Community
Jeremiah is one of the great prophets of our Old Testament. The Wikipedia article on Jeremiah tells me that his name in Arabic is Eremiya. The problem with being a prophet is that not everyone wants to hear what God tells you to say. Jeremiah spent time in jail for telling people what they didn’t want to hear.
God told Jeremiah, “You will go to them; but for their part, they will not listen to you”.
Today’s reading in the Lectionary has this verse from Jeremiah. My blogging friend Kaos asked me why I care about Kuwait when I am only an expat, passing through. When I saw this verse in the reading for today, as the Jews are being sent into exile in Babylonia, I knew for myself the answer:
From Jeremiah 29 7But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Wherever we find ourselves – it’s up to us to make the best of our lives. There are reasons for every expat to care about Kuwait and what happens to Kuwait. Kuwait belongs to the Kuwaitis, and 67% of the population is “expat” or “visitor” or “laboror”(whatever lable you choose.) As long as we live and work side by side, we are a community, diverse and conglomerate, but all wanting to live in peace as best we can. Kuwait belongs to Kuwaitis, and the lives we lead as individuals make up a community that belongs to us all.
Tareq Rajab Museum of Islamic Calligraphy
One of the most beautiful buildings in Kuwait is the new – open only since March – Museum of Islamic Calligraphy in Kuwait. I am in total awe of this family, who have an eye for the history and culture of this area, collect it lovingly, and then display it – free of cost – to all who wish to visit.
The TR Museum of Islamic Calligraphy is on the same street as the Dar al Cid, where many art exhibits are held, also under the auspices of the Tareq Rajab family. It is around the corner from the Tareq Rejab Museum.
It is open every day:
Mornings 9 am – 12 noon
Afternoon 4 pm – 7 pm
Friday 9am – 12 noon
We visited recently. The museum is beautiful, and well organized. We wished only that more of the exhibits had explanations; sometimes we would be looking at something very beautiful, but we didn’t know the significance of what we were seeing.
The calligraphy is manifest in hangings, ancient Qurans, quiltings, posters and carved wood. Each item is a work of art. We were fascinated by some of the Chinese calligraphy, and by the video they run showing how calligraphic quills are made, how the paper is prepared, even how the calligrapher prepares for work.
This is the entry to the Museum of Islamic Calligraphy:
Some examples of the beautiful works on display:
If you are looking for books about Kuwait, and/or Islamic Arts, the Tareq Rajab Museum has a well stocked little shop with books, cards, postcards, etc. for reasonable prices.
We take all our houseguests to these museums, and every time we go, we are moved by the generous hearts that create these museums and then offer them to the public – free of charge. They give so much to their community. It’s like a little piece of heaven. Visit soon!
Visitors, Not Residents?
From yesterday’s Arab Times:
The General Immigration Department of the Ministry of Interior is studying a proposal to replace the term ‘resident’ — the status given to expatriates working in Kuwait, reports Al-Watan daily. The daily added this has been done to ‘fight’ attempts by international organizations asking Kuwait to grant citizenship to expatriates who have been working in the country for a long time. Meanwhile, a reliable source said ‘visitor’ will replace the term ‘resident’. The source also said the General Immigration Department has stopped receiving applications for self sponsorship after noticing an increasing number in applications over the past few months. According to knowledgeable sources the Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship Affairs Major-General Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf has issued instructions to take into account the demographic structure of the country while issuing work permits because Kuwaitis account for only 33 percent of the population compared to 67 percent expatriates.
Calling all us guest-workers “visitors” is just a dumb idea. Call us guest-workers, call us workers, but if you call us “visitors” then you run into problems with folks who are just coming in for a VISIT, i.e. visitors.
I have always preferred being a resident. When I come into Qatar or Kuwait and all the lines are long except the GCC lines, I can always take a chance that the guards will think I am married to one of you when I step into the GCC line. If the person at the desk says I am in the wrong line, I can always look confused and say “I am a resident!” It has worked – well, most of the time. 😉
This issue is hand-in-hand with the school issue. Times are changing, old traditions are not being observed, and the blame is falling on foreign influences. It’s kind of like that train has left the station – if you want to go back to old ways, you’ll have to get rid of automobiles, computers, mobiles, supermarkets, and most of all, that demon of all forces of modernization – television.
