Look both ways before crossing...

Contrary to what we have all learned, in Kuwait, the pedestrian does NOT have the right of way. In fact, so far the only time I have ever felt I was personally in danger is when I cross the street. Yes, there are crosswalks, but that really doesn’t matter here.

When I was doing my research before I came, I read that the driving in Kuwait is pretty crazy. I can confirm that. While in other regards, Kuwaitis have a more laid back approach to life, that changes when they get behind the wheel. Cars fly down the streets, take corners at fast speeds, and seem to disregard anyone trying to cross the street in a crosswalk. Taxis are everywhere, and they honk at “potential” passengers. Anywhere we walk, we are honked at. You’d think they would get the idea that if we aren’t flagging them down we don’t need a ride. Even if we had access to a vehicle, I’m not sure I would want to drive. I’ll keep to the sidewalks for now and look both ways at least five times before I cross the street.

Life at American University of Kuwait (AUK)
We’ve spent several days taking care of things at AUK. So far, we’ve settled into our offices, gotten our computers and AUK email set up, and even gotten a small cash advance on our salary.

On Thursday, we learned more about the courses we would be teaching. Jill and I are teaching ENGL 108: Public Speaking. The public speaking courses are four weeks in length, and we are teaching two, four-week sessions. Our classes are two hours every day, Sunday-Thursday. This first session, my class is from 2-4 p.m. I am teaching the female section, and Jill is teaching the male session. I find that very interesting that the sections are separate, but we are teaching the opposite sex. I have 25 students in the first four-week session, and the second four-week session I have 20 students. Like most universities, they said to expect several students to drop or add during the first week. It will be interesting to try to teach public speaking in four weeks, but that’s our task.

Jill and I have been working on our course syllabus. We have the freedom to set the schedule as we wish, but the assignments were already set. The way we have it set, we will be teaching 18 chapters in four weeks. Fast and furious for sure!

Everyone at AUK has been very helpful! The campus is small, but it has a few amenities that most universities do not have. There is a Starbucks and Mac store on campus. Our official titles are “Visiting Adjunct Faculty.” We’re kind of a big deal. =)

Life in the apartment
The apartment is good. This is the first time I have lived in a city this big, and thank goodness we have one wall that is all windows. I spend quite a bit of time looking outside at the city. On some days, I can see further than others, but nonetheless, it’s entertaining. I’ve been surprised that we haven’t had many clear days. Most days have been hazy with plenty of dust in the air. The other evening, it even sprinkled. I guess that never happens here. We even heard a clap of thunder and saw some lightning. Nothing like the weather we see in Kansas, but it was big news around here.

One of my hobbies when looking out the window is to monitor the progress of the Dunkin’ Donuts across the street. When we arrived, there was a big sign out in front. But, when the dust/wind storm came through, the sign was demolished. Crumpled sheet rock was in the sidewalk for about two days, but recently new was put back up. I’ll keep everyone posted of the progress. Sometimes when I am looking out the window and commenting on the happenings to anyone that will listen, I feel a bit like my grandpa when we would sit on the screened porch for hours and just watch people. I’m that person now.

We have over 500 channels on our TV satellite, but we can only understand less than ten. My new favorite channel is CNN, and I imagine that I will be quite informed on world events when I leave in August. Sometimes you can catch some American movies (JFK, The Fugitive, Bugsy, etc) and this morning I watched a little of David Letterman. I do miss being able to turn on VH1 in the morning while I drink my instant coffee and eat my bowl of cereal. I’m sure I’ll get by. Yes, I said instant coffee. No coffee pot. It’s not that bad. I’ll live.

Other items of interest
I made my first cake EVER. To celebrate Jill’s birthday, I made her a cake. She picked out the cake mix and frosting at the Sultan Center (Western grocery store). We also invited our new friends Kevin and Amy over. Amy works full time at AUK and Kevin is an intern at AUK. I think they liked the cake too. I have considered quitting school and becoming a cake maker, but I’m not sure that I can get by on boxed cake mix in the business.

I’ve become addicted to weed…I mean Weeds, the Showtime television series. I’ve heard that it’s great, and I was able to get the first three seasons on DVD from my friend Tiffany. We have been watching it in the evenings, and it’s quite enjoyable. We are rationing the episodes though. We only have around 36 for the entire summer.

Learning the currency in a foreign country is challenging. The currency is the Kuwait Dinar (KD). As of yesterday, the exchange rate to US dollars was 1 KD = $3.47 US. No offense, but I hope the dollar does not get stronger this summer. =) When I pay in KD, I just give them some money and hope they don’t short change me. I’ll get better.