Hunter

So here is a link for a blog to Hunter, my awesome puppy! Angel is posting pics. He sends me updates almost weekly and he has some up now. So if youre curious about my puppy, feel free to check up on him! He's getting so big and his tongue is HUGE!
www.hunter02192009.blogspot.com Sorry I could not edit this to make it a link, you will have to cut and past

Awesome Dining

Alrighty,
So tomorrow I am going to a Lebanese beach party...should be interesting, Ill do my best to get as many photos as I can! But for now I just wanted to tell you all about the lavish lunches I have been having. The Lebanese food here is incredible! I eat lots of hummus, barbecued cheese, tabouli, which is like pico de gallo but with more greens, and pita bread. What I think is funny is the bottled water. You are not automatically given water, you have to buy bottles of water. And when it is brought to your table they present it to you like a bottle of wine. Like I am supposed to check the lable to see if it's a good year or something, IT'S WATER! They also pull the chairs out for you and place napkins on your lap. And these are at the average restaurants. My absolute favorite part is the hot towels. Yes, they bring you hot towels before you eat so you cant wash up. And these aren't the thin tiny towels like on airplanes. They are even scented with a nice perfume. SO COOL! And at the end of every meal it is customary to have tea or coffee. A lot of people drink Turkish coffee, but I was spoiled with my awesome Turkish roomate, Ayse in college, and no one makes Turkish coffee better then a Turk! So I go for the French coffee myself. Anyway, Ill be in touch after my beach party. Take care!

Ikea

For my Swedish Family out there, here is the Kuwait Ikea! Unfortunately it is not as frugally priced here as it is in America. But I can vouch that they do still sell the Swedish Meatballs in the cafeteria here!

Hookah

We are smokinig out of a Hookah, otherwise known as a Hubbly Bubbly here in Kuwait. The tobbacco is called Shisha. There are like 20 different flavors, I was smoking apple that night. It is a smooth tobbacco that does not burn the throat and there is no nicotine to make it addictive. It gives you a mild high that goes away approximately 15-20 minutes after you stop smoking. Again this is the night we went into town.

Election Night

Hey yall!
The photos I am uploading here are from a night adventure. We went out to observe the local populace before the elections. We started having dinner outside on the roof until a wind storm came in. The nook that we ate in was fabulous. It resembled a big sofa bed with pillows to just lounge on. Also the drinks you see are delicious! I am drinking a pomegranate juice, and my buddy Logan had something called a Hawaiin Sunrise. Jon is drinking a frozen mint lemonade, mint is a big thing here, but I havent tried it in a drink yet. The juices are incredible because they are all fresh and organic. They better taste good since there is no rum or tequila in this country!!

Parks and mosque

These are photos of an amusement park, but I have been told it has never been opened, Jon joked that he believes it is a tax write-off. I apologize for the next two photos, we were driving somewhat fast. But I thought it was funny because it is a photo of a Burger King right nextdoor to a mosque, you can just barely see the mosque on the left side, the next photo is of the mosque.

Tour

Here is a video of us driving around the city. In the car is myself, my partner Jon, and in the back is Ed, our interpreter. The volume is a bit low, I apologize. Enjoy!

Restaurants

Here we have a Popeye's and Little Caesar's pizza, notice the writing is in Arabic and English. Also pictured is a Burger King Drive-In and a local taxi cab

Homes

Here are some photos of the local buildings. I think the first is an apartment home being built. My favorite is the purple hourse.

car wreck

Here is a photo of an obviously beat up car. The car was brought to the police station to be inspected. There horrible accidents here on account of the terrible drivers out here who speed over 160 kilometers an hour! There were a lot of beat up cars like this one in the parking lot.

Oil refineries

Here are some photos of the oil refineries, or oil plants or something. You can see the tall stacks with fire burning. They completely pollute the air, which is horrible for our lungs. But the upside is the smog and smoke it creates keeps some of the hot sun out.

Schwarmas

Well Hello,
Sorry it has taken me so long to post something. It is Sunday morning here. OnTHursday I got to conduct my first liaison meeting. It was fun and interesting to see inside these buildings. They are so wealthy, with servants and all. I had some Turkish coffee, which unfortunately was nothing compaired to the Turkish coffee my Turkish roomate, Ayse who I miss dearly, made for me in college! I also tried Arabien coffee, which tastes like paint thinner, I mean tis stuff is gross! But I had to drink it while eating some dates, a great delicassy here. They have a variey of dates, with almonds or sesame seeds and other fillings and powders. THey are quite sweet for me though, even though they are all natural.
After our meeting we went for some lunch and my terp (interpreter) took me to a schwarma stand. Schwarmas are these opn face type sandwiches. They look a lot like philly steak sandwiches with no cheese. They put on onions and tomotoes and this special sauce that resembles mustard. But the crazy thing about them is the way they were cooked. I will have to get a photo at some point.
The meet is skewered on a vertical pole that is about 4 feet tall. They layer thin strips of lamb, well i think it is lamb, on top of each other. After putting on about 11 inches of lamb they throw on about 6 5 inches of fat and keep alternating. There is a heater behind the skewer which slowly cooks the meet. Every few minutes the meet stick is rotated about a quarter turn. The meet is shaved off the sides. AS the meet cooks the bottom section eventually is cooked or shaved off allowing for more meet to be placed on the top. The shaved meet is placed on hot dog bun looking pieces of bread and served. Typically three schwarmas will fill you up.
So that is my first experience eating local food. The schwarmas are quite good, I dont love the sauce, but it is something different to eat. OH! And served with the schwarmas are carrots, hicama root and these long skinny green peppers that have all been soaked in this vinegar type mixture. Not deliciouse, but again edible.
Ok, unfortunately I dont think much will be going on for me this week, but if anything happens, Ill be sure to keep you all posted. Hope everyone had a great weekend!