Be AWARE

One of the main complaint that foreigners have when they have to adapt to Kuwait is how difficult is socializing and find leisure activities. For many people, this is a boring place, where each does his own thing and there is almost nothing to do after work, except walking around in a mall. Fortunately there are associations which help the newcomers in their odyssey in pursuit of the adaptation, organizing events and activities to make easier this process. One of them is AWARE, whose headquarters I visited last week along with other colleagues.

 

AWARE (“Advocates for Western-Arabs Relations Center”) is a non governmental organization whose mission is promoting positive relationships between Arabs and Westerners in order to break stereotypes and to reinforce cooperation and solidarity links. For that purpose, they opt for activities and events which can stimulate the interaction and communication between people from different cultures and a better knowledge of the idiosyncrasy and traditions of Kuwait and Arabic world. Among their projects, they organize Arabic courses, cooking workshops and guided tours for an affordable price. They also host conferences and debates about different aspects of local culture and society. You can find more information in their website: www.aware.com.kw

The event I attended was a informative session about life in Kuwait and some advice for newcomers regarding the adaptation to the daily life in this country. The speaker, Iman, commented some costumes and features to pay attention in social situations, such as greetings, working relationships, visits, etc., and several social norms, very useful if we want to avoid unpleasant experiences. It was very interesting, not only to know a bit more the place where I am, but also to socialize beyond my working place.

 

 

I would like to thank the members of AWARE for inviting me to that event and for the pictures they provided for this post. I don’t know how available I will be after starting the master in October, but I would like to attend some activities, specially those called “diwaniyas”, Tuesdays evening, where people debate about political, religious and social topics, or some short excursion when weather will be not so hot. I will let you know.

 

 

More than hot

“I think it is cooling down”, one colleague told me last day when we were leaving the school, while I felt like the heat was going through the soles of my shoes. Indeed, as I was informed when I arrived, the temperatures have decreased comparing with the ones at the end of August. We have experienced maximum temperatures near 50 Celsius degrees, but now it is “just” 42º, something to celebrate actually.

 

My empty street, no matter at what time

Kuwait has the dubious honor of leading the ranking of the hottest cities in the World, reaching and even surpassing 50 Celsius degrees some days, and it will continue increasing due to climate change. It implies a big investment in air conditioning equipment to keep cool structures such as those huge malls (the only places where it seems to be social life and entertainment during these days), environmentally unviable. Here a different and sustainable urban design is starting to be proposed in order to reduce all this energetic wastage.

 

 

A lot of people go to the malls just for having a walk

 

No unexpectedly, this range of temperatures, with minimum one not dropping less than 30ºin the night, conditions a large part of my life. People still prefer to spend their free time staying in their apartments, so the chances for going out and socializing are not so many. When I went out to explore a bit, I came back after a while since I couldn’t bear the heat anymore. I couldn’t continue my running sessions neither. After half an hour I need to stop, I really can’t resist. Even in the night there is no respite for going out without carrying a towel to dry the sweat.

 

The seaside walk in the night, when you can already breath a little bit

 

Despite all this, I have to say that spending last summer in Cordoba was very useful for me to tolerate better these firs weeks in this oven and not desperate till we can reach a nicer weather (maybe in October the situation can change). Even so, this kind of circumstances affects more when at work things are not going on as I expected. Last week I had to abandon my counselor duties as I needed to substitute a teacher who we don’t know when she will be back, so I am a bit worried now. But anyway, now it is when I have to show that thing I try to teach my students: being resilient and seeing the setbacks as opportunities to grow. That is what this experience is all about.

 

 

The muezzin's chant

 

It’s six o’ clock in the evening; the sun begins to set in Kuwait. Suddenly, a sound through a megaphone breaks the usual silent in my neighborhood in Al-Fintas district. It is the chant of the muezzin, the person who calls the believers from the mosque to come for praying. This is called adhan in Arabic and it takes place five times a day, between the sunrise and the night. This moment is part of some features related to the Islam and they already start to determine part of my daily life in this country.

 

 

In Kuwait, despite being considered as one of the most tolerant and liberal countries of the Islamic World, there are certain limitations and restrictions based in the Sharia, Muslim code of conduct and moral, affecting to anyone living here. As I already knew before my departure, the consumption and sell of alcoholic beverages or pork products are penalized. Pornography and whatever other material which can be considered obscene are also forbidden. Then, there are other curious laws I am discovering day by day. For example, few days ago I found out that it is illegal that two persons from the opposite sex live together if they are not married. Concerning this topic, last week I also discovered that there are separate cinema rooms for couples and families, and for single men.

