A good day....

...because on this day, 27 years ago, the world was immeasurably brightened by the birth of one Rosalee Margaret Roth.

And now I am blessed to have her brighten every single one of my days.

Happy Birthday, my Rosalee, my Left, my Heart!

Much love from your Right.

Chinese food tonight, baby!

Brent

Back online... slowly.

We often say it, but how often do we really think about our dependance on the 'net?

And we really notice it when it's gone, all right, particularly over here where phonecalls, banking, correspondence, etc. are all done via the internet.

Apparently there was a fire at Kuwait's ministry of communications that took out the server that directs internet traffic to/from Kuwait (all 'net traffic is monitored here). Caught 'em off-guard, too, and as a result all internet was down for a few days.

Anyhow, we're back online, albeit slowly.

Welcome back, us?

B&R

Special Blaine Day!

This is a quick note for the paterfamilias of the Stratford Blaine clan, Sean, who celebrates a birthday today.

To mark this auspicious occasion, we thought we'd include a recent photo of the good Dr. Blaine, taken in his office this past August.

Happy Birthday from Kuwait, you handsome Monkey!

New leadership

On the morning of January 15th, at 3am or so, The Amir of Kuwait, HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, passed away after a lengthy battle with illness. We found out when we went out to McD's for breakfast after dropping Mom & Dad off at the airport. It's not often McD's closes in Kuwait, so we knew it had to be significant.

The day before, we had observed extra traffic security along Gulf Road for motorcades and the like. We now figure that it was family and friends of the late Sheikh rushing to the palace before he passed away. Three days of intense mourning followed where mostly everything was closed (AIS included), and now we're in the middle of an extended 40-day mourning period where entertainment is reduced, radio stations don't broadcast, and flags remain at half-mast.

On Wednesday, after ten days of unofficial re-organizing, it was announced that the former Prime Minister--also in the Al-Sabah clan--would become the next Amir of Kuwait. Ordinarily the honour would fall upon the Crown Prince, who was selected by Sheikh Jaber himself awhile ago. However, the Crown Prince was also in his 70's and in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's; thus, it was decided that the role of Amir would fall to the Prime Minister.

It has been an eventful time here in Kuwait. We'reapproaching Islamic New Year, and rumours have been buzzing around that the coronation of the new Amir would coincide with New Year's and mean an extra day off for the people of Kuwait and ex-pat workers.

So, happy new year from the Gulf!

B&R

Election...

So, after a few months of scratching and fitting between all the candidates, the election has come and gone. As predicted, Canadians cautiously voted for change and it looks as though Stephen "I'm not scary anymore, really!" Harper and his Conservatives have secured a minority government.

Now, I'm no conservative, but I figure the switch'll do Canada some good. Apart from wondering where the justice is when The Bloc only gets 10.5% of the vote yet secures 51 seats over the NDP's 17.5% left with 29 seats, I look forward to seeing if ol' scary-pants Harper can affect some real change in the government. I fear more partisan bickering and stalling with a minority staus, but hope for some good things.

Rosalee and I didn't vote, unfortunately. Despite all the advances in passport technology and communications, Canadians abroad still have to mail in a request for voting priveleges in their home ridings. And by the time I looked into it, it was too late to mail and have a response about our status. It seems to me that it would be a relatively easy thing to verify a person's identity and pass out forms from consulates and embassies, but aside from being annoyed that it seems archaic, I really have only complaints and little concrete knowledge about such things.

Anyhow, here's hoping that Canada works even better now that some seat-switching has taken place. G'oh Canada!

Updates...

For those who read yesterday's post, I'm happy to report that, after wearing a polar fleece pullover, my inner temperature has reached equilibrium. It's good to be warm again...

We also received our Christmas package from the RuleDuinen's in Ottawa after a bit of a delay. First of all, a huge thanks for the running gear and exercise ball (we even got a pilates video!)--much appreciated, much appreciated. Family's great, isn't it?

The dust storm seems to have abated after three days of dustiness. Thanksfully the last two days were only slightly dusty as opposed to the sniffle-and-cough day we'd had before (see our earlier pictures)

I just watched my beautiful Rosalee walk by the office, and I had one of those all-is-right-with-the-world moments. Wife is good...

...didja get the typo? Wife instead of life? See, I changed the "l" to a "w," thus making it funnier. It's a pun.

Okay, now I'm rambling. Back home, the Conservatives are in the lead as I write this--minority gov't on the way?

To the desert to freeze...?

