Day 13 - Kuwait
*** Pictures today! Look for the link below! ***
Today's after work adventure involved driving north of the hotel. I had heard there is an electronics shopping district and I thought I'd go take a look. Although I didn't find it, I stumbled across two large and very different shopping malls.
The Marina Mall is, as you might guess, right on the waterfront in the heart of Salmiya, a suburb of Kuwait City. It's clean, modern and well built-up. Except for the Arabic signs it could be somewhere on the east coast of the United States. Its shops were varied, and had many of the western brands - Aldo, H&M, Claire's, etc. The food court was equally impressive with its selection of American brands as well as some that could only be found around these parts. There were some of the usual suspects - Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Domino's, TGI Friday's. But I decided to take my dinner business to Kurdo, a shawarma stand run by Kurds from Iraq. (Yes, the name had more to do with that than some other random string that rhymed with "Neat-o".) They were charging a premium price for being in the mall and the styrofoam packaging which reminded me of McDonald's when I was a kid. Remember each sandwich had its own colored styrofoam box? Filet-o-Fish was blue, Big Mac was beige, Quarter Pounder with Cheese was orange...
Speaking of McDonald's, they're all over here in full force. In fact the Golden Arches are so familiar that a couple other restaurants have "adopted" them in rather interesting ways. Turn the arches sideways and you get a "B". Erase part of those loops and you get a "K". Take a look at the pictures. I've got to give them credit - I never would have gotten that close to trademark infringement even on a good day.
Here are some pictures of the aforementioned places:
http://picasaweb.google.com/khalaf.writes/McDonaldSAndKurdos
Having failed my original quest to go shopping for electronics I headed back to the hotel. Just a mile from the hotel I found a place called Kuwait Magic. If my camera batteries hadn't worn out I would have taken a picture of the entrance. This mall is a combination play area/shopping center. If you could imagine Chuck E. Cheese with over 80 clothing, jewelry and perfume stores attached to it, you get the picture.
Kuwait Magic caters to Eastern tastes. There are incense shops, many boutiques offering traditional clothing and some western fashions. But not a single store in here was a recognizable western brand. Yet once again, the food court offered KFC, Burger King and Cinnabon. I'm not sure why, but it seems that I find Cinnabon places all over here. Maybe the folks here like cinnamon.
The differences extended to the parking also. At the Marina Mall, the parking was under the mall and people parked in the clearly marked lines. At Kuwait Magic, the lines hadn't been repainted in a while and some people weren't inclined to try too hard to guess where they were.
But the two malls had a lot in common. For starters, both were air conditioned. They were both on the waterfront - The Marina Mall circled around the moored boats, while when I walked out the back of the Kuwait Magic I found myself right on the beach. They both sold clothes, perfume and jewelry. But at the most basic of human commonalities, they both served Kentucky Fried Chicken.
The last few days have brought us terrible news from Russia and Georgia. While I'm sure there's more to it than meets the eye (or the press), I'm absolutely convinced that those most deeply impacted by it would rather not see it happening. I think the best response to the unfolding events in Georgia came from two people who are trained to shoot pistols. After competing in the 10 Meter Air Pistol event and winning the silver and bronze respectively, Natalia Paderina of Russia and Nino Salukvadze of Georgia took a moment to embrace on the podium and plead for the military action to end. As former training partners and teammates, they chose to maintain their friendship over the years instead of buying into divisive political rhetoric.
When we look at all these things, we realize that there is power in how God made us. According to Genesis 1, God made us male and female. The only distinction God had in mind when he created the human race was that there would be men and there would be women. If we would all take a moment to reflect on how and why God made us, we'd realize there are more reasons to love each other and look out for one another. This is more than tolerance, which is a cheap excuse to get out of the tough business of love. This is a genuine concern for the well-being of others.
I miss hearing from you all. Write me soon!
Today's after work adventure involved driving north of the hotel. I had heard there is an electronics shopping district and I thought I'd go take a look. Although I didn't find it, I stumbled across two large and very different shopping malls.
The Marina Mall is, as you might guess, right on the waterfront in the heart of Salmiya, a suburb of Kuwait City. It's clean, modern and well built-up. Except for the Arabic signs it could be somewhere on the east coast of the United States. Its shops were varied, and had many of the western brands - Aldo, H&M, Claire's, etc. The food court was equally impressive with its selection of American brands as well as some that could only be found around these parts. There were some of the usual suspects - Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Domino's, TGI Friday's. But I decided to take my dinner business to Kurdo, a shawarma stand run by Kurds from Iraq. (Yes, the name had more to do with that than some other random string that rhymed with "Neat-o".) They were charging a premium price for being in the mall and the styrofoam packaging which reminded me of McDonald's when I was a kid. Remember each sandwich had its own colored styrofoam box? Filet-o-Fish was blue, Big Mac was beige, Quarter Pounder with Cheese was orange...
Speaking of McDonald's, they're all over here in full force. In fact the Golden Arches are so familiar that a couple other restaurants have "adopted" them in rather interesting ways. Turn the arches sideways and you get a "B". Erase part of those loops and you get a "K". Take a look at the pictures. I've got to give them credit - I never would have gotten that close to trademark infringement even on a good day.
Here are some pictures of the aforementioned places:
http://picasaweb.google.com/khalaf.writes/McDonaldSAndKurdos
Having failed my original quest to go shopping for electronics I headed back to the hotel. Just a mile from the hotel I found a place called Kuwait Magic. If my camera batteries hadn't worn out I would have taken a picture of the entrance. This mall is a combination play area/shopping center. If you could imagine Chuck E. Cheese with over 80 clothing, jewelry and perfume stores attached to it, you get the picture.
Kuwait Magic caters to Eastern tastes. There are incense shops, many boutiques offering traditional clothing and some western fashions. But not a single store in here was a recognizable western brand. Yet once again, the food court offered KFC, Burger King and Cinnabon. I'm not sure why, but it seems that I find Cinnabon places all over here. Maybe the folks here like cinnamon.
The differences extended to the parking also. At the Marina Mall, the parking was under the mall and people parked in the clearly marked lines. At Kuwait Magic, the lines hadn't been repainted in a while and some people weren't inclined to try too hard to guess where they were.
But the two malls had a lot in common. For starters, both were air conditioned. They were both on the waterfront - The Marina Mall circled around the moored boats, while when I walked out the back of the Kuwait Magic I found myself right on the beach. They both sold clothes, perfume and jewelry. But at the most basic of human commonalities, they both served Kentucky Fried Chicken.
The last few days have brought us terrible news from Russia and Georgia. While I'm sure there's more to it than meets the eye (or the press), I'm absolutely convinced that those most deeply impacted by it would rather not see it happening. I think the best response to the unfolding events in Georgia came from two people who are trained to shoot pistols. After competing in the 10 Meter Air Pistol event and winning the silver and bronze respectively, Natalia Paderina of Russia and Nino Salukvadze of Georgia took a moment to embrace on the podium and plead for the military action to end. As former training partners and teammates, they chose to maintain their friendship over the years instead of buying into divisive political rhetoric.
When we look at all these things, we realize that there is power in how God made us. According to Genesis 1, God made us male and female. The only distinction God had in mind when he created the human race was that there would be men and there would be women. If we would all take a moment to reflect on how and why God made us, we'd realize there are more reasons to love each other and look out for one another. This is more than tolerance, which is a cheap excuse to get out of the tough business of love. This is a genuine concern for the well-being of others.
I miss hearing from you all. Write me soon!
