The Road to Wafra

The other day we went to see the family farm in Wafra. On our way out of town we stopped to meet some more family members - Here Adele is getting to know one of her little cousins as they all pose for a picture.

And here she's bonding with another. They became fast friends very, very quickly and were so sad to part - but we had to get on the road.

The road to Wafra is long, flat and straight, like most desert roads I suppose!

However, from the speeding car you can sometimes spy camels, sheep and goats penned up near tents. During the winter months, Kuwaiti's set up tents in the desert where they stay on the weekends - a family vacation home different from any I've ever imagined. I really found it interesting that they camp so close to highways and cities - it's the tent that matters, not it's location.

Of course, some of us were more fascinated with the view than others...

Farm pictures to come soon - camera battery recharge needed :-)

Signs

sewer grate - I think it's quite pretty but the girls had a giggle when I took this picture.


H1N1 warning sign - don't hug and kiss hello



Shop fronts near the fabric souk


Directions for tourists at the musuem complex. No pics allowed in the buildings but I'll add some exterior shots soon.

Restaurant? Car Dealership? I don't know - but it's pretty!

You could win a million dinars!

The fabric souk entrance. So many people make their own clothes here, fabric is in high demand. Pictures of the fabric souk will follow shortly.

School sign. I toured this school and will add a post on that soon.

At the mall there is a prayer hall next to a wash room and the restroom. When the call to prayer comes five times a day, it is necessary to have space to do it in if you're not at home. The wash room is for cleaning your feet and hands before prayer (ablutions), the bathrooms are nice and clean and the prayer room, as with all prayer rooms, requires you to remove your shoes before entering.

Yes, they actually will walk out to your car to serve you here. I am so sad this is what America is sharing with this country.

Souk Al-Mubarakiya

Our trip to Souk Al-Mubarakiya, an old Kuwaiti market full of almost everything you might wish to buy - from the Kuwaiti equivalent of dollar stores, The 100 Fils Shop, to keepsakes, treasures, fish, meat and more. (btw - Souk means market or bazaar)

When we first entered the souk we passed stalls full of herbs…

and spices.



Colorfully displayed prayer rugs:



Entering the meat market…




A fascinating but sometimes too eye-opening experience for me. Bobby was so excited – his close-up pictures (below here - scroll FAST to miss them - for the faint of tummy) are pretty  graphic. (I took this one from a distance!) Of course, it's nice that they actually use all the parts of the animal (this is sheep). 

The last part of the souk we visited – so many products it was hard to even focus your eyes. Adele was fascinated watching from our arms, as always, happy the whole time. 

Well, there was so MUCH to see!

Fruits Not Found in Virginia

see comments for names/descriptions/etc

 
 
 
 

Walkin'

 

A Walk in the Park with Cousins

 
 
 
 

Scenes Around the House

A brief collection of photos from the last couple of days...Adele has been drumming up a storm, bonding with Ammachi, Appachi, Stephanie-ammama & Hannahmamma. She loves sleeping in Stephanie's lovely room, too.

A Walk Around the Neighborhood

Hi friends and family,

 

I've started a little blog for our trip this month. Feel free to follow it (or not). I am more verbose than Adele (and Bob), so there will probably be both words and pictures here :-)  http://www.kuwaitvacation.blogspot.com/

Adele's interpretations can, as always, be found here: www.adeleeliana.blogspot.com

For now we will be loading our pictures onto Picasa - here is a link to the unedited shots from today. I'll try to edit next time - today's time was spent figuring out how to use this site.

In this album, we leave the house and go for a short walk. The house with the white car in front of it is where we are staying.

http://picasaweb.google.com/brooke.plotnick/091213?authkey=Gv1sRgCI7nsLbxt7TDyQE&feat=directlink

In general, people don't go for walks here. Few sidewalks, lots of curbs, and definitely glad I didn't try to bring the stroller. We got some weird looks and stares - once we got a "hello" head-bob, but mostly just weird looks. There is a "walking park" that one drives to for, you know, walking :-)  

It was very warm out but also quite dry. In summer time, it is so hot that you turn off the electricity to the water heater (located on the roof) as the sun warms it just fine.

Love to all, Happy Holidays and a warm and safe New Year

Brooke, Bob and Adele

Kuwait

So, Bobby, Adele and I will be off to Kuwait next week. Until I met Bob, I thought I was well-traveled! Apparently Europe is not all that special anymore :-)

This will be my first trip to the Middle East and I know it will be such a learning experience. I know I can read all I want to, but the culture differences will be tangible. I just have to stay open and take it slow so I'm not accidentally offensive.

We'll be staying with his sister's family - and his parents will be there from India, too. We'll have a full house. I'm excited to get to know everyone better, and to meet the rest of the family.

His sister runs a school so hopefully I'll have some time to observe classes and see how schools run over there. I am sure there's some kind of research project I could come up with but luckily I'm not in grad school anymore so don't have to worry about that!

I am not sure if I'll be posting here or on facebook, but thought I'd start this blog just in case it's needed. I'll be checking my gmail account at least twice a week, so feel free to drop me a note.

Love to all,

b