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Expat wanderer

600 Speeding Tickets Issued over Eid Holidays

600 speeding tickets issued over Eid

From today’s Al Watan staff

KUWAIT: Highway Traffic Police launched a campaign against reckless and speeding drivers during the Eid holidays, which was aimed at eliminating tragic car accidents. According to instructions passed by Major General Mahmoud AlـDousari, Highway Traffic officers set up surprised checkpoints along the King Fahed Expressway.

They succeeded in handing out over 600 speeding tickets and seized 20 violating vehicles.

A reliable source said: “A reckless motorist driving a German car was speeding on the safety shoulder of the highway bypassing all other vehicles, which were lined up at a security check point. Highway patrols pursued the speeding driver before arresting him.”

I wish they had the police out regularly. The roads yesterday were full of people weaving in and out, too fast. We watched one car clip another entering the speedway, neither of them slowed a bit.

October 7, 2008 Posted by | Community, ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Law and Order, Living Conditions, News | 4 Comments

Cough! Cough!

I was out enjoying the weather yesterday, when I noticed around noon I had a little tickle in my throat, and I was sneezing a little, too. Thought it was just the dust. By evening, I had a deep-chest cough, the kind that makes you sore after you cough a few times.

I don’t know if I picked something up or if it was just the dust. I am hoping it passes quickly, and inconveniences me very little.

Is there something going around in Kuwait? Is this just the time of year for health challenges?

October 7, 2008 Posted by | ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions | 7 Comments

Kuwait Adopts Islamic Jurisprudence?

From today’s Kuwait Times:

KUWAIT: MP Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabae said that several MPs plan to amend the second Article of the Kuwaiti Constitution and adopt Islamic jurisprudence as the main source of legislation in Kuwait. They will also push for amending other laws in accordance with the Islam as they feel that Islamic laws can effectively ward off crimes, theft, alcohol, drugs, adultery and sexual assaults.

October 6, 2008 Posted by | Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Health Issues, Kuwait, Law and Order, Living Conditions, News, Social Issues, Women's Issues | 7 Comments

Give to Everyone Who Begs From You

Months ago, I wrote a post about people asking for money in Kuwait, and when should you give and when should you not. It’s a problem that bothers all of us from time to time – when to be generous, and when are you throwing your money away?

Here, the instructions are clear – give to everyone who begs from you.

To me, that means keeping money on hand that I am comfortable will feed someone for a day – half a dinar to a dinar. Bread, beans, water . . .

When we lived in Tunis, my husband had his own beggqr – a man who came by the house from time to time. One time my husband followed him home, and when he came back, he said no matter how much we give this man, it will never be enough, he and his family live in a hovel. When the man came to us with a wound on his arm, my husband took him to the clinic and saw that he was cared for properly. The truth turned out to be that it benefited my husband, and our family, in the long run to be in a relationship with this beggar.

I’ve been taken by cons – the dripping medical bag, the fake leg gash – and I still believe it is better for us to error on the side of compassion.

Luke 6:27-38

27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.* Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

October 4, 2008 Posted by | Charity, Community, Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Relationships, Social Issues | 12 Comments

Running Red Lights (3)

I first blogged about this on April 14 and then again in July. I was on this road again yesterday, and oh look – nothing has changed, except the one remaining red light has become even dimmer in the 6 months. I have seen other lights changed – and cleaned (part of the problem here is the humidity and the sand gumming up the lights) but c’mon, this should be a part of nightly traffic maintenance! This is a disaster waiting to happen at a busy intersection:

Can you even see the red light? You have to know it is there, I think. It is the top right light. Now – can you see it?

Traffic department: These lights are at the intersection of the southern Gulf Road/ 7th Ring Road/ 209 and Highway 30. Please, clean up these lights and put in fresh bulbs!

