18APR Mon – Musings from Kuwait Back to Afghanistan

I have been in Kuwait for about a week. I took some vacation time in Kuwait plus I am looking for a new job in Kuwait. Tonight I am at the airport on my way back to Afghanistan. I am planning to work in Afghanistan for a while longer.

In the book stores at the Kuwait International Airport, there are very few American novels. There are doubtless very few American novels in any book store in Kuwait. Most are probably banned. A romantic novel series is available but no Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, and certainly no Dan Brown on Christian mythology and symbolism; no lawyer series and no techno-thrillers or murder mysteries.

Skimming through the book stand, there was one book that stuck out – Lady, Chef, and Courtesan written by Muriel Barbery. There was one memorable quote from the author: “For a woman to exercise her power over a man she must be a Lady in the living room, a Chef in the kitchen, and a Courtesan in the bedroom. I think this is true. I also think women do have power over men.

It is funny what the Kuwaiti government censors and bans as compared to what they allow. It is against the law for a man to hold the hand of a woman unless they are married. Men and women cannot kiss in public. If a man and women are holding hands and they are not married, they can be arrested and thrown in jail. On the other hand, it is perfectly okay for two men to hold hands. Also, when men greet each other, they hold both hands and kiss each other on each check. A man can never do this in public with a woman.

Movies at the theater are all rated PG. The shows on TV are censored. One illogical example is the word Mother will be beeped out but the word Fucker is not. TV movies that are negative toward Arabs or about the topic of terrorism are banned. All romantic scenes, kissing, and any hint of sex are censored and cut out of the movies. On the other hand as I was flipping through the channels, I found several channels with half nude beautiful models and local phone numbers to call. One channel showed women nude from the waist up wearing only skimpy panties and high heels. I did not call the numbers so I can only wonder what was at the other end.

You cannot access the Skype web site from Kuwait so you cannot download Skype or obtain Skype software updates. However, if you have downloaded Skype in a different country like the US, you can use Skype from Kuwait. In other words, if you are affluent enough to travel, you can use Skype but if not then you cannot use Skype in Kuwait.

I have been told that the population of Kuwait is about 1/3 - 1/2 Kuwaitis and the rest are foreigners. The foreigners are mostly from the Philippines and India. There are many young women from Ethiopia who are hired by the Kuwaitis as house maids. The receptionist at the apartment building is from Egypt. I know a few taxi drivers from Egypt. I also meet drivers from India, Pakistan, Iran, China, and Sri Lanka. I have seen a few very dark skinned people who are most likely from Africa. Many Africans look similar to Arabs. There are people from other countries that I do not know about. All the people I work with are from the US since they must have Security Clearance. Only US citizens can obtain a Secret Clearance from the US.

There are a few Chinese. I met a Chinese man today who helps Chinese citizens obtain residency/work visas for Kuwait. He has been in Kuwait for 6 years. He is from an area in Northern China close to Russia where it is very cold. He does not like the cold but also does not like the very hot weather of the Kuwait desert. He is working in Kuwait for the money like most everyone else. He sends money back home. He has a 19 year old son who is in the China Military. I have met several Chinese in their late 30 or early 40s who have a son or daughter around age 20 living in China.

Possession or use of alcohol is strictly against the law. The Kuwaiti are so paranoid about alcohol that two bottles of herbal medicine were confiscated from me the last time I flew into Kuwait. The customs agent thought the medicine was alcohol. I could not convince him otherwise. Non-alcoholic beer is widely available at all food markets. I have been told that popular international brands of whisky, bourdon, vodka, etc. are available at a very high price. For the Chinese, rice wine is available. I think they can buy it at some Chinese restaurants. Also, beer and wine are relatively easy to make. I seldom drink alcoholic beverages so it does not matter to me that alcohol is illegal. I was upset that customs confiscated my herbal medicine.

Many Kuwaitis (maybe most but I do not know) wear the robes from head to toe. The women wear head coverings, and face coverings, too. They are always black. The men mostly wear white from the neck to the feet. Some of the robes are a different color but no bright colors; always close to white colors. Many of these men also wear a head covering but not a face covering. Underneath the robes is western attire. They wear the robes outside in public but western clothing inside.

Since only about 1/3 of the population is Kuwaiti and not all Kuwaitis wear robes, the majority of the people in the country of Kuwait do no wear robes. As I sit in the airport looking at all the people, only about 1 in 100 or 1 in 150 are wearing robes. I am seating in an area with 4 gates so there are probably 4 or 5 hundred people around. About 10% or 40 – 50 are American or northern Europe. The rest are Arab, Pilipino, Indian, or from an Asian country. I do not see any Orientals from China, Japan or similar country. Probably 60% - 70% are men.

Out of over 200 men on the plane, only 10 of us are wearing suit coats. My normal traveling uniform is from the feet up: black leather dress shoes, blue jeans, black belt, long sleeve dressy but casual shirt with button down collar, dark blue wool blend suit jacket, baseball cap, and sun glasses. Today my shirt with a very long tail is worn outside the pants. I think the look is somewhat classy but unique. Sometimes I wear trail-runner shoes instead of black dress shoes. In Kuwait, I wore sandals with short sleeve shirt and sans jacket.