Another proud moment smashed... and when I say proud, I mean my silly, blinding pride...

Before we left, I checked out the Weather Network's statistics on Kuwait. In Jan/Feb, the website said that the average daytime high was 22 degrees, and the average nighttime low was 3 degrees. "Ach, no problem," said I, "I'll bring warmer casual clothes because the cold spells will happen at night."

Across an ocean in a country where we're acclimatized to cooler temps (the before-Kuwait me: "22 degrees? Hah. T-shirt weather. Where's my Coppertone?"), that might have seemed like sound theory, right?

Well, another 15-degree day yesterday (in T.O. they had 12 degress and folks were playing golf the other day), and I still found myself shivering. And I'm fortunate to have working heaters in my classroom--my wonderful wife and her art department compatriot have been working in the art class this whole time sans heaters. The school is re-examining the whole heater situation, thankfully, so hopefully dear Rosalee will find some warmth in her workspace really soon.

In the meantime, I've had to surrender myself to the idea of buying a couple of sweaters--amazing how such comments to myself as, "aw, I'll just put these sweaters into storage... who needs wool in Kuwait?" can turn around and bite a guy in his posterior.

My casual clothing collection sure is set, though... too bad we spend eight hours dressed up every day!

Dust Storm, Part II

Yesterday we had another "minor" dust storm, this one somwhat more intense than the one we had in September. When the wind blows from the NW, we tend to get much of the dust and grit that is picked up in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

It's days like this when we realize how far from Canada's woods and rock we really are. It makes for a very interesting drive, and looks much like a yellow fog. Mind you it's harder on the lungs, as I'm sure you can imagine. 

 

Back to reality...

...sort of.

Well, Rosalee and I went back to work on Wednesday, two days later than we had originally planned. On the morning we dropped Mom & Dad off at the airport, Kuwait's emir passed away after a lengthy decline in health. As a result, Kuwait closed down for three days, and thus our school started back up two days later.

First of all, our condolences to the people of Kuwait at the passing of Sheikh Al-Sabah. He was loved by many of his subjects, was a progressive who ruled through the gulf war and helped Kuwaiti women attain the right to vote, and will be missed.

Despite the circumstances, the extra few days was a welcome occasion, as we would have had to get back to work the day after dropping the folks off. And, if we're honest, we needed the extra days to really get ready--from what we hear, a goodly number of teachers were planning on an easy day--i.e. handing back assignments and such--the day we got back.

But it also meant we had a one-day week. Felt like a full five days, in some ways: as you can imagine, the kids were somewhat squirrely after such an eventful break. But weekends are good, eh?

Going to see Narnia this weekend.

B&R

Another great picture, Mom. Fisherman, Kuwait fish market, Jan. 10, 2006. 

Thanks, Folks!

We brought Mom and Dad vS off to the airport yesterday morning after an amazing five-day visit.

They arrived on the 10th at about 7am, looking somewhat red-eyed and haggard after a monster flight from Toronto via London. We had been given a car to use by some friends who were out of the country for the holidays (Thanks, Martin's!), so picking up and driving around and such was made that much easier. You can tell they are seasoned world-travellers, however, and after a brief nap and some lunch were ready to start exploring.

Kuwait is a really easy country to live in, and thus we had no difficulties getting around and showing Mom and Dad the sights. Probably the best part, aside from having family here in the first place, was that we were also able to explore some places that we'd not yet seen: experiencing new things with loved ones is a real blessing to be sure.

The highlights: showing off our neighbourhood and school, eating at some of our favourite places (Iranian, Indian, Lebanese, local), cooking with and for our parents, having a meal cooked for us, making a road-trip to the Iraq border, camel-races, picnicking by the gulf, exploring the desert, sifting through ruins from Gulf War I, late-night Canasta matches (at which we were truly pummelled by M&D), wandering through the fish-market and chatting with the locals, browsing and bartering at the traditional souks around Kuawit, sharing our church community with M&D, watching a DVD movie on our laptop-home-theatre, relaxing, and just having a good time with loved ones we haven't seen in a few months.

There are so many little memories...

But most of all, we really appreciate that Mom and Dad came to visit, spending the extra money and time to be here with us, and allowing us to share a bit of our lives in Kuwait with them.

Godspeed in Israel, Mom and Dad--we'll be thinking and praying for you.

B&R

Hosting Mom & Dad V. was a lot of fun. They were our first guests here in Kuwait, and our first "stay-in" guests since the wedding.

