Back in the Loop - April 24, 2011

*Most recent update to family and friends.

It's been way too long since my last update, and I've stayed in touch with some of you much better than others. I apologize for that.

A lot has happened over the past two years, and I can't remember the last email I sent out.

Was it two...almost three summers ago even? Hopefully not that long.

I am now nearing the end of my second year in Kuwait. Last year I taught grade 6 girls and this year I have taught a coed kindergarten class at an "American school that respects Islamic values."

I quickly realized how very different Kuwaiti culture is compared to western culture, to far eastern culture, and well...to every culture I had experienced previously. The culture seeped into the school inevitably. Though we are an American school, I teach all Kuwaiti students and Islamic values rule the school. We are to dress a certain way, to teach a certain way, and to leave most of our personal touches out of teaching.

I had a hard time with the culture last year. There is an underlying, very visible hierarchical system in Kuwait. This year, I'm starting to understand it even more but last year it was almost unbearable. Kuwaitis are at the top of this hierarchy. They just are. They have the money, they have the expensive cars, they have the enormous houses. Westerners, I would say, are the next rung on the hierarchical ladder. However, we are still servants; servants to the Kuwaitis' children. Below westerners are immigrant workers. There are a LOT of them. Workers come from the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Egypt mostly. There are also many workers from other areas of the middle east. There are only 1 million Kuwaitis living in Kuwait with a population of 4 million. What do all of these immigrant workers do? They do the jobs Kuwaitis do not want to do. They are family cooks, family drivers, nannies, taxi drivers, car mechanics, restaurant workers, etc.

Toward the end of the school year last year, I had almost had it. I had almost had it with my school's administration and with the structure of Kuwait's society.

Why come back?

Awesome travel opportunities. Good friends. To continue learning about Islam and the middle east. To save money for grad school.

People say to me, "You must like it if you're going back." I can't phrase it that way. Most of us can't phrase it that way. There are things that I like about living here, but I do not like living in Kuwait. This was hard for me to admit. Still hard for me to admit.

What do you do when you dislike living somewhere? You find things that get you through. I joined rugby, started taking zumba lessons, and took up ultimate frisbee. I also found a very dear friend who was as willing as me to drop everything and do anything - a fellow explorer of sorts.

Rugby allowed me to get out of Kuwait every other weekend or so. We played internationally within the middle east. We played several times in the UAE (Emirates) and were also able to travel to Qatar. I met Andy, my now partner, at the biggest middle east rugby event of the year - Dubai Sevens (December 2009).

Because of our holiday time last year, I was able to travel to Ethiopia during our November Eid break with a fellow teacher who had set up an NGO (Non-Governmental Org) to help former sex workers and orphans. During my 2 week February break, I traveled home to meet my new baby brother, Ryan David Carmichael! :) During New Years, I traveled to Abu Dhabi with two good friends. I spent a few days in March exploring the beauty that Oman had to offer. Spring Break was spent in Istanbul with a friend and fellow rugby mate. Finally, Andy's and my first official trip together in May was to the oddly European Middle Eastern country of Lebanon.

When summer came, I spent a week with Andy and his family in England. He is from Guildford, just 30 minutes south of London. We also visited a friend of Andy's in Wales. I then spent 3 weeks traveling solo around Europe by train and staying with fellow couch surfers. Couch Surfing is an amazing network of people who put up their couches or extra rooms for fellow travel lovers. I met many interesting people with varying levels of travel under their belts. The best part is that it is free. It is simply focused on a cultural exchange. I had only wonderful experiences with CS. I traveled to Brussels and Bruges, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna Austria, Budapest , Zagreb, and Ljubljana and the surrounding areas of Slovenia.

Berlin was my favorite. There is a very unique sub culture that I was able to explore through the use of New Europe Free Tours - 3-4 hour free walking tours. The tour guides are incredible, hilarious, and international. They work solely for tips.

I traveled back to England, home, and to Colombia in the span of 4 days. I went to Colombia with CPT on a delegation focused on the human rights unrest in and around Bogota, Barrancabermeja, and the Las Pavas Community. This is a link to an article my friend wrote about my experience and the internally displaced peoples of Colombia: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-solis/colombias-internally-disp_b_715186.html

After a month at home, I stopped back through England and Scotland to meet up with Andy on my way back to Kuwait.

This year has taught me very much that I am not cut out to live in Kuwait long term, but I cannot say I regret the decision to stay this second year. I have had a chance to go to some amazing places and experience some incredible things that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. For this November Eid break, Andy and I traveled to Sri Lanka for a week. I am now convinced that I will once again visit Sri Lanka; I fell in love with its beauty and kind people. I spent New Years in England for a friend's wedding. For the winter break, I traveled to Dubai for a few days to visit Andy's parents while his father was on business and then traveled to Sudan and Uganda with New Community Project to learn about the projects they sponsor for girls' education and reforestation. Most recently, Andy and I just returned from a week trip to Jordan. I was there for two days before he came out to meet me. We visited Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Jarash, the Dead Sea, etc. Jordan is a very versatile and gorgeous country; it has so much to offer in terms of landscapes and natural beauties.

I might have caught you up on the past two years of my life. I'm sure some of you are wondering what's next. Your guess is as good as mine. I know I am leaving Kuwait and traveling this summer, but I'm not sure about much beyond that.

Andy and I will spend a part of the summer as a road trip up to Montreal, Canada with stops in DC and Niagara Falls on the way to a friend's wedding (a couple I taught with last year). We are leaning toward traveling Central America for a few weeks before heading out to New Zealand for a month and a half as Andy managed to acquire tickets for the Rugby World Cup, including the final! There is a 3 week break between our last game and the final where we are going to try to hop over to Australia for a bit. How are we going to afford this? Lots of camping, couch surfing, and WWOOFing (organic farming in exchange for room and board). Beyond that the vision gets blurrier. A few ideas have been tossed around which mostly end Andy and I up in England...at least for a little while. Grad school is somewhere in the future with a focus on International Studies/Human Rights. Stay tuned as I figure out my future. ;)

Here's to the next adventure.

I would love to hear from those of you I haven't heard from in a while...and from those I talk to on a regular basis. I miss you all! Don't think for one minute that this crazy life I lead stops me from missing home, friends, and family.

Much love.

~Stacey