I have learned to pack light in a carryon bag and back pack. This trip I packed a pair of navy dress pants, 4 pair of black socks, and one long sleeve dress shirt that I did not wear. I was quite comfortable with 1 pair of shorts, 1 pairs of jeans, and 3 short sleeve shorts to wear with sandals outside.

Tonight I am flying from Kuwait to Dubai with a scheduled arrival of 11:45 pm. The flight from Dubai to Kabul Afghanistan leaves at 8am but does not arrive in Kabul until 3:30 pm with 2 stops in Afghanistan.

18APR Monday – Again Fish Market Kuwait

At 7am we decided to go back to the fish market. We are looking for Crab.  I think Crab is out of season so they will not have Crab or it will be a high price.  I am fascinated about this market as it is a study of the free market rule of supply and demand.

We took the bus again but this time in heavy traffic.  We would arrive after the opening bell of the market but that is ok.   We learned more about this market today.

In a very loud voice in Arabic language…….… Give me 5,5,5,5.  Ok 5, what about 6, give me 6, 6, 6, 6.  Ok 51/2; now give me 6,6,6,6,.  Ok 6, give me 7, 7, what about 7,7.

The number was Kuwaiti Dinars (KDs) for the lot. The lot could range from one large fish to many small fish in a pile. One Chinese couple who owned a restaurant had an Indian man bid for them and help them understand the process.  Most of the bidders were business owners who would clean and then resell the fish at a higher price.  

The crab was being sold in lots for 10KD ($35) – 15KD ($50) which was more than we needed and more than we wanted to pay. We had to wait for one of the fish vendors to buy a lot and then we would have to pay a higher price for a smaller lot.  This a capitalistic, free market and wholesale/retail sales at work. We purchased 2 Kilo for 4KD and the vendor tossed another one in the bag for free.

I learned that the two security guards were not only to help keep the peace and protect the fish but also make sure sales were not made before the mini-auctions started.  We tried to buy crab from a fisherman but the guard said no, wait for auction.  Once the fish are placed on the blue tarp they must be sold by auction. 

With the bags of fish and groceries we wanted to pay for a taxi on the way back but we did not want to pay the regular price of 1 ½ KD.  Normally for an American, the price would be 3 – 4 KD. For non-American the price of a Taxi back to where we wanted to go would be only 1KD with hard bargaining.  We had paid 1 ½ KD all week but did not want to pay this much today. 
The first taxi would not take us for only 1 KD so we walked away for the bus. The 2^nd taxi driver wanted 1 ½ KD so I offered 1 KD and he said OK.  He didn’t actually say ok, he shrugged his shoulders OK. He was reluctant to take us for 1KD but if not we would take the bus for only 20% of 1KD,  a few  blocks walk, and only about 10 minute more.  We rode the taxi back to the apartment for 1 KD. 

16APR Sat – Fish Market Kuwait

16Apr Sat – we woke early to take the 6:30AM bus to the Fish Market in the Sultan Center about 8 miles away. The Sultan Center is a large modern grocery store and variety store in a very modern shopping mall. Part of the Sultan Center is a produce vegetable and fruit market, a meat market with goats, sheep, and chickens and a fish market where the fishermen bring in the catch of the day.

At 7am each day in the fish market they spread a large blue rip stop nylon trap on the marble floor. The fishermen park their boats just outside and start bringing in woven bags, plastic sacks, and large plastic containers with many varieties of fresh fish they just caught in their early morning run.

The fish are arranged in piles on the blue tarp. The fisherman or their brokers stands near their pile of fish. Some fish are sold before the market opens but most wait until the opening. At about 10 minutes to 8am, I heard a sound like a bell and everyone seem to start talking at once. Initially I was not paying much attention and it seems like small chaos. However, on observation I saw that the fish brokers/sellers were holding a mini auction at each one of the piles of fish.

The marketing was heating up; people were biding and buying. Of course, the talking was Arabic so I could not understand what they were saying but the actions were very much like the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. All at once a fist fight started. I did not understand the reason. A very large security guard put a bear hug around one of the fighters and literally carried him to outside away from the crowd. I had to jump quickly to get out of his way.

We wanted to buy crab but I think the crab must be out of season. There on small pile of crab with a very high price no one else had any. As compared to a few days ago there was a lot of fresh crab and cheap prices. This market is a true microcosm of price changes based on supply and demand. We purchased two squid and shrimp to prepare for dinner today.

With the bags of fish and groceries we paid for a taxi on the way back.

13 APR Wed - Dust Storm in Kuwait

Today I am with friends in Kuwait. A dust storm blew in early this morning. We are not going outside today because of the dust. My friend in Kuwait wants to take his Chinese wife to American so they went to the US Embassy with applications for her visa. They applied on line. They were given an appointment today. Last year she applied but she was denied. This year they passed the interview.

They have known each other for 3 years and have been married for 2 years. She has a son in China. He has a good job in Kuwait. It is surprising to me that they were declined a visa last year but passed the interview this year with no explanation and no apparent reason.
The dust storm today is not nearly as bad as the one a few weeks ago. You can watch videos of the dust storm on you tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1Ff1h_4so.

From the 8th floor of the apartment building where I am staying I can normally see about 1/2 mile to the oceans then miles out to the horizon. Today I cannot even see to the end of the block.