Al Farsi International Kite Festival

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Oh my goodness… Grae and I had the loveliest morning today. After an unsuccessful attempt at getting out to the Al Farsi International Kite Festival yesterday, this morning Miss G and got ready, jumped into our SUV, and headed south into the desert. We saw a huge herd of camels along the way, which is always exciting, but Miss G was extra impressed by the fact that there were two that were so light that they looked bright white. ☺ Not long after the camels, we spotted a group of huge, colourful kites on the opposite side of the highway and we knew that we’d found what we were looking for.

Despite the fact that we arrived an hour later than we intended to (an hour after opening), we were some of the first people to arrive and Miss G loved the fact that we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. Arabic music was bumping, new kites were being put up by the kite team one after the other, and all sorts of bouncy castles were begging to be jumped in. It was a blast.

We ended up staying for a couple of hours, and Miss G was treated like a little queen the entire time. Everywhere we went, she got smiles, hellos, offers of face painting, and invitations to colour, and she actually ended up leaving with a mylar balloon, a Kuwait kite, and a wrapped gift. We also ended up sharing an order of french fries, which in our family, is pretty much the treat of the century.

Here’s our morning in photos…

Bits of Beauty in Mahboula

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One thing I adore most about children is their innate ability to see the beauty in the world around them. And our adventures in the desert space near our apartment remind me of that admirable quality every time we go on one.

While I often suggest going on a ‘desert adventure’ as a way to get out of the house {and stay sane} when we’re vehicle-less, Gracen is always thrilled with the suggestion and often shouts, ‘Yay! We’re going on a treasure hunt!’ before running off to retrieve a bag to house her findings. She returns, pops her shoes on her feet and cheers, ‘Let’s go!’ anxious to see what sort of beautiful things she might find today.

Truthfully, in the stereotypical sense, our neighbourhood is far from beautiful. It’s filled with piles of trash, mounds of sand are scattered throughout, dumped building supplies are plentiful, and plastic bags float around at your feet. But Gracen? She sees mountains to climb, things to investigate, and treasures waiting to be discovered. If only we could all be so optimistic.

Well I’m up for trying. Here are the bits of beauty we discovered in Mahboula today…

Mahboula Life

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Sometimes I forget just where we live. While our actual building and apartment are nice, the area of Kuwait we live in? Ehhhh, not so much. It’s a newer area, so it’s definitely in development (we just got roads recently which was huge, and we’re hoping waterlines might make it in before our time here is through) and it’s largely inhabited by third world nationals whose extremely low paying jobs are sadly still better than what they could find in their home countries. And while it can be sad and draining and frustrating to live here sometimes, I’m actually really glad that we do. In a country where {I think} it’s very easy to slip into the ‘more! more! better! more expensive!’ mindset, living in Mahboula keeps you grounded. Humble. Grateful.

And Miss G? Well, she’s just as happy exploring sandy lots and rubbish piles. In fact, today when I suggested we go out on an adventure, she quickly retrieved a bag to collect treasures in. I was skeptical, but sure enough, she found a few things she just had to take home (a pretty rock, a marble, and a plastic figurine). Here is our morning in photos…

iPhoneography // Around Mahboula

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Life back in Kuwait is treating us well. Our apartment is slowly starting to look like a home, Gracen and I have fallen into a nice routine despite the fact that we have very little mobility right now, Brad’s enjoying his new job, and I’m tutoring 4 afternoons a week, which is perfect. Here’s a peek at our new {old} life in Mahboula… It’s not one of the country’s loveliest areas, but strangely enough, it feels a lot like home.

early morning sunrise over the Gulf