I Got to Stay!

So remember how I thought I was going to have to leave Kuwait? Well I got the job & have stayed put. The new company has taken over. They created a MESS! Completely unorganized & unprofessional. They cut our hours, took away our overtime, are only giving us 1 day off per week, and refuse to compensate us for travel time. It's a 3.5hr commute round trip & the previous company paid us for travel time. The new company decided to modify the shifts from 2 (day/night) to 3 shifts, 8 hrs a day yet they have not hired sufficient people. I work nights & a downside to my shift is that I am no longer able to assist in leading worship at the chapel bc their service begins at 1900 & I don't start until 2200. No one is happy with this company, especially their client. GOOD! Hopefully a new one will come in to fix their mistakes. But as of now, I'm wading in the water.

On the upside, I get more sleep now that my hours went from 13 to 8 in a day. I start work at 2200 & get off at 0700. I actually get to go out during the day & still get decent sleep! The other good thing was that I got into a bigger, better, more convenient apartment & got the master bedroom. The fact that my boyfriend lives in the same building a few floors away is also a definite PLUS. There's a grocery store, the bank I use, restaurants, & the salon I go to for eyebrow threading- across the street or nearby. Much better than the last place I was at.

One more cool thing about my apartment- I get a FULL WIFI signal from someone's router so I get FREE internet in my living room! WOOHOO! I no longer have to tether from my iPhone.

As for traveling plans.....I have no idea. My BF & I don't have the same days off anymore & we only get 1 day off a week. This has disabled our ability to take weekend trips without having to use any of our vacation time. Now we are going to HAVE to use vacation time even for a weekend trip somewhere. So THAT is definitely a NEGATIVE. This company is also making some people in different departments work 12 hour shifts 6 days a week! This wouldn't be an issue if the employees LIVED at the location of their jobs, but they don't. They live in the city.

On a different note, Kuwait is showing a lot of patriotism lately. They are celebrating 3 anniversaries. Kuwait is about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Independence, the 20th anniversary of Kuwait’s liberation by US-led Coalition-forces from the Iraqi Invaders, and the 5th anniversary of the ascendance of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah, to whom we owe deep gratitude for his long-standing and steadfast support of the US-Kuwait relationship. It is a wonderful occasion to commemorate these three important anniversaries and I wish all Kuwaitis joyous celebrations.

There are homes, buildings, cars- all decked out with flags, banners, lights at night (looks like Christmas b/c the colors are red, white, & green). Stores are filled with t-shirts with Kuwait slogans of patriotism, streamers, carnival hats & masks in their country's colors, neck ties....you name it they got it. All in the spirit of celebrating being Kuwaiti. Of course that leaves THE MAJORITY of the residents of Kuwait EXCLUDED, since there are more foreign nationals living in Kuwait than Kuwaitis themselves. Nonetheless, I'm happy, excited, and thankful that I get to be in Kuwait at such a historical time for this country. I bought an "I Love Kuwait" blouse myself lol.