Ramadan Kareem

Happy Ramadan to Muslims everywhere.

For all non-Muslims remember, no eating or drinking etc. during daylight.

Big rat in Carrefour- Avenues location

Thought I was done until my mom told me about the rat found in Carrefour in the Avenues (?), of course I had to post it. Yucko!



Well if it's really in Avenues then this is one store where I won't get food from. I love LuLu Hypermarket!

New Taco Bell in Mahboula. Woohoo!

Those that have visited Appleebee's in Mahboula/Abu Halaifa area might have seen some construction going on. What used to be Kebobji (hated the food) will now be TACO BELL!!!!!! Now I don't have to drive all the way to Sha'ab park!

Ok this is my last post. Time to go to sleep. My day off has passed by so fast and another 12 hours/6 days work week awaits.

Laws for Americans married to Kuwaitis

As an American married to a Kuwaiti citizen I like to know my rights in this country. I found an article from the U.S. embassy regarding the laws.

http://kuwait.usembassy.gov/region_specific_information/family-law-in-kuwait.html

For anyone thinking about marrying a Kuwaiti check this article out.

Ministries announces Ramadan working hours

IndiansinKuwait.com - Ministries announces Ramadan working hours:

"Ministries announces Ramadan working hours


The Civil Service Commission (CSC) announced the official work hours in ministries and other government departments during the holy month of Ramadan.
Arabic daily revealed the Ramadan work hours for the following institutions will be from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm — Ministries of Commerce, Industry, Awqaf, Islamic Affairs, Justice, Public Works, Communications, Education, Higher Education and Information, as well as the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW), Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR), Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS), Public Authority for Industry (PAI), Public Authority for Minors Affairs (PAMA), General Customs Administration, Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD), Zakat House, Kuwait Municipality, CSC and the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL).

Ramadan work hours for other public institutions not mentioned above will be from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm. Sources added the government agencies whose nature of work is similar to that of the private sector should check with the CSC to specify the appropriate work hours in the holy month."


In other words you will see no one at the Ministries, especially at noon prayer time.

NBK Ramadan working hours

IndiansinKuwait.com - NBK Ramadan working hours:

"NBK Ramadan working hours

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), announced in a press release on Friday that NBK branches will open for customers in the morning shift only from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.during the holy month of Ramadan.

NBK Deputy General Manager, Consumer Banking Group, Abdulla Al Najran Al-Tuwaijri said that all NBK branches are ready to provide customers with all NBK services during the holy month.

Al- Tuwaijri stressed that NBK has taken all necessary measures to ensure providing customers with the best telephone, online and ATM services during the holy month of Ramadan."

-They don't work too much during normal hours anyways and they complained about having to work 2 shifts that's why they changed their working times, just another excuse not to work. If you expect anything to get done at the ministries then good luck as it's a ghost town during Ramadan.

New Kuwait Labor Laws PDF

Since it's my only day off I thought I would catch up on some new things before I hit the sack. Here is the link to the updated Kuwait Labor Laws manual. It's a lot of reading so I will have to take my time reading it. I like to be up to date with regards to law although companies on Arifjan pick and choose which Kuwait laws they follow so we are SOL when it comes to rights. DO we go by Kuwaiti laws or U.S. laws? That's always the question.

I just want Kuwaiti holidays, please.

http://www.indiansinkuwait.com/press/KuwaitLaborLaw.pdf

I must say that the indiansinkuwait website is pretty good with news and links to Ministries.

 

AWARE Center Events

More Ramadan awareness classes at the AWARE center.


AWARE Center:

"02 Aug 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Ramadan is a holy month that is special to Muslims. In Kuwait & other Gulf countries, Ramadan has a very special sense where religion merges with culture & traditions. The speaker will focus on this tremendous mix and then present some cultural practices related to Ramadan, which is a special month in the Islamic world. It will concentrate on how Muslims behave during the month of Ramadan, what are the deeds they care to do, customs of helping the poor & bonding between people, gergei'an, and finally preparing for & celebrating Eid (festival of breaking the fast.) This presentation will focus on Kuwait but it will also show the similarities of traditions between Kuwait and other Gulf countries. Wadha Al-shaheen is a translator translating Arabic into English and vice versa as well as Academic Advisor at the Ministry of High Education. She is an MA student of translation at Kuwait University and mother of two boys. Join the AWARE Center on August 2nd, 2011 to learn more about some cultural practices in Kuwait and other Gulf countries during Ramadan. individual who has authored two short stories, is a photographer, a photography installation artist, general supervisor of Sights of Light photography group and much more. ..'books emphasize your imagination and ability to think out of the box. In other words, they give you the ability not just to be able to create but also to manage your life and work and find solutions for problems.'"