October 3, 2008 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Community, Customer Service, ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Law and Order, Living Conditions, Technical Issue | 5 Comments

International Medical Corps Thanks YOU

This announcement was in the e-mail this morning. I love it when a striving non-profit finds a cost-effective way to spread the word and compete for the funding they need. Smart non-profits get grants, get corporate donations and use the least costly ways to raise additional funds from individual donors. They maintain a very low expenses rate and a high services rate.

Hi again,

I am so excited and wanted to thank you so much for your help! There were more
than 87,000 votes cast and thanks to you & everyone who blogged & voted, our
project, “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children,” is now in the Top 5 of
American Express Members Project. It got pretty close at the end and we only
made it by 147 votes. We really couldn’t have done it without you!

We are now guaranteed at least $100,000 in funding, but we still need your help.
The second round of voting has begun and the project with the most votes will
receive $1.5 million. Your vote and the votes of your readers will determine how
many lives we can save. I would be so grateful if you could repost to keep the
conversation and awareness out there and if you could thank your readers for
voting for us too.

http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us/

Please let me know if you can post and please vote again for “Saving the Lives
of Malnourished Children.” Voting ends October 13th. Thank you so much.

Chessia

—
Chessia Kelley, International Medical Corps
ckelley@imcworldwide.org
http://imcworldwide.org

October 2, 2008 Posted by | Charity, Community, Cross Cultural, Financial Issues, Health Issues, Interconnected, Social Issues | 4 Comments

Who Has the Disability?

My good friend sent me this today, and I want to share it with you, on this, hopefully the last day of Ramadan:

 

GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
 
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least that’s what I heard him say one night.
 
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, ‘Are you there, God?’ he said. ‘Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed…’
 
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor.  I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.
 
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he’s 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.
 
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
 
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
 
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
 
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
 
He does not seem dissatisfied.
 
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.
 
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day’s laundry chores.
 
And Saturdays – oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That’s the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. ‘That one’s goin’ to Chi-car-go! ‘ Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
 
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
 
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
 
He doesn’t know what it means to be discontent.
 
His life is simple.
 
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
 
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.
 
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax..
 
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
 
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
 
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.
 
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.. Kevin seems to know God – to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an ‘educated’ person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.
 
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
 
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.
 
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances – they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God’s care.
 
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
 
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I’ll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
 
Kevin won’t be surprised at all!

September 29, 2008 Posted by | Community, Cross Cultural, Family Issues, Health Issues, Interconnected, Relationships, Social Issues, Spiritual | 7 Comments

Loneliness Makes You Cold

A recent study presented on BBC Health News shows that those who are excluded or left out feel colder than those who are included.

Loneliness ‘makes you cold’

Turning up the thermometer could lighten your mood

Loneliness and coldness are often associated in everyday language, but psychologists have found that social isolation does make people feel cold.

The University of Toronto team found people feeling excluded said a room was colder than those feeling included.

And people who felt left out also chose comforting hot soup, rather than an apple or soft drink.
A UK psychologist said the findings could help people feeling isolated, particularly in the winter months.

‘Unpopular’
In the first study, 65 students were divided into two groups.

One group recalled a personal experience in which they had been socially excluded and felt isolated or lonely, such as being rejected from a club.

The other group recalled an experience in which they had been accepted.
The researchers then asked everyone to estimate the room’s temperature.

The estimates varied from about 54F (12C) to 104F (40C) – with those who had thought about an isolating experience giving lower estimates of the temperature.

In the second experiment, the researchers asked 52 students to play a computer-simulated ball game.

It was designed so that some of the volunteers had the ball tossed to them many times, but others were left out.

Afterwards, all the volunteers were asked to rate the desirability of hot coffee, crackers, soft-drinks, an apple, or hot soup.

The “unpopular” participants were much more likely than the others to want either hot soup or hot coffee.

The researchers suggest their preference for warm food and drinks resulted from physically feeling cold as a result of being excluded.

‘Coping mechanism’
Dr Chen-Bo Zhong, who led the research, which is published in the journal Psychological Science, said: “We found that the experience of social exclusion literally feels cold.

