The Good Stuff

You can do it Kuwait!

Today, October 15th is Blog Action Day. The international community of bloggers will be coming together and participating in this event where they all write about a united topic. This time around the topic is water.

Unfortunately, this has been one hell of a busy week with university and so I didn't have a chance to prepare a lengthy, self-righteous and most-likely obnoxious post in which I would shame you all for choosing to drink Evian and not caring enough about the droughts around the world. 'Tis life, and so all I really have to offer on this day is a bit of insight, some advice and maybe leave you with a few questions you should ask yourself next time you are privileged enough to have a drink of clean water. 

Living in Kuwait, most are well aware of how precious clean drinking water is. We are lucky enough to have a government that has access to enough resources to provide us with this elixir that sustains all life. However, many nations are not so fortunate. A myriad of reasons keep water out of hands of those who need it the most, and it often boils down to money and politics. Pun intended. 

Our planet being what it is, we should all aim to try our best in putting forth and effort when it comes to preserving the water we do have. Below are some tips you could consider adding to your daily routine:

1. A "Navy-style" shower: Turning on the water, getting wet, and then turning it off while you scrub down and lather up your hair. Once you're ready to rinse, turn on the water and zoom!!! You'll avoid wasting precious water in those minutes you're not actually using it. Also, try to keep it UNDER 10 minutes in length, and the planet will thank you.
2. Thoughtful Brushing: Similar to the previous tip, turning off the faucet while you're brushing your teeth. It may not seem like much, but it makes a difference when you consider the fact most people brush their teeth for 3-5 minutes a day, twice a day. 
3. Fancy Pants Water? No thanks! Instead of using up an endless stream of plastic water bottles and harming the environment, consider buying a cute and colorful reusable bottle. It'll brighten up your day, and help you monitor how much of the good stuff you are taking in, so you'll avoid unintentional dehydration and stay on top of your health.

For further inquiries into this matter, look no further than the site itself, which you can visit by clicking here. 

For a mind opening article about the devious business behind water companies (written by a modern day Rocker!), click here.
From one of Kuwait's own, an informative set of facts and a deeper look into the political aspect of this topic can be found here. 

I hope I've given you something to think about and some useful tips you can implement in your day-to-day life. I know sometimes we, regular people, can feel fairly helpless when it comes to big serious issues like the global demand for water, but any small step taken brings us that much closer to a more just world.
For further reading (and let's be honest, better posts), visit the site which i've linked above and empower yourself to make a difference.


Putting her generation's digital age to use,

S.

Tell me if you participated in the even or your thought about this topic in the comments below. I'd love to hear your opinion.

It's Funny Because It's True. And Sad.

**Disclaimer: This a REAL conversation that ACTUALLY took place. You can't make this shit up unless you're an Arab version of Tina Fey.***

My Brother: "Where can I buy work-out gloves from? You know for weights and stuff.."

Me: "You should go to that huge sports supply store in Hawalli, what's it called? Oh! Naif's Sport Supply."

Brother: "You mean Nasser's Sport's Supply store?"

Me: "No, you're thinking of Nasser's Chicken. Sheesh, and you call yourself a Kuwaiti..." 

Packing my bags as we speak,

S. 

PS - I'm sick today, and therefore miserable, so if you read this comment and let me know how your life is worse than mine at the moment. If possible.

A Vote For The Future

 "Scientia potentia est (For also knowledge itself is power)"

Sir Francis Bacon 

  