The Taliban managed to reinstate old traditions, and in doing so, to take Afghanistan right back to the stone age. It was not just the women who suffered – men who didn’t want to wear beards, men whose hair was too long, men who wanted to listen to music, men who wanted to discuss politics – all were punished, some were killed.
The real challenge here is how Kuwait, as a modern nations state with a lot of money, is going to move with the modern world, not against it.
Older Brother Stunts Your Growth
Scientists just think differently. Who woulda thunk to study how having older siblings affects height? This is from BBC Health.
Having an older sibling, particularly a brother, can stunt growth, work suggests.
Experts said the condition of the womb after the first pregnancy may be a factor.
The study of 14,000 families was presented at the BA Festival of Science.
The research, by David Lawson, of University College London, also showed children in larger families were likely to be shorter than average.
Researchers found that children with three siblings were 2.5cm or one inch shorter than the average height for their age.
If you are one of the younger ones, then you can expect to be shorter than your older siblings
Dr Lawson
It was suggested siblings may dilute resources – time, money or love – that parents are able to invest in children.
The researchers followed children born in the 1990s and who were enrolled on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, one of the largest public health studies to be set up in Britain.
Each year, the children’s height was recorded, along with other details of their development.
While having older siblings of either sex affected a younger child’s development, the effect of older sisters was more mild.
You can read the rest of the article HERE.
7 drunk girls held for abusing officer
From today’s Arab Times If you are the parents of any of these seven young women, I can imagine your hearts are aching. I am sorry for your pain.
At the same time, I’m sorry, something about it makes me laugh, too. I can’t imagine the problems the police had handling seven drunk young women at one time. And I have to imagine the “abuse” was verbal and not physical. Somehow, it sounds like a very comical scene to me. I also imagine that the aftermath for these seven young women is far from comical.
KUWAIT CITY: Police have detained for interrogation an unidentified young Kuwaiti woman for verbally abusing a police officer on duty at a police checkpoint in Salwa, reports Al-Watan daily.
According to a police source, officers manning the checkpoint saw seven young women riding in a car. All of them appeared disoriented and were carrying a bottle of alcohol.
When the officers ordered the women to come out of the vehicle, one of them not only refused but insulted a police officer.
All the seven women have been referred to a police station. Attempts by unidentified persons to set the women free have been turned down, says a police source.
The source added 11 men had also been arrested for drinking alcohol. However, it is not known if the incidents are related
“Committee” Cracks Down on Education in Kuwait
This is a small article from yesterday’s (October 16) Kuwait Times:
MOE Cracks down on foreign schools:
Kuwait: The council of undersecretaries at the Ministry of Education chaired by Minister of Education Nouriya Al-Sabeeh will discuss after Eid holidays the demands of the committee about the negative effects of some traditions to the Kuwait society.
(Excuse me? What committee is that? What negative effects of some traditions? Could you make this any more opaque? Or is the goal to have us ask these very questions?)
It continues:
The committee demands to stop foreign schools from making foreign trips until the regulations to control these trips and stop mixing girls and boys together have been issued. The committee also demands that foreign schools inform the ministry about any parties they intend to have and the agenda of that party to ensure that the nimistry is present and in order to make sure that the school abides by the MOE’s regulations.
The committee also asked the ministry to implement a plan for segregation among boys and girls in the high school classes, as it is more important than segregation at universities. The committee noted that segregation should start in school activities as a preliminary step an foreign schools should be instructed by this through a circular to be distributed to them.
Comment: Let’s face it, foreign schools have strange foreign ways, including the mixing of boys and girls. They believe it creates healthier relationships down the road when people learn to get along with all kinds of other people at a very young age.
Even now, fewer western families are coming to Kuwait because of the education situation. It is often discussed among expat groups that the quality of education available in Kuwait is slipping dramatically.
