Category Archives: 2011 – Kuwait

Time spent working and exploring in Kuwait

Come to Kuwait – The Weather’s Great!

I promised Catherine and Emily that if they came to Kuwait to see me that we would have great weather and it would not rain during their stay in August. No kidding, eh! Bring light clothing, lots of sunscreen and a broad-brimmed hat and you will be just fine. Well, here’s the proof that I am holding up my end of the bargain.

The heat does take a bit of getting used to but thankfully we have not had many high humidity days here this summer. I have actually been more uncomfortable in Ontario during July and August when there was high humidity. As long as the heat is dry it is actually not too bad–but I continue to be grateful every single day for the people who invented air conditioning.

Yesterday we took an excursion into the desert and visited a Bedouin camel farm about 45 minutes away from our hotel. It was quite an experience. One of the workers was kind enough to let us get close up to the camels in one of the pens. They are pretty docile and very curious as well. I think this guy was trying to decide whether or not Catherine’s hat would make a good mid-morning snack!

Catherine and Emily Arrive In Kuwait

The big day has finally arrived! Catherine and Emily landed safely in Kuwait on August 15th. I have really been looking forward to them spending time here with me–meeting many new friends and lots of interesting things to see and do.

We will have a busy week here in Kuwait. Catherine has even lined up a yoga class at a local studio and Emily is already connected with her buddies back home with Skype, SMS etc. What a world we live in 🙂

Cigars By Moonlight Over The Arabian Gulf

It’s been a while since my last posting. I have been quite busy at our project in Kuwait and I also took a 12-day business trip to the island country of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. What an awesome adventure all of this has been! A lifetime of memories for sure. A few of us took some time to enjoy a cigar on the beach last night at our hotel in Kuwait. There was a full moon over the Gulf. It was a pleasant time to sit quietly and talk with friends and work colleagues.
Patrick, Darren, Ren and I have been gathering at my place on an irregular basis to enjoy a cigar and each other’s company. Last night our work colleagues Sakir and Ibrahim joined us to see what all the fuss was about. My balcony is pretty small so we moved the “event” to the beach to give us all some more elbow room and so we could tell each other bigger stories.
Ibrahim and Sakir had not smoked cigars before so we had fun teasing them that their wives would not be happy when they arrived back home–with tobacco breath and smelly clothes and hair. I provided them with the cigars on the condition that they would not “throw me under the bus” when they got home. I can be such a bad influence at times 🙂

 

 

Happy Birthday Catherine!

Happy Birthday to the love of my life! I wish so much that I could be with you to celebrate but we will be together in Kuwait one month from today and we will make up for it then.

Have a wonderful day, my dear. I celebrated by getting a $3.50 haircut at my favorite barber in Kuwait. Best deal in town 🙂

 

Happy Canada Day In Kuwait

Canada Day was on Friday this year. That day is our only day off at the project so we decided to celebrate the occasion at work a few days early. Our team has three Canadians on it–myself, Ren and Nidaa. Our client also has a Canadian on their staff – our friend Mr. Makram.
Ren and Nidaa and I planned a surprize for our international friends. Nidaa ordered a special Canada Day cake, Ren brought some Canadiana lapel pins, sponge balls and pencils to hand out and I printed up some posters to decorate the walls of our conference room.
Attendance at our impromptu party was great and everybody was having fun until I started to sing “O Canada” for them. Ren chimed in to try and save me but it was a futile effort and I eventually managed to pull him under too :).
Everyone listened very politely but I expect they would have been happy just hearing the first few lines. It’s a good thing they hired me for my O&M experience and not for my singing.
I am really enjoying making so many new friends here, learning about everyday life in Kuwait and helping them learn more about life in Canada. It’s hard to believe that it was a year ago that Catherine and Emily and I spent Canada Day onboard Ananda in Toronto Harbour and that I was already over two weeks into my cruise. I wonder where I’ll be next year at this time!?……… Happy Canada Day Everyone!