Hayden's class picture at the "American" School of Kuwait. :-)
Just to give you an example of names of some of the children: Abdulaziz, Mohammed, Rakan, Nasser, Faiza, Dalia, Hamood, Shaika, Dhari, Walaa, Hala. These are not necessarily the kids names in the picture. I'm just pulling the names out of a hat from the children I am around at the school I work at.
One of these days, I'll take my camera and get some pictures of the girls I work with. They are all very nice, for the most part. The school I work at is staffed with 1/2 Arabic and 1/2 Westerners, though I think it's really more like 3/4 and 1/4. The majority are Muslim and wear head scarfs every day. Some are dark and muted in their dress, but many are bright and colorful. They are friendly and kind and love the kids. I work with people from South Africa, Egypt, Lebanon, England, America, India, Sri Lanka, and many other countries. It's really amazing if you think about it.
Most of the women are very friendly. You very rarely see a woman out without her maid (or maids) following close behind her. They send their "drivers" to the school and the "nanny" hops out of the car to take the child in. When the bell rings, it's a rush of women (mostly from the Phillipines) in maid uniforms coming to collect the children from their class and take them home. Kuwaiti women are very "privileged" and flaunt that when they are in public. As a westerner, here in Kuwait, we are treated as one of the "privileged." I don't like feeling that way. I am called "madame" and treated like a queen with open doors and servants. It's like we are better than the others, and let's face it... In God's eyes, we are all equal. We are SO very privileged to be born in America where things may not be perfect, but it's a million times better than what the majority of the world is living.
4 comments:
Yes, aren't we lucky to be able to live in a country and society like ours. It does help to appreciate ours when you are exposed to a culture like the one you are living in now. Thank you for your observations and thoughts. They help us all to be more appreciative!
Love the picture. Will I be treated like a queen when I get there? I can't wait. Sometimes I feel like more like one of those maids you describe (sans uniform, of course).
We take so much for granted here in the USA. Please give our thanks to your husband and his fellow servicemen and women for helping us keep our freedoms. You and the children are to be commended as well for staying together as a family even though it is tough to keep a normal life at times. In the long run you will look upon these times as priceless learning opportunities.
Thanks Jolee for this post. We are so blessed and this helps us look at things in a different light. Your boys might not realize it now but they are going to be so blessed with all of this memories. Your have such a great family.
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