28

nope. never would have imagined it. when i was a kid i thought 28 meant marriage, a house, and possibly a child (please note i had no visions of work, even as a child.) what it means is graduate school, coffee shops, and a summer in kuwait. 

birthday number 28 began the evening before out with three of my students (two marayams and amnah.) first stop, the souk (a market where you can buy more traditional kuwaiti goods.) good thing i was with some ladies who are skilled in bargaining. i walked away with some muslim prayer beads and a traditional dress kuwaiti women wear to weddings. sweet. from the souk it  was off to the mall (do you see a trend here?), but not without a little detour. during the detour we passed marayam's house. i wasn't sure which house was hers so i decided to ask. marayam responded, "there on the left." my immediate response, "all of it?" the whole car erupted in laughter. yes meredith, all of it! i quickly tried to correct my err and said i know some people live in flats so i wasn't sure if you were showing us the building or your house. oh, make no mistake, it was the entire house. i'm guessing 6,000 square feet. minimum. 

kuwait should not merely be known for its oil. it should be known for its malls. they're on every block and i'm not exaggerating. our mall of choice for the evening, the mall to be seen at in kuwait, the avenues (once completed the avenues will be over 577,000 square feet with over 15 starbucks alone!) some of you have asked me if i think i could ever live in kuwait long-term. i think so, assuming i could find some alternative source of entertainment besides conspicuous consumption.

 

dinner was yummy. spending time with the girls was even better. who knows, maybe i'll spend number 29 in kuwait too.