29.

i was half joking last year when i said that maybe i'd spend my 29th birthday in kuwait too. so yes, yesterday i turned what shall be the age i think you're supposed to hold onto forever--29. and perhaps in one last attempt to save my youth (or just to seek some respite from the heat), i spent part of my birthday at the largest water park in the arab gulf region: aqua park.

lucky for me my birthday fell on a tuesday. and well, tuesday's at aqua park are ladies days. let me tell you what that means. it means there's only ladies allowed at the park (shocker, huh?). but it also means that ladies are allowed to wear swimsuits/bikinis/whatever because there are no men present (interesting side note: aqua park is located right beneath the kuwait towers. on tuesdays the towers are closed so that no one can see the ladies at the water park). and so you'd think this would be a relatively easy admission procedure, right? ladies admitted, fellas not. well, not so fast...

so, after purchasing our tickets for a mere 3.5 KWD (around $15) we found ourselves standing in line. and nope, it wasn't a line to the park entarance, it was a line to get searched/bags checked. although it was a ladies only day there were strict precautions to ensure that no one had a camera or camera phone to ensure that women would not be photographed. once jill, emily and i made it through that line we were in. let the fun begin.

well, first, let me tell you. i have never been so excited to be in a swimsuit in my entire life. it was such a beautiful thing to be outside in kuwait not dripping of sweat. and so we headed straight for our first water slide (which would end up being mine and jill's last slide). um, so apparently, you have to cover your head at the water park. and no, it's not for cultural or religious reasons, but for sanitary. well, let me tell you what constitutes as 'cover'--a bandana just slung on your head, a swim cap, a baseball cap, or in emily's case--a tank top tied around your head. this is actually a fabulous insight into kuwait. there are a lot of rules here which, if thought about, don't really fulfill their objective (i.e. is emily's makeshift bandana really gonna keep the water clean? doubtful, especially considering if you saw this water or jill's allergic eye reaction..). but rules for the sake of rules is how it goes over here sometimes...

we spent about 3 hours at the water park. making friends with the lifeguards who allowed us in the pool and the lazy river despite our lack of head coverings. i think by then we'd had enough. the big 29 concluded with a little birthday dinner with justin and cory, along with our new friends kevin and amy (also work at AUK and live in our building). we ate at a tasty little lebanese resteraunt (pic below) and then got some ice cream at baskin robins (can you believe they still exist?). thanks for all the love you sent from afar yesterday, but i'm serious this time when i say i'm celebrating my next birthday in the states!

dress code.

below is the direct text of an email from the dean of student affairs to all students, faculty and staff regarding the campus dress code. might not be such a bad idea to implement similar rules on some college campuses in the states too ...

For AUK world, I am going to provide some dress code boundaries to keep the drama to a minimum. The campus fashion police (those on campus tasked with pulling you to the side to talk about your outfit of the day) blow their whistle for those who are blatantly over the edge. Students have not been hired to be fashion police! However, we still have rules and you wanted me to give examples. So here goes…

1. No offensive pictures or writing on your t-shirts. Mind you FCUK cuts it really close. That is about as edgy as one should get! When you wear the t-shirts that have explicit sexual references; that is unacceptable.

2. Guys, if you wear short-shorts, that in and of itself is a violation. Please don’t hurt our eyes!!

3. Ladies you are wearing low-rise jeans, we do not need to see the G-string (as attractive as it may be in your opinion). This means your t-shirt or blouse must be a bit longer.

4. Guys, when you wear jeans and your Calvin’s are showing, that is unacceptable. Pull ‘em up and get a belt!

5. When you wear those cutie shorts, minis, etc. you must put on leggings. It may be HOT as the dickens and you may have fantastic legs but…

6. If you have on a shrift and when you bend over, your goodies can be seen, that is not good! Get a longer shrift (won’t be as fashionable but get a longer one or wear leggings!)

7. If your blouse is cut so low that the “girls” are noticed before your beautiful smile, it will make others frown!

8. Sleeves! Not sleeveless; tanks must have an over-shirt. Guys this goes for you too. Don’t want your pecks peeking!

The end.

offices.

well, it's confirmed. i hate working in an office. hate. loathe. despise. so that confirms it--bollo's (a local blacksburg coffee shop) will remain my office until the end of graduate school (which, for those of you who are wondering, could be only just another year---ahhh!). so, i wasn't sure if i just tended to drift to bollo's all these years because the graduate cubes in the sociology department were more conducive to conversation than work (as if a coffee shop where you know everyone isn't). but nope, that must not have been it. it must be the fact that well, it's kind of an office. and in kuwait, sitting here blogging in my own private office (complete with both door and window), i'm reminded of this simple fact. i don't like working in an office. at all. ever.

perhaps this realization/affirmation is a timely one. there is a possibility, although i'm not sure how grand, that i may graduate one day. and then what? meredith, in case you forgot, academics do tend to work in these four enclosed walls you despise. so now, as if turning 29 tomorrow wasn't enough stress in my life, i'm left to wonder what exactly i want to do when i grow up. suggestions are welcome :)