2Pac

2Pac is alive! i swear. i saw him last night at marina mall. i bet no one thought he'd be hiding out in kuwait. alright, so maybe 2Pac really is dead (RIP 2Pac), but he lives on in kuwait. last night neil and i were at the mall (yes, my dream, friday night at the mall--this shall be discussed in a later post) and out walks 2Pac and his entourage from the virgin mega store. 2Pac was just as i remembered- bandana tied around his bald head, jewelry, jersey (someone should have reminded 2Pac he represented oakland, not san fran, since he was wearing the wrong team jersey). he was a little shorter and took out the nose ring, but i still knew it was him. 

hip hop is global. i know this. i have even read this book all about it. but when i see hip hop culture in kuwait it fascinates me. there's a group of guys who congregate along the gulf showing off their nice purple, orange, and green low riders. there's another group who breakdances beside the skate park. there's this store, homies. and of course, there's 2Pac. i'm not sure what all this means quite yet. maybe i'll see Biggie at the mall next time and he'll clue me in. 

love/hate

so goes my relationship with cities. the city itself, love. myself in a city, hate. i should probably tell you that the two cities (and i'm not talking about the 'burbs) i've actually lived in are oakland, california and salmiya, kuwait. both places i clearly don't belong. not in the no one wants you here sort of way (well, maybe that too), but in the, you clearly are not from here one. but those are the places i love to be, the ones where i don't belong (some sociologist should really study this.) 

oakland introduced me to that intial city toughness. the one where you walk down the street with a purpose, even if you don't have one. the toughness that says don't mess with me, i know where i'm going. this toughness requires a constant awareness of surroundings, a head held high, and a moderate pace indicative of neither meandering nor high-tailing it out of the neighborhood. kuwait's toughness is different. i still walk with that don't mess with me, i know where i am going persona, but my head faces the pavement.

one of my first days in kuwait i had lunch with my division head. she mentioned there were a lot of pot holes in the sidewalks and i should watch out for them (this is true, by the way.) perhaps, as neil suggested, what she was really giving me was advice on was how to walk as a woman. my head facing downward, as to avoid eye contact, especially with men. walking to school this morning i realized i was doing just that. unconsciously. walking with neil last night my head was high. alone. down. with a man. high. so the part about myself i hate in cities? i'm not myself at all.

so tell me...

a little bit about yourself. your family background. if/how your culture has shaped who you are. i thought this would be a good first assignment for any anthropology class. wrong. perhaps in the united states, but not so much in kuwait. in the united states most people are just waiting for the opportunity to talk about themselves. they might act like they aren't, but all you have to do is ask and the floodgates open. it's different in kuwait. it's not about the individual at all. it's about community. family. to ask a student to talk about themselves is literally a foreign concept. to ask them about their family, their heritage, is an honor.

i know very little about my cultural heritage. the part i do know, the jewish part, i spent much of my life denying. in kuwait your cultural heritage is something you are proud of. one beautiful thing about kuwait is the sheer diversity. while the majority of people living here are arab, most are not kuwaiti citizens (which is a story for another time.) they may be from saudi arabia, lebanon, palestine, jordan. so, even within this small country there is so much diversity. and we all know that makes me happy.

i think the autoethnography helped me more than the students. most seem to have a firm grasp on who they are, where they came from, and why that matters. i am only beginning to learn.

the grocery

i've never liked grocery stores. ever. as a child i used to beg my mom to let me to stay home when the list of errands included grocery shopping. at the very least, i asked to wait in the car. my disdain for grocery stores has not diminished with age (one exception is my love for trader joe's. for one explanation check this out). but food is important, and not just for the obvious reasons. food gives us clues into cultures, into people's lives. 

in the united states i love to look at my grocery receipt and see how much i saved with my kroger plus card (don't worry, i do realize they hike up the prices only to reduce them.) there's no such savings here in kuwait. but what there is, what i am fascinated by, is the country of origin specified on all items of produce and other deli selections. the past few weeks in kuwait i purchased carrots from australia, pears from china, lettuce from jordan, feta cheese from saudi arabia, oranges from africa (no country specified) and overpriced celery from the united states (which i mistakenly thought would be a cheap purchase-about $6.) to my recollection, in the united states an item is advertised by its classification, such as red grapes, and on the bag the country of origin is then specified. in kuwait each of these products is specifically advertised and documented on the receipt by country of origin. what does this mean? 

i am going to amend my previous statement. food says a lot about cultures, but so does the grocery store. for instance, in kuwait, rather than weighing produce at checkout, there is an attendant who weighs and prices all items in the produce section. this, however, means all produce must be bagged separately only to be bagged with about three other items in an additional bag at checkout. customer service in kuwait is great (so great, in fact, if you want fast food, you don't even have to wait in a drive-thru line; you can order fast food to be delivered directly to your house!) the concern for the environment, however, not so much. (fyi: i realize some, or most of you may already bag your produce at the grocery. it's not mandatory. my cucumbers don't need a separate bag. in kuwait they do.) 

i should mention, however, the food is delicious. here's a picture of some of my favorite items i picked up today-pita, hummus, tabouli, and stuffed grape leaves. the not so fun part of all of grocery shopping in kuwait...transporting the food home. it usually involves a backpack (which unfortunately today was already full with a laptop and books) and a twenty minute walk home. thanks to my time in oakland i am no stranger to little stroll home from the grocery. but today neil and i were, i believe he called it, sweaty betty's by the time we arrived home. perhaps next time we'll take a cab.