Thanks for the informative classes AWARE Center.

Two children suffocate to death as fire destroys house in Firdous

Two children suffocate to death as fire destroys house in Firdous:

"KUWAIT, July 29:

Two children suffocated to death last night as a result of a fire that broke out in a house in the area of Al-Firdous on Friday. Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) said in a statement firefighters managed to control the blaze that erupted in one of the homes in Al-Firdous, yet two children lost their lives as a result of inhaling smoke. The statement added that firefighters managed to fish out the children from the roof of the house and handed them over to the medical emergency team, where they were announced dead later on in the hospital. Director of Public Relations and Information Department at KFSD Colonel Khalil Al-Amir appealed to citizens and residents not to leave their children unattended in the house or with nannies. He also called for the need to provide a smoke detector and fire extinguisher in the house so as to prevent the spread of fire.

Meanwhile, Al-Watan Arabic daily said the two Kuwaiti children - two and five years old - tried in vain to escape death by climbing to the upper floor. The daily also said the maids in the house escaped leaving behind the two children. According to sources delay in reporting the fire and firemen entering the house without proper firefighting gear led to the death of the children. The cause of the fire is not known."

Good job "nannies".

ABHA disappoints again

I did write about my mom's experience with ABHA clinic and I swore I'd never go back but due to my tooth hurting, my IC dentist on vacation and Bayan not having any emergency appointments I was left with ABHA to take care of my tooth pain, although not severe I prefer to take care of a little pain so it doesn't get worse.

Dr. Ahmed was my dentist. I was praying it would go well as many people have said it's a good place. Ok so small cavity or decay as he called it and a pocket between my 2 teeth needed cleaning. Nothing too bad so I thought.

First numbing and 3 shots. Once I was numb he started cleaning the pocket. Oh my God what did he do? He was tugging and pulling and tugging some more so bad that I thought he was pulling out my jaw. Finally he finished but I knew I was gonna be in more pain from the pulling. Next came the filling which wasn't so bad. The painful part was when the asistant stuck the suction tube and pressed it against my lip and teeth. Ouch!

I had to move her hand back because my lip was cutting into my teeth. I finished up and paid the 70 KD. Thank God for insurance. After about 15 minutes I was in so much pain I almost cried. I took some Tylenol and tried to sleep. Today the pain continued when I drank cold water or tried chewing. WTH? I wasn't in this much pain when I went there and now I feel as if I want to go to the hospital for some pain relief.

Note to self, never and I mean NEVER go to ABHA again no matter what anyone says. I gave them a second chance and still painful results. Dr. Fadi please come back!

Ramadan Awareness Class

Ramadan is upon us and if you would like to know more about the do's & don'ts of Ramadan the AWARE center is giving a class on it. I'd hate for one of the new expats to get busted during Ramadan and have to spend a month in jail.

AWARE Center:

"26 Jul 2011, 7:00 p.m.

Back to homeDuring the Holy month of Ramadan, many changes occur in Kuwait. Restaurants will change their working hours as will most workplaces and shopping malls. Traffic patterns also change and one may find their paperwork halted. There are laws and many tips that will help the western expatriate better understand the etiquette and rules associated with this month. Join us for a guideline of how to best experience the month of Ramadan with your Muslim neighbor and colleagues. Dr. Teresa holds her PhD in Information Science from the UK and is now assistant professor at Kuwait's teachers college. She held the position as manager of the AWARE Center for three years and returns often to host presentations related to Arab and Islamic culture."

Mada Internet Service?

Thanks for the suggestions. My husband just came up with this new thing called mada? Has anyone heard of it? It's supposed to be some kind of new internet service in Kuwait.


www.mada.com.kw

‘Could be law in months’

‘Could be law in months’:

"Family visa cap of KD 500 eyed

KUWAIT CITY, July 15: The Ministry of Interior is studying a proposal to raise the family visa cap from the current KD 250 to KD 500, reports Al-Rai daily quoting knowledgeable sources. The proposal, which could become law within a ‘few’ months, sources say, will affect the expatriate community psychologically. The proposal comes at a time when there were reports that expatriates will be allowed to bring in their parents on dependent visas to live with them.