Of those expat families that do come, many are choosing to home-school to avoid the problems developing in the local schools, even the “foreign” schools. It seems to me that local people who send their kids to the better “foreign” schools do so because these schools have a reputation for providing a better level of education than the public schools – is this correct? It also seems to me that if the “foreign” schools are doing better than the local schools, perhaps it is a good idea to keep letting them do their thing, rather than regulate them too closely?
I saw a group of home-schooled kids on the beach recently, having PE. They were playing volleyball, big kids, little kids, boys and girls all together. They were having a wonderful time. They were polite, respectful and modestly dressed. There wasn’t a sign of romance, just good, healthy fun as they played.
A friend who teaches in one of the local schools tells me of little Abdul, whose pencil fell on the floor the other day and he said to her – his teacher – “Pick that up.” She just stood there, half in shock that he would speak to her – or to anyone – so disrespectfully. Abdul looked up at her with those charming big eyes and grinned. And said “You’re not going to pick it up, are you?” She laughed and said “No, you are!” and he did. Little Abdul is learning some strange foreign ways.
Some of you went to foreign schools, either here in Kuwait or elsewhere. What do you think?
Kitchen Before and After
Wooo Hoooooooo! The ugly kitchen is gone! The new kitchen is finished!
Before:
After:
Blog Action Day: Small Rational Acts
I am hoping to have a guest blogger later in the day – my sweet daughter-in-law, who is close to her masters in Environmental Science. She and my son are SO good – they work very hard, very conscientiously, to lessen their footprint on the earth. They recycle plastics, cans, paper, bottles and glass, making trips out of their way to the recycle bins. They make their own take-away coffee every day, and re-use their coffee cups rather than buying expensive coffee and throwing away the cup. (They bought a state-of-the-art coffee maker, which paid for itself very quickly.) 🙂 Every decision is evaluated from a bigger-picture perspective.
They have two “used” cats, adopting rather than buying. 🙂
What can we do in Kuwait, where there are no recycle dumps?
First, we can refrain from trashing the environment. We can pick up our own mess after a picnic and make sure it gets put in a trash bin, or even (gasp!) take it home and put it in our own trash bin.
We can teach our children to put trash in a trashcan, not open the car window and throw it out.
We can throw out less food, by planning our needs with less waste.
We can organize a “second-harvest” kind of organization to which food can be donated and distributed to those who so desperately need it, yes, even in Kuwait.
We can support organizations like Operation Hope – Kuwait which gives volunteers an opportunity to put their idealism to work in a hands-on environment. Here is their mission statement:
Operation Hope – Kuwait
A Mission of Mercy
Operation Hope is a mission that seeks to Help Others Practically & Evangelically by providing gifts of coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and socks for those less fortunate during the colder season in Kuwait & to share the love of Christ by serving them as He called us to do.
Operation Hope is a non-profit, non-political organization operating in the State of Kuwait. Founded in 2005 by Sheryll Mairza, Operation Hope relies on volunteers and donors to fulfill its mission.
Here is how you can get involved with Sheryll’s selfless mission:
Please consider a contribution of your time, resources, or both to bring HOPE to those who are in seemingly hopeless situations. Your prayerful consideration of how you can help out is most appreciated. Kindly contact Sheryll Mairza (operationhopekuwait@yahoo.com) at your earliest convenience.
If you can provide one or more of the following please contact us soon:
-Financial support (any size is happily accepted)
-New or slightly used coats and/or other winter apparel
-Your time – to pack gift bags and/or organize inventory
-Deliver some of coat bags
-Fundraise in your workplace, social circles, and/or church
-Spreading the news of O.H.K. to all you know
-Prayer for this mission and those we are serving
Thank you for your support!
One of my commenters mentioned that her local mosque organizes dinner handouts for the poor in her neighborhood (thank you, Huda) AND that the imams also feed the local stray cats. What a magnificent example these kind men are setting with their dependable, humble service. Could your mosque do the same for your neighborhood?
Often, it just takes one person to get something started. One person with commitment and persistence, who believes in what he or she is doing and carrys through.
Sheryll Mairza is making a difference. The local imams who feed the hungry are making a difference. Where can YOU make a difference?