Today was the first day of the elections at every campus affiliated with Kuwait University. The handasa majors put down the protractors, med-students ditched the cadavers and the ever ubiquitous business majors abandoned their BlackBerries as they stood in line in the sweltering midday heat, waiting for their turn to exercise their right to vote and support the party that fell in line with what they believe KU (and Kuwait) should stand for.
At this point it's no secret that I am a raging Feminist, and believe in a FULL level of equality between men and women. Before I continue, and for the record, my hatred of men has little to do with my Feminist antics and more to do with the assholes who feel the need to smoke inside KU's buildings, despite very clear signs that prohibit such behavior. You are not bad ass. You are an idiot. You are a male.... I digress; so after a bit of cautious poking and prodding, a little investigative work and heaps of simple observation, I voted for the "Istilafya" party. On the ballot, they are categorized under religious/conservative, which has lead to several people cry out against my choice to support this particular party. Apparently, as a Feminist it would have made more sense for me to burn my bras and protest against whatever misogynist occurrence I felt like having a go at for that day (Believe me, there's plenty to choose from in KUckooland).

I never justify the things I do, but I will explain my choice this once because it's rather shocking how narrow minded and short-sighted people can be when it comes to elections and casting your vote. In this case, I spent the majority of my first week doing several things: Walking around and discovering KU's campus, trying to learn about Kuwait's youth culture from observation and last but certainly not least, I observed each party and weighed on the things I saw them doing before my own two eyes.  Photocopies of sold-out textbooks, directions, the girls taking you to whatever class you had next....the Istilafiya girls left nothing to be wanted of them, which is a rarity when it comes to school/university politics. They are there for their female colleagues, END OF STORY. What people won't realize is that despite Kuwait's push for women to seek an education, the system still works against them. The minimum GPA's for any major differ between male and female applicants, with the minimum always being higher for females. The lion's share of priority and attention leans in toward the direction of the male student body, with them very much at the forefront of everything. As a Feminist, of course it didn't please me to see the girls running around doing the dirty work while the men buffed their Ray Bans and (further) inflated their egos by shouting fascist propaganda bullshit through megaphones. However, if it takes this Feminist voting for a conservative party to ensure that all her female colleagues needs are met, and that they graduate university with degrees in their hands, so then be it. Feminism is not some stupid romanticized Julia Roberts' movie; it is the fight to ensure women have access to all that men have, and that they are not treated or dismissed as though they are second-rate citizens. It is a fight I will always stand up for, no matter what I have to do.
If you still don't understand why I voted for the party I did, then you know nothing about what Feminism truly is.

Swinging a deal with a devil in a dishdasha,

S.

Countdown To Lockdown

Get it? I'll be imprisoned by my desire for an education.

Today it all ends, only to begin all over again. In this moment, as I sit here typing this, everything is everything. Tomorrow, everything will become nothing and I'll start over.

Today is officially the last day of Summer 2010. It has been a ridiculously crazy and insane four months. I've learned a lot about myself, life and Kuwait. Well, not really but it sounds nice to pretend I actually did.  Jokes aside, I did spend a lot of time just reflecting on who I am, whether she's who I want to be and what I can do to bring the two closer together. I suppose that's the hardest part about this whole transition, trying to reconcile who I am with societal expectations. For some reason, I feel as though I have to make a good impression in Kuwait. Maybe it has something to do with the country being so small, word (good OR bad) traveling so fast or my habit of turning everything into a dirty joke. Maybe it has to do with the fact I don't know anyone, at all (All my classmates are being GUSTed, whatever the hell that means).

Did you buy that? Yeah, neither did I. I mean as someone who attended 11 different schools in several different countries, I'm not really worried.
THAT is what is freaking me out, more than anything else. Well, that and the fact that KU's benches look like a tetanus deathtrap.

Thanking the good Lord for vaccines,

S.


PS - Tell me about your University experiences and/or expectations. Misery loves company.

Sit The Hell Down

Let's pretend they use these in KU

And listen to my rant. Please & thank you in advance.

Kuwait University opens it's Hell gates in 4 days and counting. Do you see the problem with this? I am not prepared. As I type this, my heart is racing and my head is pounding. I'm playing out several awkward social scenarios in my head on loop, anticipating hellish professors and trying to figure out how far I can make it out of Kuwait before my parents realize that S. isn't home. My guess? Not very far. Kuwait is stupidly small country, with an even stupider and smaller society. Your next door neighbor got a haircut? Check your phone, because I already sent you a text about it yesterday. News spreads that fast in Kuwait. So that means even if I do make it to Bahrain (Which is, let's admit it, an extension of Salmiya), they'll have dragged me back home in time for my first lecture. Great.

