We've made it. That's the good news. The great news is--the kids were incredible! They played, they shared, they SLEPT! And at present, they are still sleeping, tucked away in what will probably be our family bed for the next few weeks until they feel at home.
Our adventures in Kuwait started late Saturday night when we arrived at the airport and were informed that our children did, in fact, need visas independent of ours. While we waited over an hour for our names to be called, the kids enjoyed their first meal in Kuwait--yup, a midnight run at the airport McDonalds. They couldn't have felt more at home.
Just as I had suspected, the visa dilemma had a silver lining. That of course was--all 17 of our bags and boxes had been offloaded off the carousel and were waiting for us to claim. Three porters later, all of our bags were loaded onto the last security check before we left the airport--a booze check. In the US, our bags are screened for weapons and liquids, here they are out-scanned for liquor.
Within minutes, our porters guided us through the arrivals doors with no customs checks whatsoever. We were greeted by the school's administration team (most of whose names escape me at this moment) and LOTS of water.
We encountered our first dose of heat upon leaving the airport at 12.30am when the temperature was 39C (102F) and it didn't feel so bad.
The real adventures, though, began when we were the last group dropped off at our apartment complex. 1.00 am and we're standing outside a building block with no driver, no help, and not a sole in sight except some youth who were chasing down feral cats. I found a shop that was open and the shop keeper let me call my superintendent who sent someone to save us--our neighbor Steph (and our new best friend).
We're in. Our luggage is here. I'm borrowing someone elses wireless internet connection. And we're ready to take on the day. There's a lot of sand. The people (so far) are great and far more efficient than Kenya. And they LOVE kids. Not a stranger has walked by Xavier or Anouk and not smiled, waved, rubbed their heads, or teased them a bit.
...it all looks promising.
Will write more later.
-ang
1 comment:
Sounds good Ang! Good to hear that everything is ok. Nama says Hi also, we're all glad to hear that you guys made it there safe and sound, and that the kids didn't have too much trouble with tyhe trip either. Alright, look forward to talking to you soon?
Love,
Andrew & Nama
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