"The World is our Oyster!"

I’m sitting in my flat looking out my window at the apartment building’s worth of trash. I guess the entire building of Bangladeshis were evicted. They are definitely the lowest on the totem pole here in the Kuwaiti caste system. I remember driving by a group of them and my cab driving muttering, “Dirty Ali-Babas (thieves).” Anywho...it’ll be nice to get away for a couple weeks and not wake up to the trash heap that has been lingering for at least 3 weeks now.

It feels like most ASK teachers have left for the holidays. Some destinations I’ve heard are Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Kilimanjaro, Turkey, London, Spain, and the always exotic United States of America. Besides the financial savings potential of teaching in the Middle East, many love it because of its proximity to other countries. Five hours to Europe, eight-ten hours to Asia. And the conversation about travel is so...refreshingly casual. “Gonna see the pyramids of Giza...go down the Nile - no biggie.” It’s almost has the impact of planning a camping trip for Memorial Day Weekend. Talk of future trips keeps living in Kuwait much more bearable as well (not to say the living is that difficult...I haven’t felt that way quite yet, anyway.)

“What do you think of Beirut for Spring Break.”

“Sounds cool. I was thinking of ‘touring’ the Middle East in June, though. How about backpacking in Oman for Spring Break?”

“Yeah...that’s not a bad idea either.”

“We could do that and maybe Amsterdam for the Prophet’s Birthday.”

“You still thinking of Honduras for the Summer.”

“Yeah, and maybe save Southeast Asia for the end of the Summer.”

“The world is our oyster.”

That was the gist of a conversation I had with a couple friends last night over some Shisha.

Tonight it’s Istanbul...X-mas eve it’s Paris. Gots to buy me a new camera.