Keep 'em moving, keep 'em organized. AIS Guirgian parade, 2005. 

Arab men in miniature (all they need to complete the picture is a cigarette and a cell phone...). AIS Guirgian parade, 2005. 

AIS Guirgian parade, 2005. 

Now that Ramadan is winding down, Muslims turn their attention to the religious celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, Eid-al-Fatr, and the local children's celebration, Giurgian, where the tykes drss up in traditional garb and ask for sweets and money. AIS had a Guirgian parade, and the kids did not disappoint! 

Birthdays 'n' weekends

Another great weekend... begun early (Tuesday) because of Brent's birthday. A night out for B&R of fine dining (mmm... buffet...) and a nice get-together on Wednesday with some of our new colleaugues and friends.

Also, it is rumoured that yesterday saw "the change," which means the wind now comes from the North thus bringing cooler temps. We must be acclimatizing... Brent went for a 10K run in 28-degree weather and felt somewhat cool at the start...

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather!

B&R

Kuwait Towers, October 18, 2005. 

Left & Right enjoying a night out for Brent's birthday, October 18. Self-pic, top of Kuwait Towers. 

Ah, (virtual) fall colours...

Hi, everyone:

We had a lovely weekend, nice and busy (marks are due in for report cards tomorrow).

Last week we also had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Mom and Dad V. on their 40th anniversary--Congratulations, Folks!

Calling the cottage was great; speaking to the sibs and parents a blessing. From reports out Bancroft-way, the colours are in full change-mode, particularly around Jordan lake. I (Brent) checked the Weather Network website this morning to see how we should dress for the day, and was splashed with a wonderful fall panorama (wonder-fall? Ha Ha.) on the top of their web-page. I had a brief pang of wish-I-was-there to enjoy the colours, seeing as the colours here are limited to what people wear--and they arewearing more colours now that the weather's cooling down--and innumerable shades of brown.

Gotta say, though: I've never enjoyed wearing a red t-shirt more!

Anyhow, we're off to teach for the day. Ma'al Salaama, everyone!

B&R

Friday's quote-du-jour

Said after church by resident deep-thinker Brent: "Happiness is a good coffee mug."

Too much coffee, mayhap?

B&R

More fabric from Bangladesh. 

The Friday Market

...which happens Thursday, as well.

On a quest for a lighter-weight king-size comforter, Rosalee and I headed out to the Friday Market, a sprawling bazaar located about 15 minutes from our apartment. More of a holy-cow-could-you-stuff-more-vendors-into-the-place kind of feel than a market, one can find everything from 2nd-hand shoes to plasma televisions.

We found a vendor who had a nice comforter/sheet set in our price range (4KD, or about $16 cdn), only to discover that the definition of "king-size" varies, depending on how much a vendor wants to make the sale. So, we have another queen-sized blanket on our monstrous king-sized bed.

Ah, adventures in Middle-Eastern bargaining. And if anyone needs a really cheap Rolex or Omega watch, let us know... ;-)

B&R

Friday Market. 

Bangladeshi textiles, Friday Market. 

Friday Market. 

Shoppers a the Friday Market, Kuwait. 

Funky chicken, Friday market. 

Ramadan Links

If you're curious, here are a couple of links that explin Ramadan much better than I can:

http://www.factmonster.com/spot/ramadan1.html

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajuddin/fast_1.html

http://www.ramadan.co.uk/

Ramadan

Tomorrow AIS and all schools in Kuwait move to a Ramadan schedule. For teachers and students, this means shortened hours, so fasting Muslim students can relax in the hot afternoon hours and conserve their energy for the long night of breaking-fast and prayer. The government schools have decided upon an 8:45am-1:45pm school day, and AIS will follow suit.

For those of us who aren't Muslim, Ramadan doesn't change our routines too much, aside from not eating and drinking in public or in front of our students. Thankfully, the students at AIS are quite understanding of non-Muslims who choose to eat; locking the door to munch quick snacks and chugging water between classes seems to be the routine, and Brent's classroom has been designated as the non-fasting lunch room.

We also will have to deal with the inevitable fatique and grumpiness that comes with early mornings and late nights--indeed, some students pray all night and sleep in the afternoon--and plan lots of hands-on-busy-projects to hlp the students focus on things other than their grumbling tummies.

The adventure continues!

B&R