 

Non alcoholic wines, for those miss a toast

 

Actually all these prohibitions are not traumatic at all for me and they don’t stop me to have a normal life, more or less similar to the one I always had. Let’s say that they are circumstances which may be stressful for those persons who can’t live without drinking a cocktail or having a ham sandwich. For me, what really changes my rhythm of life is the fact that the weekly holiday here is on Friday. I guess that it is a matter of getting used to it, but right now working on Sunday is a bit strange for me. But anyway, facing Thursday knowing that is the last working day of the week is quite pleasant.

 

One of the questions that some persons who know me worried before I left Spain was how people in Kuwait would treat me once they know I am not Muslim. There is nothing to worry about here; I didn’t feel any kind of rejection, pressure or bad manner towards me yet. On the contrary, everybody is being very nice with me so far, I feel very safe when I go for a walk and I don’t see hostility anywhere. If I would be Christian I also would have the chance to go to Church here.

 

I hope that my personal testimony on this and future posts can help a bit to eradicate some prejudices and fears related to these places. This is not, of course, a country where I could stay all my entire life, but things are not so bad here. If you live or have lived in a Muslim country, I hope I can read your comments about it, how did you feel?

 

 

The adventure starts here

I just landed in Kuwait a week ago and I already figure out more or less what kind of place I reached and what lifestyle I will have here. I will describe you in broad strokes my first impressions, positive and negative, in this tiny corner of the World.

 

The first thing I noticed when I arrived here was the tremendous heat. We suffered a lot this summer with the hot weather but nothing compares to this oven in this season. The maximum temperatures surpass the 45 Celsius degrees and the minimum ones don’t drop less than 30. With this current outlook, it is almost impossible to do any activity outdoors; therefore people usually socialize inside the huge malls which you can find in any district in the city. I was told that in the middle of September the temperatures start to decrease a little bit, in October we will have a nice weather and from November it begins to cool down (it won’t be less than 6 degrees though, in December and January).

 

Inside a mall

 

When before departure I was reviewing Kuwait map, I thought that everything was compacted in a big city, where everything was a stone’s throw away. Actually, the country is composed by different municipalities connected to each other through a highway, which crosses Kuwait from North to South. The urban areas are located along the seaside, whilst everything on the West is desert and oil wells. I realized that everything is quite scattered and the distances between places are longer than I imagined. This explains that everybody use the car to move around. I still didn’t see neither bicycles nor motorcycles, and very few people go by foot, even in the evening when the temperatures drop a bit. The area where I live, Al Fintas, is very far from the downtown district, Kuwait City, and it takes half and hour at least by minibus to reach my working place. A good thing to say is that the beach is just 10 minutes walking distance from my apartment.

 

Another shocking thing for me is the difference regarding the cost of living, something that in somehow conditions my life here. The prices of daily products and commodities are often higher than in Spain, and I would prefer not compare with China if I don’t want to get depressed. Also, related to the economy, I could notice many contrasts, with Kuwaiti families buying luxury items and driving Porsches, and a huge group of workers, mainly from India, Nepal or Philippines, working and living in precarious conditions. About me, I think that, even getting a higher salary than the one I got in China, in long term I don’t believe I will save more than there. Anyway, I hope that at least I can have a life more or less comfortable, and I can keep some money for some trip during holidays.

 

This plate costs 2 KD (around 5 euros and a half), one of the most affordable thing if you want to eat outside

 

If you have read till this point, you would think that what a hell of place I arrived, and that maybe it would be better to leave as soon as possible. However, I can’t forget what the main reason why I decided to come is: my work experience. I am still in the preparation stage of activities, but I got the feeling that my job is going to be very valued at the school. This is going to help me to improve my career and I should concentrate in this now. In the other hand, I see the atmosphere and the rapport among my colleagues is good so far and this helps a lot. Most of the teachers come from UK and Australia, so this experience also implies a great impact in my English level, I am sure. I also have to highlight that the accommodation provided by the school is one of the best places I ever lived in terms of space and facilities, and this will make my stay here much bearable.

 

 

I learned many things through my experience abroad but there is something I would highlight the most: You don’t feel good or bad because the circumstances around, but because the attitude you have towards them. I have already passed similar periods in other countries and, if you are patient enough and know to value the positive aspects, finally you not only get used to a place but you will enjoy it too (and even missing it later). Anyhow, I came to give the best of me, absorbing as sponge everything I can learn, professionally and personally. And I am pretty sure that as soon the heat disappears I will see everything with better eyes.

 

See you next time!