Pages

Monday, October 4, 2010

Last night I went to a wedding
















Wow, what a night!!! I was blessed with an invitation from my neighbor to her nephew's wedding. Weddings are very different than a standard American wedding here in Kuwait. I knew this would be all female, I knew the Abayas would be off and I was told from another Kuwaiti to understand that this is the women's chance to dress up and party. My friend told me the best way to describe the wedding scene is "if you got it flaunt it". I tried to do just that, but I was still alittle to monochromatic!



When I arrived at the basement of a large hotel here in Kuwait, my neighbor and her daughter immediately uncovered and entered a large ballroom. We were greeted by the female family members of both the bride and the groom. My neighbors family was so genersous and kind to me. making sure I had tea, chocolates, juice, and sharing with me who all the highlighted guests were. Let me describe the scene as best I can.
The ballroom is longer than it is wide. Upon entering on both the left and right sides are rows of theatre style seating facing a long strip of floor in the middle (it looked similar to a modeling runway). For the first hour or so we awaited the bride's entrance. During this time the DJ is literally blasting many popular Arabic love songs. Women are greeting one another and dancing. At the opposite end of the door to the ballroom is a large lavishly decorated stage and a huge sofa. For this young women she choose oodles of pink, flowers, pillows, beads and large curtains draped in the background.



The dancing is difficult to describe, but here goes. After hours of watching the dynamic on the dance floor I did end up taking a twirl. The dancing takes place in front of the "crowd" in the theatre seating to watch the action. The women dance around thrusting their pelvis and holding their arms elevated openly in front of them. Is that as clear as mud? TI have found some good videos on youtube, but I can't link to them for some reason. At one point the ladies that were dancing put on belly dancing wraps around their hips and they were also belly dancing. It was so fascinating to see and observe. You could tell certain women liked other women and snubbed others while dancing past them. I imagine I missed many social cues as this is not my culture, but I think I picked up on quite a bit of the body language.



Kuwaiti women also really like to have very extreme eyes for formal occasions. Here is an image of an example of the popular eye make up style here in Kuwait. About one hour into the party the bride appears and the excited yelling hits a crescendo. She is photographed with her family and her friends while watching the action on the dance florr from the comfort of her sofa. After an hour of watching the bride all the sudden the tone of the room changed. I noticed all the women pull out their black Abayas and Hijabs(head scarf). I knew instantly the men are coming. Sure enough once all women were safely covered the men arrived. I covered myself with my pashmina I had, not my hair but my chest and shoulders. My neighbor and her sisters all looked at me and said "Good girl!"
The groom arrives with his brothers and cousins. They come in to applause and the women throwing money over their heads. The groom and his brothers come on the stage greet all the important females and stay for about one song. The groom stays in the room of all women well after his brothers have left. He and his bride smile over and over again with every female that wants a photo with the happy couple. You could see their smile muscles were hurting toward the end of the photo session. After the photos the bride dances on the floor alone in front of her husband and then she goes back to his side on stage. Lastly the couple exits the ballroom together to the screams of the many excited women.
The last part of the evening is a huge meal served for all attendees at about 12:00 midnight. I enjoyed many of the Arabic and Lebanese foods offered. The desert table was overwhelming, so many choices!!! I was honored to get a peek into this private world. It was one of the best experiences I have had in Kuwait so far.


Sunday, October 3, 2010

The LONGEST summer of my life.















































































































Hello, do you remember me? I am so sorry for my absence in the blogosphere. I will be very honest in this post. This summer that is just ending was the LONGEST of my life!
Do you remember when you were in grade school and you couldn't wait for the school year to end and summer vacation to begin. I loved my summers as a child. We spent from Memorial day to Labor day "up north" at my grandparents cottage on lake Huron. I dreamed of those long lazy summer days and prayed that the summer would never end. In Michigan summers are very short and Labor day weekend seems to arrive so quickly.
In Kuwait summer is the exact opposite. I knew it would be HOT and long, but it seemed to never end. This summer all five of our children were home with me trapped in a big house, with no green space and temperatures commonly exceeding 120 degrees. I couldn't blog because I had no free time. I have learned over my eight years of parenting five children that if you don't engage your children while shut up in the house, they can plot to vote you out of leadership and try to take over the house.

I worked hard this summer, playing, swimming, making crafts, joking, wrestling, reading, playing Wii, and most importantly breaking up fights. Summer in Kuwait is so different then winter in Michigan. I thought I would be prepared because my whole life I have been shut up inside for our long, cold winters. Let me tell you, I was not prepared. During the winter months you are able to add layers of clothing and get outside to play in the snow. In the desert, there is no option for being outside in such deadly hot conditions. Imagine having nine (myself, the kids, my in-laws and our housekeeper)people in your home for months with little outside time. I am so glad that my ONE full summer in Kuwait is over. I survived and so did the kids!!! It was truly an exercise in patience and endurance. I never want to do that again!!!!!

I have included some of my favorite photos from our Kuwaiti summer. We visited the Sea of Galilee, felt the grass on our toesin Israel, enjoyed the Mediterranean in Cyprus, learned at the Kuwait Scientific Center, enjoyed our new used clothes from the Friday market in Kuwait, and went to the Heritage Souk downtown often to see all the Kuwaiti men socializing. I will try to post more frequently and give you glimpses into our everyday life. I can now say I lived through a Kuwaiti summer! As the weather "cools" in Kuwait, we look forward to many adventures to come. Blessings to you~