Kuwait private schools trying to force teachers back to Work

With all that is going on in Kuwait concerning the Corona virus the cabinet has suspended all schools, universities and college activities until March 12, 2020. Sadly, that doesn't stop private schools from trying to force their teachers back to school or risk losing their jobs.

 

They took away their spring vacation!

I've also seen another text from a school telling teachers they need to return to school to set up online classes for their students. They also advise teachers on vacation in countries with corona virus to go back to the UK and fly to Kuwait from there to avoid quarantine.  Unfortunately managers of school are not taking this seriously and only worried about satisfying the owner's bank account. Greed is blatantly obvious in all private schools, the way some schools treat teachers as prisoners is disgusting and no one does anything about it.

Bullying young teachers, not allowing adequate time for teachers to have their breaks or lunches, not willing to put their teachers on school visas, holding onto their passports, taking money from their salary without notification and more problems teachers don't voice for fear of backlash. Sadly there is no department within the MOE to ensure private school teachers are taken cared of. The only time the MOE gets involved is to do a raid on schools known for having illegally hired staff.

There should be a number for teachers to be able to report what goes on in their school without fear of getting into trouble but that would make sense right?

Corona Virus Kuwait 2020

Yes, the Corona Virus has hit Kuwait thanks to those to who came back from Iran which is now the epicenter for the disease in the middle east. As of today there are 45 confirmed cases and the travelers from Iran are being quarantined in Al Kout Beach Hotel, not a hospital. I was shocked to learn that the people weren't in hotels but in a hotel in which the staff have found themselves in the middle of this problem and cannot leave either. There are reports of citizens who were under home quarantine left their house and went out to work and clinics.

Most people are told to avoid the Fahaheel and Mangaf areas but most of the people who visit Iran live in city areas like Rumathiya and Jabriya so it's better to take precautions and stay home of possible. Schools have been told to take an extra two weeks off after this week, my kids are happy with that.

UPDATE: It looks like people are being removed from Khairan resort by 9 am tomorrow as 236 chalets will be used to quarantine people. Nearly 400,000 people will return after holidays.

The above videos are all over social media, showing how angry people are at being held in the hotel. I feel sorry for the staff and medical people who are being yelled at for doing their job, they are mostly expats and are only doing what they are told. Outside of the hotel there are army personnel walking the perimeters with guns.

I don't know who owns the hotel but this isn't good for business and after this is over with I don't think anyone will book there again, the government might as well just buy it.

All National Day activities have been canceled and from what I've read staff from the Ministry of Health have been called back to work and their leave canceled. Only time will tell what comes of this situation, we all need to pray for a good outcome and no deaths.

You can find a real time map of the virus here

Entertainment City 2018

I found this video of what Entertainment City looks like as of 2018, such a waste!

Old Kuwait Videos

I'm always interested in seeing videos of Kuwait before the war, it seems like it was a much simpler time back then.

This video is a little long, I watched most of it, seeing a yalwa (old Kuwaiti wedding) and clips of the old Amiri hospital were awesome. This video take you through a journey from the beginning up until Sheikh Jabber became Emir. At the end it shows Sheikh Jabber at a GCC meeting, all of the GCC rulers who have all since passed are shown gathered together.

This one is a journey through Mubarakiya

From the 80's

An Indian family's home movies from the 80's, toward the end you will find Entertainment City and lastly the ice skating rink that closed yesterday to make room for a concert hall...edited with memorable 80's tracks...listening to it took me back....

We're all looking for a bit of nostalgia now that all of the old landmarks are being torn down, a lot of the past is slowly being erase and in the future we will be telling our kids about the 'old skating rink' or 'Bay Lothan' etc... so sad.

Earth Roastery Coffee Kuwait

During our journey to Kubbar Island Earth Roastery graciously supported our eco cause with endless supplies of coffee and amazing sweets. I am not a lover of coffee at all and I don't understand a lot of the hype but after spending hours on board with the co-founders I had a better understanding. 

Earth Roastery as I was told is a company that deals directly with the farmers and cuts out the middle man giving more earnings to the owners of the farms. They offered me several different flavors of coffee, whipping out their unique kettle and specialty pot which was really awesome to watch.

The light fragrant coffee was surprisingly good and I had him working the whole trip making me more. Now the pies de resistance was their double chocolate cookies, they were so moist and bursting with chocolateness I had to hide some down below in the cabin for later.   

 They are located in the Dhai complex close to The Regency Hotel in Bidda. The shop is light and airy with a modern feel. They have an enormous mint green coffee roasting machine, that thing is a beast!

A must try is definitely the Nitro coffee, a massive hit of coffee, not for the faint-hearted

Lemon, Vegan oatmeal and double chocolate cookies as well as cakes, pies and croissants. All of the sweets are provided by their sister company @pastry.coffee located in Sabah Al Ahmed and on Carriage.

 Not only are they an everyday coffee shop but also a platform for locals to attend various coffee workshops in cooperation with @brewever consulting company. Earth Roastery sponsors the coffee for the workshops as well as selling their fresh ground beans to businesses and locals alike.

In no way are they sponsoring this post, I just want to bring some attention to their business as they cater to locals with their classes and help out with volunteering with various eco friendly activities. Their sister pastry company also has classes in making various delicacies, check out the mentioned IG accounts and website for more information.

Kuwait camel Races

Finally, after 16 years if living in Kuwait I attended a camel race, my first time ever. I took the kids and headed out for the drive which took about 45 minutes to get to the location. We arrived around 1 pm as the first race is scheduled at 1:30 pm although it didn't start until a half an hour later.

There were camels for the kids for free for guests to sit on for pictures. There is an enclosed area inside the building to sit in and view the races but we chose to stand outside next to the track to see the action close up. As the owners gather in their vehicles, the camels take off from the horizon and make their way around the track with a few taking an extra 10 minutes cruising. To me this isn't an actual race, more like practice races for the young camels as most of them weren't fully grown.

 On this day there was a musical show from the local singers

It was a  nice experience and the kids had a blast, I would recommend it 100%

Location: Kuwait Camel Racing Club, Kabd
Timings: Between November and April 1pm-4pm with races starting every 30 mins

Note: You should bring your own water/snacks as there isn't any at the location, tissue is also a good idea to have handy.

Kubbar Island clean up with Trashtag Kuwait

My daughter and I joined @trashtagkuwait team for their first Kubbar Island clean up which turned out to be a very good time while helping clean up the environment. One of the guys was nice enough  to bring his Nintendo Switch which kept a lot of the volunteers entertained during the long journey to the island.

 

We boarded the boat early morning and were kept caffeinated  by the amazing team from @earthroastery. I'm not a coffee drinker but I have to admit their coffee was really good and made me appreciate their concept of bringing coffee directly from farm to store as they believe in supporting the farmers by removing the middle man. 

 They also have @pastry.coffee which provides their amazing croissants and sweets, they were nice enough to bring us double chocolate and honey oat cookies which were to die for!

 After 4 hours we were finally able to get to shore and start the clean up. We found several orange trash cans on the island which was a good sign that there are officials who care about the place but there again we found a bigger garbage bin that had been set on fire and all of the garbage inside, mostly glass bottles and water bottles were scattered around.

 And someone decided to abandon their boat and leave instead of notifying the appropriate authorities to help remove it, I'm assuming they don't want to pay for the removal.

 We gathered several bags of waste and a lot of iron pieces to be collected by EPA as we were told, I really hope they came and removed it.

After lunch from Subway we were back on the boat heading home, it was a great journey, thanks @trashtagkuwait.