Seeing as how I can't escape this social apocalypse, here's my plan for the (HOPEFULLY) one year I will spend as a student at KU. It hurts just typing that last bit.

1. Speak to no one
2. Only listen to someone with the power to grade my papers
3. Play dumb and deaf between classes
4. Drink 8 glasses of water a day
5. Get a BlackBerry so I can log onto Twitter in between and after classes. Oh, who am I kidding? During class too.  

This system has never failed me. Yet.

Averting her gaze from the almighty coneheads,

S.

Time Flies, Drives, Drinks, and Smokes

And drag races in the desert.... Wait no, that's just me when I pretend I'm a free bachelor in Kuwait. *Sigh*

Anyways, today (September 21) is my two-year anniversary since moving to Kuwait. Realizing I've actually been here two years started my day off on a depressing note (I miss Canada), but I got over it quickly enough when the housekeeper handed me my freshly ironed clothes for the day. It's the little things in life people, the little things....
Here's a list of things I thought were true when I first came to Kuwait:

**Disclaimer: It gets worse as you go down the list. I was young. Well, younger. **

• Any guy who is nice, courteous and well-groomed MUST be gay - There's nothing wrong with being gay,  but it's just ignorant to make assumptions. 

Favorite show as a kid.

• Everyone is related to everyone else - It's still kind of true. Don't deny it. 

Kuwaiti families are *slightly* larger.

• Nobody buys anything from Kuwait - Anytime I'd ask a girl where she got something (top, purse, etc.), the answer would be "Lundun".*Cue Eye Roll*

These were EVERYWHERE in high school. Ugh.

• Everyone is filthy rich - My bad?

Somewhere, in some desert, near some oil-well, this is real.

• We're all famous - In one way or another, everyone has an uncle in the National Assembly. Seriously?

Someday....

• Marina Prison - I used to think only convicts hung out at Marina. Again, not entirely wrong...

Reminiscing, cringing and  regretting a couple of things,

S.

PS - Tell me about anything you once believed was true, only to have time prove you wrong. 

The Ugly Truth

Despite the fact I did my very best to try and deny I was (part) Kuwaiti, it remains that I have always known this truth. While I will forever be Canadian and loyal to the country that gave me more than I could ever give it, I feel that now that they have Justin Beiber I can avert my gaze and focus on trying to shake up things in Kuwait.
My revolutionary plans aside, I've spent some time reflecting upon my childhood and have compiled a list of the clues I so desperately tried to ignore. It seems that you can leave Kuwait, but Kuwait will never leave you. I would know, as I've tried. Ahem.

Top Clues That You're a Kuwaitiya:

• My childhood fascination with Cabaret and Drag Queens - A little known fact about me is that I've always been very much into makeup and glamor, and I still am to this day.

Cabaret stage makeup

"Kuwaiti-style" Makeup. Yikes.

• The inner Diva in us ALL - I am, and always have been, a very strong woman. My non-Kuwaiti Mother claims I get it from my Dad's side of the family. The Kuwaiti side of the family. Coincidence?

We are all Oprah, and Oprah is us.

• The glamor of Chai - The last five years have seen a marked rise in the popularity of a drink I have always been aware existed. Hipster S. was sipping on Chai before it was the "It" thing worldwide.

Use you imagination. Google has its limits.

• Peter the Patriot - It's a very Kuwaiti thing to be patriotic, and while I do share your passion, I am unfortunately loyal to Canada. But, hey, let's all hold hands and sing national songs okay? 

 Can I have both?

 Canadian, Kuwaiti and confused,

S.

Let me know in the comments below if you've ever noticed some overlap between Kuwait and any other cultures you've been a part of.