September 28, 2008 Posted by | Community, Cross Cultural, Family Issues, Health Issues, News, Relationships | 2 Comments

Sweet Friday Sunrise

It’s a temptation to linger outside on my balcony this morning. At 0700, it is a sweet 84°F / 29°C, there is a breeze blowing and look! There are sweet little clouds in the sky! Winter is coming! There is a chop in the surf, the air smells clean, and that band on the horizon is down to a thin wispy layer . . . if only the whole day could be like this.

Yesterday I ended up spending a lot of time outdoors. Early in the day, it wasn’t bad, it was even pleasant, but by mid-day, it was barely bearable.

Ramadan is the season of drawing closer to God / Allah, and thinking on those who are poor, and are not fasting to deprive themselves, but fasting because they have nothing to eat. As I found myself outdoors, unshaded, in the midday heat, I found myself thinking of you who are fasting, and how very difficult this year has been with the heat and humidity. The days of dry heat just leach the moisture right out of you; the days of humidity you drip, losing moisture either way that you can ill afford to lose when you must get through the day without drinking.

It is truly sacrificial, and my prayers are with you, that you find satisfaction in your fast, and draw closer to God.

For myself, at the end of the day, AdventureMan and I found ourselves exhausted and with that little dehydration headache you can get. I am feeling very thankful for the coming of cooler weather, insh’allah.

September 26, 2008 Posted by | Community, ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Ramadan, sunrise series, Weather | 7 Comments

Blog Action Day – October 15th

Last year, Kuwait bloggers were amazing in their support of Blog Action Day, which is October 15th. This year the theme is POVERTY. This is just a reminder, we still have time to think about our blog action day articles. Please go to their website (click on the blue type above) and sign up, indicating you will participate. So far, over 4,500 bloggers worldwide have committed to participate this year.

This is reprinted from their Blog Action Day 2008 page:

How to Make Blog Action Day 2008 Unforgettable
September 23rd, 2008 by Easton Ellsworth

1. Ponder.

Think about poverty.

Ponder the plight of the world’s poor and your place in the grand scheme of things.

Consider the things you have that others have not.

Let the numbers appall you. Let the images disturb your sleep. Let the complexities of the causes and solutions vex you.

Let the depth and emotion of this sensitive subject rock you to your core.

2. Believe.

Do you really think that you can make a difference in the global conversation this October 15 just by blogging about poverty and doing something about it?

We believe you can.

Do you?

3. Dream.

There is no such thing as a lack of opportunity – only a lack of vision.

This is not a pointless exercise. This is a chance to grab the world by the ears for one day.

You have the power to rally hundreds of people around you in your family, friends and community to do something on October 15 that calls attention to the issue of poverty.

There is no limit to what you can do – unless you think there is.

So dream up a brave, original way to make the world a little richer, even if only in knowledge, through your participation in Blog Action Day 2008.

4. Act.

Make Blog Action Day not just a day of blogging, but also a day of action.

Our worldwide impact will be great if we all talk about this issue, but far greater if we do something about it and talk about what we are doing.

5. Share.

Let the world know your true thoughts and opinions about poverty on October 15.

Use your blog, your social media accounts, and any other means you can to spread your ideas.

Join with other Blog Action Day participants to generate a collective noise far louder than any you could could muster on your own.

6. Change.

Decide to care a little more about poverty from now on. When it comes up in conversation, take it seriously. Changing the conversation is the first step toward changing the people in it.

Please join us in making Blog Action Day 2008 an unforgettable experience for thousands – maybe millions – of people across the world.

Your Turn

What other ideas do you have? How can Blog Action Day 2008 actually make a real difference to the world of tomorrow?

photo by Franco Folini

September 24, 2008 Posted by | Blogging, Bureaucracy, Charity, Community, Cross Cultural, Family Issues, Fund Raising, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Social Issues | 7 Comments

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