating, different from ours.
Soon, I was sitting next to a British woman, and desperately trying to think of a way to get HER talking, so I could be listening, and that is exactly what I asked “Tell me what life is like where you are from?”
She looked at me like I was a little crazy and asked what I meant. I said that I knew her life was very different from mine, and I was interested to know what her daily life was like. So she started telling me she wasn’t very interesting really, but gave me some details, and actually, it WAS interesting. Once she got going, knowing I really was interested, I learned a whole lot!
One detail I will never forget is that she rides to the foxes every weekend in the fox hunting season, this very respectable woman, and that they all do, even if it is against the law. No matter what the weather, they ride, hour upon hour. She laughed and said they ride so long and so hard that her clothes become discolored from the saddle leather, and she comes home stained and filthy from her rides.
Now how would I ever have known all that without Masumbe’s good question? It’s like being given a key that opens many locks. You never know what treasures you will come upon, but you have this wonderful key. Thank you, Masumbe!
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