It's nice to be able to do something for them, after all those years of putting up with... er, I mean caring for us.

B&R are making their patented bran-apple pancakes for the folks on their second day in Kuwait (Mom made us pose for this one...). 

 

Sharq fish market. Great shot, mom! 

Kuwait Fish Market. Mom was in her element here--all the fish you could imagine, fresh off the boat. 

Dad and Mom had arrived earlier that day... hmm, it says something when the hosts look more jet-lagged than the visitors. 

Brent and Dad catching up while Mom and Rosalee sought out some "essentials" in the mall. Souk Sharq, January 15, 2006. 

Looking up at the restaurant-level of the Kuwait Towers.

We went up the towers, but didn't take any pictures, due mostly to the hazy conditions (and Brent's mild vertigo). 

On Mom and Dad's last day here, after brief periods of exposure, the sun finally made a committed appearance (imagine coming to the desert to face cold rain!). So, we spent the day goofing off around Kuwait City. This is a close-up shot of the base of one of the Kuwait Towers. 

The four of us decided to check out the camel-races, which run on Thursdays (local "Saturday") through the winter.

Talk about bizarre experiences. There was a group of important-looking Arabs in the VIP seats in front of us, a TV crew, photographer, and such, for the awards-presentation. Lots of embracing, kissing, and nose-touching by the Arabs, while we stood behind, completely ignored by everyone.

The races themselves are done on a long, L-shaped track; the camels, robot-jockeys, and controllers line up at the start way out in the desert, and run in to the finish line in front of the viewing stand. The day we went, it was a fairly sparse crowd, which added to the "Hmm, are we in the right place?" feeling even more... 

Finish-line at the camel-races, Jan. 13, 2005. If you look closely, you will see that the camel "riders" don't look quite human. Well, that's because they aren't; a couple of years ago, Arab countries were pummelled by human-rights organizations who took issue with the centuries-old Bedouin tradition of having small children as camel-jockeys for races (smaller people = less weight = faster camels). As a result, small remote-controlled robots were developed to control the camels... you can see the trucks racing behind with a driver as well as a controller in the passenger-seat. 

Herding the racing-camels after the races, Jan. 13, 2006. 

Mom snapped this excellent sunset from the roof of B&R's building, Jan. 13, 2006.

Mom & Dad V, teaming up to cook B&R a nice meal. I think they had fun doing it, too! 

Mom cooked an Arab-esque meal for us! Spicy Turnip/Potato soup, mangos, hommous, and falafel wraps filled out the menu. Thanks, Mom--it was delicious. 

Blurry lunch-break at the bombed-out village on our Iraq-border road-trip, Jan. 11, 2006.

Rosalee & Brent waiting for Mom and Dad V's arrival at the Starbuck's in Kuwait's International Airport, Jan. 1, 2006.

Mom shot this pic of desert camping, Kuwaiti-style. The winter brings temperatures that range from 3degrees at night to 15 or so during the day, and so camping outdoors becomes more comfortable; as a result, Kuwaitis flock--and I mean flock, the sheer numbers of tents is incredible--to the desert to re-connect with a Bedouin past long gone for most. I wonder if we stripped the trees and features from Canada's landscape if we'd see similar scenes in the summer... 

 

Mom took this one... quite the rebel, eh? Iraqi tank graveyard, Kuwait. 

Kuwait/Iraq border, January 2006 (wrong date on pic). Shortly thereafter, a bored yet agitated Kuwaiti border guard walked over and informed us that pictures in this area were verboten.

 

Bullet-hole, deserted village, Kuwait. 

 

The last Kuwait border checkpoint before Iraq. The actual border is 2kms farther along, but this is as far as unauthorized folks are allowed to go (notice that there are a few other turn-around marks, probably from other tourists). 

These guys weren't so relaxed, all armoured and protected, and armed for bear. They didn't appreciate having their picture taken... we had let them cross the road in front of us and had just finished waing and smiling their thanks when I snapped this. Their demeanour changed then, all right, andwe earned a very irritated "Hey!" 

Up-Armoured transports ready to move into Iraq. The soldiers are enjoying a brief rest and smoke break before donning their helmets, flak-jackets, and weapons for their journey into the war-zone. These guys were really relaxed, just hanging out; a couple of them waved, even. 

US military hardware at the Iraq border. Notice that the Humvee's are the "Up-armoured" variant made necessary by the insurgency in Iraq. 

