unacceptable.

most days i enjoy my walk to school. it's a pleasant way to start the day, a nice scenic view of the arabian gulf, and just enough sweat to feel like i was productive before 8:30 am. so, my journey to school begins like this. i leave the apartment at which time i usually look at my watch--i am obsessed with timing everything (which i blame on running). i cut through some back streets and end up on one of the main shopping streets in kuwait. from there i cut behind a mall, cross the infamous gulf road where cars undoubtedly exceed speeds 100 mph, and then i walk along the gulf until i reach school. all by myself.

well, yesterday on that little road i cut back on behind the mall some punk little teenage boys had words for me (i had words for them too but i thought it would be wise if i kept them to myself). theirs were along the lines of, "five minutes in the back of the car is all you need baby." mine, muttled under my breath, were about every expletive combination you can think of. oh, and one more thing--guys over here often follow you in cars. it's obnoxious. it usually lasts a few minutes, and once they realize they aren't getting anywhere, they leave. this is what happened yesterday.

anyways, today i decided it may be best if i would just stay on the main shopping road and walk to school just in case they decided to see if that was my routine walking pattern. um, mistake number one. meredith, please remember one of the reasons you started walking along the gulf was there was less harassment and people (read: men) to encounter.

so, today, walking to school, i reached that main shopping street. there was a man in an old white car wearing a dishdasha who began to follow me. this is always annoying, let alone unacceptable, but i figured, this too shall pass (afterall, i am walking on a busy street). no suck luck. he followed me the whole way, i mean the whole way, to school. he ducked into side streets, parking lots, and circled around to wait for me to catch up. finally, the university was in sight. but, as i approached school i wasn't sure what to do. do i want him to know this was where he could find me? mohammed, my favorite gate guard (campuses are gated here) saw me walk past the entrance. he signaled me to come back. finally, i did. he asked me what was going on and there it came--the puddle of tears. i told him what had happened, he said he had seen him in this last block too, and that i could call the police since i had his license plate number (and i'll gladly give it to any one of you who would like to chat with this man about his unacceptable behavior :).

this, my friends, might be the straw that breaks the camel's back (an appropriate analogy in kuwait, if i do say so myself). i probably shouldn't be writing this when i am still so upset about it, but i have seriously had enough! my students tell me about men who chase girls in cars--these girls try to flee from them and end up getting in accidents. about their friends being followed in the malls (and not the innocent kind you may be thinking of). really, it's completely unacceptable. it's freaking 8 am in the morning--can you please find something else better to do with your life than follow me 40 minutes to school. not really the start to my day i was hoping for. ughhhh....