And the beat goes on...

A few days have passed and life in Kuwait is rolling along. Since Monday, we have had orientation everyday with various and sundry activities.

Yesterday, (Wednesday) we were out of the school going to get finger printed, HIV tested and chest Xrays. It was a whole day of "hurry up and wait"....kind of like working in television. As women (and maybe more specifically, foreign women), we were moved to the front of the lines (hooray...seems strange in this male dominated culture but nevertheless true!!).

When we first arrived at the finger printing place, we were told we had to come back on Saturday. That was not going to fly with us and our Egyptian guide, Hassan, (who is a big cuddly bear of a man - he's wonderful)told us to beg and plead to get taken in then and NOW. So...what did we do....we sent our smallest, cutest, youngest woman to "work her magic" as I told her. Touchdown...6 points for Katelyn and the foreign ladies, 0 for the Kuwaiti officials!! Way to go Katelyn.

I had never been fingerprinted before so that was interesting. A little tip which we were given (in case you have to be fp'd sometime) is to put cream on your hands before you hit the ink and it will come off easier....TRUE...it worked!!

After leaving there, we went on the get some blood taken to be tested for HIV (apparently, our test from Canada, which they required before we set foot in the country, was not good enough) Anyway, it was a little more painful than the one we had done the day before for blood typing but we all survived.

On to chest Xray department. We all filed into a room and were told we had to remove our necklaces and bras so.,..being dutiful, law abiding Canadians, we all did the inconspicuous removal of the bra without removing our outer clothes (you know the drill ladies??) That finished the legal portion of our duties. Now we have to wait a month or so to get our permanent residence cards so we can travel around, get a licence (if wanted) etc.

Today, we spent 2 hours in the tremendous heat at an outdoor market...everything from carpets to cleaning supplies and everything in between. We were told by Hassan that it was Friday market on Thursday...not sure what that means but anyway we went. Those of you who love the Winners, flea market, etc. experience...would love this place. Me....not so much. We consumed a lot of water. Very hot!!

After leaving the market our van took us out for lunch (paid for by the school or Hassan??) at a Kuwaiti restaurant and we had some special chicken dish including AMAZING pita bread, hummous, spicy veggies and, of course, FRENCH FRIES...go figure...guess they want us to feel at home...too funny!!

The next stop was the apartments for a little siesta and then another trip to the Avenues Mall...shop til you drop...Hassan says that all there is to do here is SHOP and EAT!!! Sounds good except for the poundage that I am trying to lose. Maybe I can sweat it off....if only that was possible. Speaking of sweating it off...the biggest debate now is which work out facilities to join...the Holiday Inn which is within walking distance with adequate work out facilities or the Hilton which is apparently resort like with private beach, etc. but is about 20 minutes to half hour away. Oh, what a terrible dilemma to be in....lol!! Too bad all of life isn't that simple!!

Well, I need a little snooze....stay tuned!!