Day 35 - Two friends

I have made two friends today, and it is such a relief to hear that many women go through the same things that I am struggling with now. 

Lisa, downstairs, gave me a great book - I wish I'd had it months ago, it would have helped me a lot. It is a book put out by the British Women's Club here in Kuwait, and is full of useful and important information about relocating to Kuwait. If I'd got it before I left Australia, I would not be in the pickles in am in, especially in relation to the residency visa. I was supposed to have got a number of documents stamped by both the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Kuwait Embassy in Canberra, and now we have to courier docs to Australia and it will draw out this process even longer. 

Also, my new friend Ilka, from Germany, has lots of info and advice, and is going to take me out to antique shops soon. Lisa is going to take me to furniture shops also. Her apartment, which is almost exactly the same as ours, looks fabulous, and gives me hope that ours, too, will one day be fabulous!

Tomorrow,(Thursday) Lenny does his (2 hour) test at The English School, and hopefully he will be offered a place. Apparently there is mounds of paperwork to enrol him (unlike his last school...) but Lisa has been through it all with three kids and I'm sure will be a huge help. 

Looking up some info about the aforementioned Kuwait City Cemetery, I discovered this video posted on youtube which shows a long mural painted onto the wall around the cemetery. It is quite beautiful. Here it is:

 

 

 

Comments

[Papa]

That's a remarkable mural, Janet - a whole story of Kuwaiti life. What a contrast to the inside of the cemetery.
Mama and I discussed the burqua issue. I took the view that you should not copy the local women - it's so much more than just a piece of clothing. It's their age-old culture, and also maybe reflects the pressures on women to cover up from lascivious eyes - pressures on themselves, and also from their own possessive and perhaps often cruel males. And perhaps it's a fun thing that female insiders share. I suggest you wear a simple but lovely shawl round your shoulders and over your head just to cover your hair when you go out in the street. It says, "I'm a beautiful woman and we women have a lot in common even though I'm from a different culture. I'm with you and for you, and I hope you'll be with me and for me too, sisters."
That's off the top of my head, Janet.
Love....... yr dad

[Janet Swain]

I am finding it hard to comment onthe blog with my tiny little phone keypad - sigh - I had to read your previous posts to catch up on your news. I can really imagine the sense of anxiety you are describing - it sounds very intense. Do you know this is a classic symptom of culture shock? Trini had this badly one time she was in India. Keep an eye on it - the last thing you need is a panic attack or similar. It all sound overwhelming. Even at a distance I can't get my head around the whole burqa issue ....sometimes I think they are beautiful...and at other times I just want to scream when I see women so controlled. (sorry if I offend anyone by using this word).
That cemetery ....crikey! ...that is amazing. So big and silent and powerful....
So many things to take on - no wonder the club feels like an oasis of sanity and the familiar.
I love reading your blog - big hugs !
Row xxx

[Carol]

So pleased to hear you have found some new friends, whether it knows it or not Kuwait has gained much for having you there!

The burqa question has as many threads as the garment itself, elegant prison, annoymous sanctuary, protector of privacy or object of oppression? I would find it hard, I'm look you and want to see people, especially women's eyes, they contain so much emotional information. I recorded a poem about by Jillian Kellie, 'Wearing Hijab in Muscat' in English and Arabic,for The Philosophy of Clothes collection - I will post it to you.

The graveyard photos were amazing - eery to have such a space in the middle of the city, no ground cover at all - how is it that all the sand does not just blow away, like life, one might say?

love Carol