Pipeline pit-stop, south of Iraq border 

Convoy headed south from Iraq, likely contracted by US military. 

Anonymous pipelines in the Kuwait desert, about 3km south of the Iraqi border. 

Iraqi tank graveyard

After the war, the Allies needed a place to put the hundreds of burned-out tanks, personnel carriers, trucks and such. So, they picked a huge area near Ali Al-Salem air base and put 'em all there.

The four of us stopped by on our trip to the Iraq border. The Kuwaitis are finally cleaning up the area, and a cutting-crew was busy turning thousands of wrecked military pieces into usable steel.

It's quite the feeling, standing amongst all the wrecks. People were inside when they were attacked, many were no doubt killed, and the only memorial is a rusted, jumbled mass of metal occasionally visited by tourists. Eerie. 

Mom & Dad VS Here in Kuwait!

Mom and Dad arrived on the 10th to hang out with B&R for five days. We have been running around and seeing the sights, interspersed with some good relaxation-time.

We made a run to the Iraq border yesterday, pausing to eat lunch at a bombed-out village that was never rebuilt after the '91 Gulf War.

Too bad Brent's camera was at the wrong setting all day, and thus was set for close-ups of flowers, and not landscapes. Ugh. Mom's camera was out too, though, so there are more pictures somewhere...

Great to have you here, folks! 

Happy New Year!

Hello, Everyone, and Happy New Year!

We've just returned from our five days in Dubai. Wow, what a neat city: cosmopolitan, clean, bustling... best of all, we were able to do a bunch of neat things. We spent New Year's Eve wandering around the city and eating amazing Chinese hot-pot, and enjoying our lack of itinerary. That was the best part of our trip, we think, the ability to go where the wind blows and spirit moves, and thus we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves even more.

Anyhow, rather than bore you with blah-blah, we've posted a bunch of pictures from our trip. Of course, these are just a small sampling of our holiday, but they do provide a nice glimpse into what were were up to. Enjoy!

Brent and Rosalee would like to wish all of our friends and family a blessed 2006 and beyond--we're thinking about you all, and hope the best for you and your families.

IC,

B&R

Mohammed and his brothers

Mohammed was kind enough to allow a picture to be taken of him and his siblings (who also were named Mohammed, no kidding). Very curious and very anxious to say "hello, how are you?" 

Camel X'ing

We thought about borrowing/stealing one of those diamond-shaped camel-crossing road signs, but when you consider that these guys are about 8ft. tall, you realize that drivers should have all the reminders they can get about NOT driving into them.

This trio of camels was a little out of sorts and unable to decide whether or not to cross the highway: traffic stop = photo op. 

B&R, nighttime abra ride. New Year's Eve, 2005. 

Abra...

...cadabra...?

Abras, small boats, are the easiest and cheapest way to get across Dubai Creek. These chaps were more than happy to mug for the camera. 

Bottling sand for posterity...

...and we got it back into Kuwait, too! 

And what would a desert-trip be without the requisite "footprints" shot. (Incidentally, the wind had picked up quite a bit by this point, and our footprints were gone ten minutes later.) 

"Real" Desert

We also got to see and trek around what most folks envision as the desert: bare sand and dunes as far as the eye can see. Mostly, the dunes are used for "dune-bashing," which involves driving one's ATV or SUV up and down the dunes. We arrived late on a Friday (Muslim day off), so by this point there were hundreds of vehicles combing the sand. We were fortunate to find this spot, which had been closed earlier, and so the desert was able to erase most vehicle tracks, leaving the amazing view you see here. 

Hatta

The village of Hatta, Sharjah, UAE. This was our primary destination on our day-trip out of Dubai. Hatta is a large village about 2hrs from Dubai, and is still mostly stuck in the "old way." This is a view from the fort watchtower of the residential section of town. Notice the jagged mountains and stark white mosque dominating the vista. 

Watchtower, Old Fort, Hatta, UAE. 

 

 

Mountains, even... 

A little farther still, and the desert changes again, to dead-flat hard-pan with low, broad trees reminiscent of African savannah (or so we've heard...) 

Out a little farther and the dunes are broken up by rock outcroppings and stunted thorn-trees. 

The desert has many faces in the UAE. Around Dubai one finds mostly dunes with low scrub brush. 

1st Camel Sighting

Rosalee and Brent's first Middle East camel-sighting from the bus. Check out the one on the left: it was almost black, a rarity amongst the camels we saw on our Hatta outing. 

Universals...

Gas/restroo