TLA

I Haven't Even Left Yet

Written by Stinni on Friday, June 13, 2008

And I'm already missing Kuwait.

Off the top of my head, here are some things I'll miss (besides people, natch) from Kuwait:

  • Hot and fresh Iranian bread, straight out of the clay oven for a whopping 20 fils. For those of you in the States, that's about 7 cents. One can never go hungry here.
  • Warm and fresh pita bread.
  • Pulling up to a bacala, beeping my horn and having friendly Iranians bring what I need to my car. Bread, soda, juice, milk - you name it. By the way, none of them hate Americans, not to my face anyway, and some are convinced that I'm Lebanese or Syrian even though I speak to them with full-on Khaleeji Arabic.
  • Having my eyebrows threaded for as cheap as KD1. In fact, I have a friend who owns a salon (a very good thing) and I can get anything done for KD1. My favorite hairstylist works down where I live though, and I'm faithful to her when it comes to my hair. Last night I had my roots touched up, had a color rinse to make my hair look more natural and not so streaky, had a cut and a blow dry (seshwar) and only paid KD25. Love it.
Sidenote: Speaking of the salon, there were about 30 women in my salon last night, and I'm guessing they were getting ready for a wedding. Wow. I mean, in what universe does looking like a witchy transexual corpse equal beautiful? They had their hair straightened out, poofed up, extensions put into already thick hair, makeup a la Lilly Munster, and these were just guests of the party, not the bride. Yuck. But then again, I prefer the natural look.

[Embedding the video wasn't possible, so check this video out to get a sense of what I'm talking about, and multiply it by about 100.)
  • Italian television. Even though most of my shows are on hiatus for the summer, I'm still going to miss programs like "Chi l'ha visto?" which is sort of like "Unsolved Mysteries".
Sidenote: One time my husband came into our room and I was watching "Lady Channel" (Videolina). He asked what I was watching and I said, "It's a Mexican soap opera, translated into Italian." He told me I was pathetic or crazy or that I had issues. And I replied that he should be content to have an eccentric wife who is satisfied with free Hotbird/European channels instead of a whiny average one who begs for Orbit AND Showtime.
  • Kuwaiti and Arab hospitality. Nothing beats it. Nothing.
  • Free medical and dental. The key is finding the right doctors and dentists and then you're golden.
  • Al Kout Mall. I love this place, it's beautiful and believe it or not, the weather is still good enough to sit outside. I took the kids there last night and we sat outside to eat our gelato (from Gelatini), watching the dancing fountains. It was perfect.
  • Palm trees.
  • The gorgeous light blue waters of the Gulf.
  • Oranges/tangerines from Lebanon, Turkish lebnah, Turkish kebab and shewarma by Pinar (if you haven't tried the turkey shewarma meat or turkey kebabs from Pinar, you're missing out. They sell it in plastic tubs in the frozen meat section, for just under KD2.)
  • Shish tawook.
There's more but I'm off to pack and call friends to say goodbye. I'm excited to be going to the States but at the same time I'm sad to be leaving people and pets behind. And yes, my country, I will miss my country.

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  1. 6 comments: Responses to “ I Haven't Even Left Yet ”

  2. By Anonymous on June 16, 2008 at 9:18 PM

    I bet you're so excited! Have a fun summer, Stinni!
    p.s.- if you're coming to New England, please get bug dope. The black flies are pretty severe this year :)

  3. By Unknown on June 23, 2008 at 11:26 AM

    you're not leaving for good, are you? Well....we are getting ready to leave for good. Hopefully at the end of the summer but who knows, it depends on sorting out selling the house. I've been considering making a list similar to yours about what I'll miss about the UK but I've been too busy packing up the house and putting it into storage. So many emotions! Drop me an email or find me on Facebook and i'll fill you in.

  4. By Jewaira on June 24, 2008 at 10:05 PM

    Have a wonderful summer Stinni :-)

  5. By Stinni on June 26, 2008 at 4:11 PM

    Angela - Thank you. I'm definitely enjoying the fresh air with no dust! We don't have black flies on the Cape yet but I remember how bad they were up in New Hampshire during the summer. Yuckie. If there's a spider repellent, I would like to know where to purchase. :)

    Carla - No, no - not for good, just for the summer. Good luck on your move, I hope it works out for you. I added you to Facebook. :)

    Jewaira - Thank you, and I wish you a wonderful summer as well. :)

  6. By Anonymous on July 21, 2008 at 7:31 PM

    Sorry honey, there's nothing (to my knowledge) that can be done to ward off spiders. ICK!
    I'm not sure if you're still in New England but if you are- I hope you're enjoying the nice rain we've been having. Don't you love the smell of the air after it rains?:)
    I'm off to hug a tree now. Heh.
    Oh- pick some strawberries if you can!

  7. By Kuwait Pulse on August 14, 2008 at 12:30 PM

    Hi,It's nice of you to say kind things about Kuwait and poeple. I'm glad you r enjoying your stay. Did u notice how many beauty salons there r in KU?How cheap they r?u were right about the make up, they should have warning signs at the airport:watch out those r not drag Queens..they are not Pros----s...lol.did u try fresh lebanese shawarma?lebanese labna?
    sorry but I included comments on several posts.
    salam

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American. Kuwaiti. Married. Two children. Housewife. Find out the rest in my posts.

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