Landed

Well it's official. I now live in Kuwait. Here now for my friends and family is a little post about the trip over and my impressions so far written from the air conditioned comfort of my hotel room while sipping tea.

Leaving my friends and family is one of the hardest things I have ever done. First there was a little trip to Napa to see my Dad and Stepmother the weekend of August 3rd-6th. My sister, Nephew Micah and I drove up there and then my Mom and Stepdad came up too. We hung out, went to a fun concert, out to eat at a great restaurant in Napa (where I fell down and introduced my face to the pavement while butchering the skin on my good knee), toured around St. Helena and Calistoga and just had a good weekend where I got plenty of Dad hugs to last me through the next year. The next week was followed by last minute doings (more document stuff) and packing. It was amazing to me how fast the time flew.

Norma with the grapes

Dad giving Micah a lift

Castello de Amorosa in Calistoga

     We kicked off my departure on Thursday with a trip to Disneyland. Two of my closest friends Lizel and Bret took me down to the Happiest Place on Earth where we proceeded to live it up...seriously. Met up with my friend BJ (Disney guide extraordinaire) and the four of us hung out for a while, then later met up with two more friends in California Adventure (Richie and Jerome who literally take the cake in the awesome department). I will spare you all of the details but let's just say...I had an amazing day that included light up long island iced teas in California Adventure, the most terrifying ride I have ever been on (The Tower of Terror) and enjoyed (even though I am convinced that's where the burst blood vessel in my eye came from), lost the ability to walk (which made up for the "special needs" pass I got at the beginning of the day due to my limited mobility issue...thank you Hawaii...thank you motorized scooters...thank you vertigo), and closed the park down ending with the last tram to the parking structure. Amazing! (Oh and yes...I over use parentheticals. Get over it. I love them [I even love to insert parentheticals inside parentheticals] and will never stop!)


 

Before the motion sickness of Star Tours

After the Long Island Iced Teas



     Then on Friday night I had a little going away shin dig at a cool little speak easy called The Next Door Lounge. Forgive me for sounding like a braggart but I must say that I have the most interesting friends in the world. That is why you should get to know me...if you don't already...but let's face it, who is reading this blog? My Mom, my sister, maybe my Dad...you get the picture. I love the people in my life. It's pretty cool being super wealthy like that.

I am not posting pictures of anyone from this night as they are all too famous to be photographed



The final event was on Saturday with an open house at the apartment where family and friends could come to say farewell. My mother did a head count and we had more people than we have ever had at the apartment and could barely squeeze anyone in. There were kids running around and many more fascinating and brilliant folks mingling and I can honestly say I have never felt more blessed. I started feeling pretty emotional towards the end and when people started leaving and issuing hugs and blessings, I am afraid the waterworks started.

Because it is hard saying goodbye (and yes it is only for 10 months but who knows what adventures I will take on next...and we never know how long we have with our favorite people anyway) Sunday was filled with prayers from my church family followed by pizza back at the apartment with Bret, Lizel, Jeannette, Mike, Mom, Mark, and Micah. I was doing pretty well until Bret and Lizel said goodbye. I started crying and cried almost all the way to the airport. Then I had to hug my family who was so great staying with me until I had to go through the security check point. That's when things got really hard. My Mom and my Sister are my best friends and I tried to put a brave face on things but failed miserably. Micah even ran back to give me another hug and kiss. It was like a scene in a movie.

Now for a quick note on the journey before I head out into the heat for some shawarma. By the time I boarded the Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul I felt like I had already left the US. The flight was long, cramped, hot, but had pretty decent food (and wine) and a cool feature where you could watch aerial shots from the plane on the screen in front of you. I watched two stupid movies, tried to sleep, walked around and did all the things people told me to do to avoid swelling but I still had trouble getting my feet back in my clogs after we landed. The airport in Istanbul is huge! It is more like a mall than anything else. It looks like a beautiful place and I can't wait to go back. The sea is very blue and the houses all had an architectural inconsistency which was appealing. Then it was onto a smaller Turkish Airlines flight (this time we were crowded into a shuttle bus and driven to the tarmac where we boarded old fashioned style up some steps...very Mad Men) and I talked for a while with the guy in the seat next to me who is also teaching somewhere in Kuwait and seemed like quite the Gypsy. I watched another movie (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol...cause it was filmed in Dubai) and we flew over the nighttime landscape of Syria and then right over Baghdad. Once we got to Kuwait...I had lost all track of time and space and while the airport is small I found it really easy to navigate. The Visa guys were all nice, the guy who grabbed my suitcases was also nice, and then met up with some of the other arriving teachers and ACA staff at the pick up area. My first impressions of Kuwait will have to wait (I tried not to do it but I am too jet lagged and hungry to figure out an alternative) I am off now to go get some food and will tell you all about my first impressions later.

Ma’a salama

Michele

View from my room at the Gulf Casa Suites Bneit Elgar, Block 2, 74 Street, Kuwait City, 13071 Kuwait