Welcome December!

WOW has it been a while since I've written! At least it feels like it.

Well let's get to business! Christmas is almost here! And I wondered whether or not Kuwait celebrates Jesus' birthday- since he's a major Prophet & all (and a Muslim co-worker told me that he believes Jesus is the son of God). Christmas is not a Kuwaiti holiday but it IS celebrated by Christians in Kuwait. In fact, going to the malls & grocery stores like the Sultan Center, they not only decorated their buildings for Christmas but also sold Christmas decorations & trees (not real trees of course, fake ones).

Blogger, this website I use to blog, has somehow hidden or eliminated the ability to upload a photo. So I'll have to post a link to the album for you to see.

I bought this really warm, fluffy, double sided jacket that keeps me OH SO WARM & I love it! I'm definitely not making a fashion statement with it, but that's ok- It's doing its job very well, especially on those cold nights in the desert.

So the other day I was in a taxi going back home and it was around 3am. Once we get near our exit, we hit MAJOR traffic on the highway. We were completely stopped on the road. It turns out, Kuwait won the Gulf Cup & Kuwaiti's were celebrating by stopping on the highway, getting out of their cars & dancing. Lots of people were honking their horns, blasting music, waving flags, and I even saw a Kuwaiti mother lift up her infant & held him up through the sun roof as they were driving!!! Some of the things people do here make you say, "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING??!"

To me, it was cool to see the Kuwaitis celebrating. Walking through the mall earlier that night I saw little kids wearing Kuwaiti flags or shirts with the Kuwaiti emblem. I'm really happy for Kuwait! CONGRATS KUWAIT ON WINNING THE GULF CUP!!!

On a different topic, I just wanted to share with you guys that yesterday I was recognized by the CEO of the company I work for & the President and received an award & special, rare coin. I guess they really liked me putting together a Christmas carol group! I recruited 2 VERY talented soldiers from West Virginia & sang with them about an hour's worth of Christmas music for the Tree Lighting ceremony.

Speaking of West Virginia- I NEVER liked Country Music. Ok, Maybe 1 song from Rascal Flatts & a few Carrie Underwood songs....but working with a lot of soldiers from the East Coast & the South....it seems like ALL I HEAR is country music! LOL! For Karaoke nights, they all come out & sing country music. For Open Mic nights, the performers play country music. I was forced to....embrace it. I'm not a COMPLETE fan of country music yet- BUT, there's something about the music that brings people together. One soldier got up to play the "West Virginia" song (?) and all the people from West Virginia starting chanting the song together & linked arms.

It seems like there's some type of unity in these folky states lol. What does California have? LOL nothing like that. No theme song.

A few days ago, I went to get an eye exam done. It was around 4:30 & I was SO nervous they would be closing shop soon & I NEEDED to get a recent prescription for work requirements. I walk into 3 different stores that sell eye/sun glasses, and the docs don't get there until the EVENING. That's so weird to me b/c at 5 MAYBE 6pm, Doctor's offices are closed in the States. Kuwaitis don't work, sleep in during the day, wake up late, and go out at night.

Well, Merry Christmas to my readers! Although it's NOT the date that Jesus was actually born, it's the time of year where we formally throw his birthday party ;-)