I Love Kuwait (and my list of favorite things about Kuwait)

Photo Credit:  "I Love Q8" by Stylish Designs on Deviant Art
(very creative!)

Perhaps I should change it up a little today.  Do I complain a lot?  My mother says, “I didn’t think I was complaining. I thought I was giving my perspective.” Maybe my perspective seems a weeeee bit negative (especially when I need to get on vacation and have an attitude adjustment)? 

Here's some stuff that I LOVE about Kuwait (free association – in no particular order).   

Fog in the desert (OMG!)

The desert 

The sea

Sea Turtles

Dolphins

Camels

True Kuwaiti old-school hospitality

Dhows 

Bkhoor 

Darabeel

The taste of chicken in Kuwait (way different). 

The taste of cucumbers in Kuwait (ditto). 

The veggie souq

Mubarakia! 

Cheap car insurance.  Cheap (for now) gas. 

Shawarmas.  (Shut up, I’m hungry!)

Kuwaiti emergency services guys in uniform (OMG)

Kabd

Khiran

Sunsets in Kuwait

Camping

Bedouin friends

My goats

Affordable healthcare

No taxes

Guys in dishtasha with misbah and a nice pen and nice cologne

Seeing guys in dishtasha in cars (because I look for them when I’m in the US!)

Kuwaiti fashion (not that I would wear a lot of it, but because it is unique)

Hearing the call to prayer

The smell of the desert after rain or in the Spring

Iranian bread (still hungry)

Kuwaiti cuisine (all of it – without exception – ok, maybe one or two dishes I don’t like)

Home delivery

KDD – Chocolate milk and juice boxes

Kuwait Towers (aka "The Balls of Kuwait" and true to Kuwaiti form - there are 3, not just 2)

Fresh fruit juice shops (still hungry)

Kuwaiti architecture

Co-ops

Mutlaa Ridge

Chickens in residential neighborhoods

Availability of cheap mechanics

Kuwaiti weddings

Dura’a

Abayas

Kuwaiti parties (not because I particularly like partying, but because they fascinate me)

Perfume and cologne in Kuwait

Bedouin weavings

Souq shaabi (basement discount markets)

Cheap movers ("half lorey guys")

Shoe repair everywhere

The fact that you can get so much stuff over-the-counter at pharmacies

BIDETS!!!  Water hoses in bathrooms (oh snap!  Those should top my list)

Lights on houses when a family member gets married

Gold

Salons everywhere

At-home salons

Variety of international foods

Variety of make-up

Old Kuwaiti men who are just happy to see/talk to everyone

The shoe souq

Opportunities I couldn't have in my own country (like writing for newspapers and magazines)

Young creative Kuwaitis - positive change

Ramadan TV serials

Ramadan food (yes, still....)

Being invited for iftar meals

Kout Mall and the fountains

Boating on the sea on flat water

Barbecuing in the desert

Kuwaiti furniture fashion

Flying into Kuwait at night and seeing lights in the desert

Area north of Kabd where they go to train falcons

Clean beaches (not the dirty ones)

The islands of Kuwait

Little fish at sunset

Qaroh at sunset and the pink oily film on the water

Saksookas

Perfume and bkhoor shops
Those round butter cookie things (don't know the name and yes I'm still hungry)
Butcher shops that marinade meat
Driving down the Gulf Road in the morning (because it's beautiful)
Watermelon Men (those guys who sell watermelons on the side of the road)
Dhub and braisi lizards
Arfaj (national flower of Kuwait)
Phosphorescent algae under the moon on Um Al Moradem
Sitting in sea water that is warm enough to make you feel like you're in a giant bath
HUGE Kuwaiti shrimp
The fish market
The Kuwaiti laugh (it's unique to Kuwait)
Kuwaiti humor and the ability to laugh at the foibles

So this is the abbreviated version.  There's more, but this is it for now.  Hope that all sounds positive!

I do.  I do. I do. I do. I do.  I do. I do. I do. I do.  I do. I do. I do. I do.  I really do.

And in case I haven't said it lately (at least out loud or in writing), "Thank you, God, for giving me the opportunity to see this country, to live here, and to see things in a different perspective (mine)."