Aimee Leduc: Murder in the Marais
Not every book can be one of the best books you ever read. Some books are so good, so filled with nuance, insights and subtleties that even if they are made into a movie, they can’t begin to capture the experience of having read the book.
(available from Amazon.com at $10.40 new and from $1.97 + shipping used)
This isn’t one of those. As I read this book, as I followed the main character, Aimee LeDuc, through the streets of Paris, solving the mystery of who is killing Jews who survived the Holocaust – and why – I kept thinking “this is like reading a made-for-TV movie, you know, the ones that went almost straight to video/DVD?”
I was intrigued when Amazon recommended this series to me, but not surprised – remember, I read Donna Leon, James Lee Burke, and have a history of buying mysteries and detective stories set in exotic locations. But I only ordered one, to test the waters.
There isn’t a lot of depth. The author, Cara Black, gives her main character Aimee LeDuc about as much substance as a cartoon character. She changes clothes a lot, she has very interesting friends, she is smart, and sassy, and savvy, and more than a little edgy. And . . . I kept reading. I even think I will buy another one, just to see. I’m not enamored, but . . . I am intrigued, mildly intrigued, intrigued enough to give it another shot.
There is something about the book that keeps me reading. Could it be the Paris setting? 🙂 Could it be the gritty reality of Aimee’s interactions? Could it be that her shallowness is deceptive, and that if I read more books in the series I will understand her better? Could it be her amazing cast of characters, including her partner, a computer-savant-dwarf?
She includes a lot of Paris-reality. Aimee’s apartment has serious heating problems, and she often takes a hot bath just to warm up – as long as the hot water lasts. In her Paris it rains. In her Paris, dealing with the bureaucracy, while not particularly corrupt, is endlessly frustrating. Her Paris is peopled with people a whole lot like us, warts and all. For me, this is a plus.
Cara Black is a little skimpy on motivation; the plot reminds me of The DaVinci Code, it doesn’t really hang together all that well. In spite of all that, I found myself enjoying riding through Paris in the rain on a little mo-ped, crashing through the back of the Issa Miyake showroom and grabbing some items from the bin to disguise me as I escaped, and grabbing a croissant here and there, smelling the Tarte Tatin from the alleyway . . . I did not enjoy the fight on the slick tiles of the Paris rooftops at all.
If you like mysteries, you need to get acquainted with Cara Black’s Aimee LeDuc, just to be able to have an opinion when another detective-loving-book-reader asks. If you already have stacks of books waiting to be read – this is a good one for reading in airports while waiting for a delayed flight.
(Side Note: The Marais is the old Jewish Quarter of Paris, and it is in the process of serious gentrification. There is an old post-card and poster store located there, with items to die for – at prices to match. It is also near the Musee Carnavalet, probably one of the best museums in Paris.
Hôtel Carnavalet
23, rue de Sévigné
75003 Paris
Standard : 01 44 59 58 58
Fax : 01 44 59 58 11)
Ride Home Wreckage
I found myself driving home from a meeting during prime traffic time today, and it was all very mellow. Mellow until I got near my home, and saw a huge wreck by the side of the road. I don’t know how many times you need to turn over to land on the top with so much damage, but I think it must be a lot.
And on my other side is a man with his hazard lights on. I’m in the middle lane, there is traffic on the right, and this guy, in his late 50’s – 60’s maybe, on my left has his hazard lights on and is drifting all over the road. He moves into me suddenly, I quickly turn the wheel, so fast my rear wheels skid on the oil slick road and my rear end jumps, which sends bolts of adrenelin pumping through my system as I am trying to control my car, honk at him to say “pay attention” (zero reaction) and I try to stay out of the way of the guy on my left and not cause any problems for traffic on my right.
I honk again at the guy on the left, and honestly, this guy is so out of it, he is drifting three lanes across the road, my honk doesn’t even phase him. I don’t know if he is so sleepy he can’t control the car, he is on drugs or he is drunk out of his mind, but he just drifts from lane to lane with his hazard lights on – as if that is enough: “Hey, you guys, I have my hazard lights on – stay out of my way.” He wasn’t driving fast, just all over the road. It might have been comical if there wasn’t so much traffic.
Safely home, I intend to stay here!
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