Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Bahrain...

...where you feel like you really are on an island, where you can see the water from almost anywhere, and where you can smell the ocean every time the breeze wooshes by.

Top 5 Moments in Kuwait

There were many, but these ones top the list, in no particular order:

- spending time with childhood friends I haven't seen in over 10 years
- attending my first Kuwaiti wedding
- dipping my toes in the beautiful Gulf
- having too much chai haleeb, Kuwaiti milky tea in the very old Souq Mubarkia
- going to a horse riding competition

Kuwait, I will be back.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Today I Learned...

That just because you haven't talked to someone (minus facebook) in over 10 years, doesn't mean your friendship had died.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Fun in Kuwait!

Alright, hello there Kuwait :)
So as I mentioned before, I was born and raised in Kuwait for the first 11 years of my life. Despite all of those years, I'm back in Kuwait after 10 years... and I don't remember a thing! I thought maybe my memory will be jogged by the things around me, but things just look so different and... smaller? I think I was just much smaller so things seemed so big when I was a kid.

The things I do remember: my school (Kuwait English School), the big (not-so-big) supermarket, the building where I used to live (but I have no idea how to get to).... okay so maybe I don't actually remember that much.

However, I'm meeting up with friends I haven't seen in 10 years. This is by far the best thing about re-visiting Kuwait.

I'll post about the best of Kuwait soon :) I'm too busy taking it all in for the moment.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Living vs Visiting

There are two tell-tale signs that you are now living in a country vs just being here for a visit:
1. You can go grocery shopping alone
2. You bake

So yesterday, I did both of those things! I was out and realized we're missing a few things and that I was close to the store where we usually buy our groceries, so I just popped in and bought a few things. Alone. It felt kind of weird and great :)

Naturally, I also bought some ingredients that I normally wouldn't buy if I was on the road: cinnamon, brown sugar, a big block of chocolate, walnuts... It just felt like a great day to bake something. One of the blogs I love is Joy the Baker's cooking/life blog. Makes my day that much sweeter. The reason you normally wouldn't bake while on the road is the simple fact that baking requires utensils and ingredients that aren't everyday, for example, whisks, flour, brown sugar, etc.

I made some delicious apple crisp last night. And I feel closer to living in Egypt than just being here for a visit.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Op.

The TSA 'gropefest' - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The TSA 'gropefest' - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

I just wonder how far this ridiculousness will go.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

JOA

http://joamuslimah.blogspot.com/

...because we are all on our own journeys, together :)

Dr Tariq Ramadan 1

One of the professors who make my brain tick and who's ideas I like to read up on.

I'm looking at some of his articles and came across this one that really spoke to me today. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Today I Learned...

That Arabic is a very difficult language to learn in terms of grammar and composition. (And I'm a native speaker.)

Friday, December 3, 2010

Go Forth

I found a really great website the other day called Abraham's Path that I think is quite interesting. I first heard about it through a TED video by William Ury titled "The walk from No to Yes".
I think it's a great idea and it's definitely something I would love to go on one day.

It also reminds me of The Way of St James, a religious pilgrimage that takes place in Northern Spain, the route of which has been adopted by people of all sorts of religious and spiritual backgrounds.

There seems to be something about walking along a certain path that connects you with history and takes you on your very own quest for meaning.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Cover up


Henna. My beautiful Mauritanian henna. That no one in Egypt really thought was beautiful at all. I loved it. I loved the fact that it was new and interesting and different. It reminded me of a beautiful time spent in a country that was not like anything I've ever experienced. Then I went back to Egypt. Beauty is only defined in terms of what is familiar and known. Anything different is deemed bizarre and receives looks of wonder mixed with... disgust? I can't quite place it.


Four weeks later and all that remains is the nail henna. It only disappears as your nails grow, so this will be with me for a while. And yet the comments keep on rolling about how I really shouldn't have done "this". I loved my Mauritanian henna. But the pressure to cover up what remains of it is strong. Sigh.

Just another reassurance that the concept of "beauty" is a completely undefined and subjective one.