Tag Archives: Kuwait life
Al Farsi International Kite Festival
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…
Friday Fun
Today, after a morning at home that started out really well and ended quite poorly, we got a last minute invitation to join some friends at the Hilton before heading to their place for dinner. I {being me} was beginning to go absolutely stir crazy and needed to get out of the apartment, so I jumped at the opportunity, prepared a salad and a veggie tray with homemade dip, and had us all packed up and ready to go in 35 minutes. I’m so glad I said yes. It turned out to be an absolutely lovely afternoon filled with sunshine, play, good friends, and delicious food, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
Anjafa Beach Playground
Without question, one of the things we miss most about home while in Kuwait is not being able to just get up and walk to a park or playground. Not only is walking to a park simply out of the question where we live, but in general, finding playgrounds that are clean, safe, and well-kept is a bit of a challenge here. What we’ve found during our many years in Kuwait is that a playground will pop up and be really nice for a short period of time before being destroyed and becoming filthy. I’m not sure why there’s not more focus on maintaining what is already in place, but our strategy is normally to find a couple of great playgrounds, use them a ton while they’re in good condition, and then find a new ones when the old ones are no longer nice/safe/in full working order. It’s not ideal, but it works.
And so, one of our current favourites is the fairly new and fully covered playground at Anjafa Beach. While it’s got low, easily accessible areas for younger kids, it’s also got a teeter totter, a bike merry-go-round, and a rocking boat, which Miss G loves. It’s also right in front of the beach and fully covered, so it should be doable even when the weather begins to get hot {ugh – not looking forward to that after such a lovely cool winter}. The playground’s only downside would be the fact that it’s only got one working swing, but hey – here in Kuwait, I’ve found that a working swing period is quite a score!
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A Very Kuwait Morning
This morning was what I like to call a ‘Kuwait morning’. What does that mean? Well, while living in Kuwait comes with many lovely perks {hello, beach days, cheap gas, and lovely sunsets!}, it also comes with many challenges. In general, I find that most things just aren’t as ‘easy’ as they are elsewhere. From getting places to grocery shopping to government procedures to finding out information about things – it can all be a little bit difficult, and that was certainly the case today.
As I’ve mentioned before, Grae and I are lucky to be part of a wonderful play school co-op here, and while our usual meet-ups happen at the beginning of the week, we also often meet on Thursdays for some sort of outing around the country. Well, since we’d heard that there was some sort of ice sculpture exhibit happening for Hala February {ice sculptures in the desert?!}, we decided that that would be our destination for this morning’s outing. We weren’t surprised to find that there was very little information about the event online, but after a fellow mom asked about it in an expat moms forum, we found out that the event was taking place at the International Fair Grounds and opened at 10 a.m. Perfect!
Except… When we arrived, we didn’t know where the actual exhibit was happening {nor did anyone else who was there} and when we did find Snow City, the area where the ice sculptures apparently are, it was closed. Of course, by this time our munchkins had been in the car a good long while and they had trekked all though the carnival looking for the right area, so since nobody around seemed to mind, we decided we’d just have a little peek inside. ☺
The Scientific Center Kuwait
Gracen and I quite like The Scientific Center here in Kuwait… It’s an aquarium, discovery centre {much like a science centre back home}, and IMAX theatre all in one, and a great place to visit when you’re wanting to avoid the inevitable dust and heat that comes with living in the desert. We usually make a morning of it and arrive for opening {I love that it opens for 9 instead of 10 like most places do}. We roam slowly through the aquarium, then move onto Discovery Place, and finish off with a walk outside to see the dhow boats and a stop at Starbucks at the end. Ooh – and then a stop at the gift shop on the way out of course – this may just be my favourite part as they have all kinds of really cool things. It’s sort of sad to say, but unlike many places in Kuwait, The Scientific Center is very well-kept and always clean, which is a nice change {and why we’re happy to go so regularly}. We enjoy it so much, in fact, that we just buy the annual memberships and visit once a month to every 6 weeks or so. For us, if all we do is the aquarium and Discovery Place, we’ve paid for our memberships in just 5 visits, so it’s well worth it. Not to mention that having a membership gives you 20% off of all the very cool things in the gift shop, which is a pretty big deal if you love non-fiction books, miniature creatures, magnets, and other awesome things.
Here’s today’s visit in photos… The Discovery Place was closed due to an exhibit change, but we still had a great time and will be back to check out what all the ‘Bon Appetit’ theme will include very soon.
Grass & Trees
When you live in Kuwait and you have photos like these, you know it’s been a very, very good day.
‘White Day’
This afternoon we headed down to Fahaheel for some fun around the fish market and fountains before sitting down to an outdoor dinner at Paul….
Friends, Fun, & Falafel
iPhoneography // February Sky
A gorgeous evening in the courtyard… Now if only we could convince the weather to stay just like this year round.
Messila Kites
One of the things I love doing here in Kuwait is heading down to Messila Beach on a Friday or Saturday afternoon and watching the giant kites fly in the wind with the beat of loud Arabic music pulsing in the background. Gracen loves it too, and though Brad doesn’t find it nearly as captivating as us girls do, he humours us and comes along most of the time {normally with the prospect of a yummy dinner out afterwards}. Here’s a peek at today’s outing…
Bits of Beauty in Mahboula
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
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 // Morning Beach Frolic
iPhoneography // Done.
I’ve been dreading today since we first decided we were moving back to Kuwait… The day when we had to go for Gracen’s residency visa “medical”. There are so many things I truly enjoy about living in Kuwait, but dealing with any sort of government clinic process is simply not on the list. The facilities are dingy, the nurses are brash, and there’s no effort made to explain anything to either the parent or the child. It’s not lovely to say the least. Luckily, I’ve done this once before and knew exactly what to expect. I had all of my ducks in a row before going and prepped myself to speak up and not be pushed around last night.