However, according to the sources the authorities have reached at this decision taking into consideration the “ability of the expatriates to support their families, bring stability to the labor market and get rid of what are known locally as the marginal workers and above all to bring social stability to Kuwait.” Last week the Ministry of Interior announced that it had recommended to the Kuwait Cabinet that KD 100 be charged for each visit visa. A ministry study had said that some of these visitors put a lot of burden on Kuwait’s various departments, especially the Health Ministry."


Finally a few steps in the right direction. Take control of Kuwait again. Next step should be raising the salary cap for driving licenses to 500 KD. There should have been some limits placed on workers a long time ago before Kuwait became so congested with FNs. With this action and limiting their stay to 2 years maybe we can see some relief from overcrowding. Give them an inch and they will want a mile. Can you imagine them all getting together? They would take over the whole country. They work on the Kuwaiti and U.S. military bases and have in depth knowledge of the various military equipment. They work in the oil sectors, ministry sections and just about everywhere. Don't think the tea boy doesn't listen to your secrets.

Some of them may play dumb but they are just soaking up everything that is said. I hope the problem is fixed before they start an uprise.

My opinions on my blog, like it or not. We can all agree to disagree!

Wataniya Internet service Sucks!

You would think with all of the money Wataniya gets the company should be able to provide decent internet service for 25 KD a month. Yah right I can't even get the service to stay on long enough to write anything. Try using it after 7 p.m. and you will want to throw your computer out of the window. Back in 2004 I could understand the crappy service because more people were moving out to this side of Kuwait and there weren't any towers.

But it's now 2011 and the service sucks even more. For 25 KD a month which is considered the top service I can barely use it. I try using it at 5 a.m. before work and it is useless. My next step will probably be getting the wireless for Quality net or something better than Wataniya. I'm hoping for a Ramadaan special from Q net.

Wataniya take some of the billions of KD you make and put up a few more towers and give customers the service they deserve instead of robbing the people and when we call to complain we get some lame story from the reps. Step up Wataniya!

Early days of Kuwait

With all of the new construction in Kuwait I always wonder what it looked like in the beginning. It's a shame there are hardly any old buildings left. I wish Kuwait had a heritage site where they've saved some of the beautiful old houses but other than the few refurbished ones there really isn't anything left. I love the Sadu house, it gives you a feel of how Kuwait homes used to be.

So much new construction covering up the old cities as if there was never an old Kuwait. I will have to show my kids old movies of Kuwait because there isn't much left to visit. I hope the Sadu house is still going when my daughter gets older as I would love for her to learn the old weaving techniques they use. It's not all about shopping malls, fast cars and living in gigantic houses. It's about having pride in your country and yourself. One should never be ashamed of where they came from.

Remember your roots!

Abu Dhabi cuts expat jobs to trim costs

Abu Dhabi cuts expat jobs to trim costs, UAE Economy - Maktoob News:


"ABU DHABI: Wealthy Gulf Arab emirate Abu Dhabi has laid off large numbers of foreign workers as it looks to lower costs and promote jobs for citizens, several people familiar with the matter said.

Hundreds more expatriate jobs could be on the line in the near future at Abu Dhabi government departments, two sources at the offices said, adding exact numbers are not available."

Just a couple sentences about Emirate nationals taking back their country. So when will Kuwait follow? It seems like Kuwait is drowning in foreign nationals. When I came 7 years ago there were hardly any foreign nationals driving around. Today they are everywhere and with attitudes to boast. During my morning commute I notice the growing number of foreign national drivers. I stop counting half way through my drive as it seems I can't keep up with the amount. For all you guys who think driving a Charger is cool well it's not anymore. It looks like the foreign nationals have chosen it as their work vehicle and they are everywhere.

I've read about Kuwait limiting the residencies of the foreign nationals and hiring more citizens. I sure hope so because Kuwait is too crowded. Problems with traffic and electricity is growing. They have taken over the streets with their taxis and cause accidents when they slam on their brakes looking for customers. If there are jobs that nationals don't want to do then let the bedoons have them instead of foreign nationals at least the bedoon would be able to work and take care of their families.

Some of you may not like what I write and so be it. The citizens need to take back their country instead of letting the foreign nationals run everything. Just go to Sheraton round-about on Friday and you will see the chaos, you would never believe you were in Kuwait.

I can't wait for the comments to roll in.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today's my birthday but too tired to celebrate. Maybe on my day off.