Friday

February 15, 2008 | Filed Under Main |

Yesterday was a good day.

I was up early to drive. Someone at work had given me directions toward where my apartment will be and I needed to do a dry run first before “going live” on Monday. Friday is the first day of the weekend, so there are fewer cars on the road. Thus – I could take my time.

First – I had to put gas in the car. I found a station almost immediately, right on my route. My guess is you want to know how much gas is here, dontcha? Well, I paid KD 2.00($7.30) for 33.292 litres(8.8 gallons) of gas. This roughly translates into eighty-three cents per gallon. Jealous? Next, I had to find the turnoff onto my main road and that was a minute or two away. Left on to Arabian Gulf Street… Which is exactly what it sounds like. It goes right along the water and that is where my building is. It’s a very scenic drive – passing government buildings, shops, the iconic Kuwaiti water towers, parks, marinas and various fast food joints like TGI Fridays. Nice, easy, sunny day ride.

There are also a couple of good stores off this road, so I made a u-turn and parked along the water by the marina. I was warned that the stores lot was a nightmare and they were right. I’m very happy I didn’t go anywhere near it. So I walked over – not far – and started shopping. This particular store is well known in Kuwait and has all your food stuffs, fresh fruits and veggies AND a department store section. But I am there to shop for the apartment. Now – I’m setting up a home here. So as I go from aisle to aisle picking up essentials from toilet paper to salt & pepper to (I don’t know) Pop Tarts… I suddenly remember that I am parked three blocks down and across a major highway with no chance of getting any closer. I stop where I am, pay for what I’ve got and make the first of three trips from the store to the car. All in all – a good days work.

Some things just like home –
1) As I pulled into the Marina Park lot at 9:30am, the basketball courts were already packed with players.
2) There was some sort of street fair being set up in front of the store with balloons, inflated bouncy things and platforms. But right in front of the store itself… were vintage cars! Bel Airs, Impalas and Catalinas from the 60s.
3) At one point while I was walking, a phalanx of bikers roared by.
Not just like home – As I was coming out of the store for my first trip across, the wind kicked up something fierce and started blowing sand and dirt all over. The whole city was shrouded in a dense fog of dirt. The wind didn’t die down so it stayed like this the whole day. Needless to say, I needed a shower when I got home.

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4 comments so far
  1. Nattarg February 16, 2008 1:56 pm

    I didn’t quite get what was so bad about the parking lot. Too full of cars?

  2. mary lou February 16, 2008 7:29 pm

    Carl! You continue to be my inspiration! You’re like Carl “Christopher Columbus” Nolan. Really. Such an adventure and you kind of vacillate between fascintation and distraction. You’re so cute! Keep it coming…but really, Pop Tarts!?!

  3. Patrick February 16, 2008 7:40 pm

    Alright! Driving & grocery shopping — getting into something resembling normalcy (well… except for the buying of Pop Tarts –sheesh!)…just…sandier.

  4. mburma February 16, 2008 10:24 pm

    Have you ever been to Highlands’ SeaStreak lot in the morning? That piece right on the sand? Imagine all those cars - and the various methods of parking - on a quarter of the space and right on a major highway.

    Also, I heard I was in the middle of one of the few sandstorms they get all year.