CIK article featured in Huffington Post- Woohoo!

CIK and Z District blogs were featured on the Huffington Post website. A Reddit user had uploaded photos of the "Villa Akbar" house in Kuwait. Huffington Post saw the picture and did an article about the house featuring posts from CIK and Z District, how cool is that?

Quote from HP:

"Upon doing some research we learned that this home is located in Mubarak Al-Kabeer, and someone wrote a blog about how it's the "ugliest house in Kuwait." There's also another post from Crazy In Kuwait, where the author suggests that interior designer Nate Berkus comes to transform the mansion. "Quick! Someone call Oprah and have her buddy Nate take a flight to Kuwait and help this poor guy out with some decorating tips!"

*Getting my Oscar speech ready*

Salon for women in Abu Halaifa

My favorite stylist Josie has a new location to call home in Abu Halaifa and it's a very clean and spacious salon offering all kinds of services.

 

I've always wondered why the term "saloon" is used in Kuwait as we use this word in America to describe bars of the Old West. It seems it's an Indian term for barbershop so now I know.

Wataniya stealing money by charging for Wireless

My mom told me about a new scheme from Wataniya using your phone to charge you for wireless internet. She has had her phone number since 2004 and recently every time she re-charged her phone using a phone card it was empty by the next day. After losing 15 KD she called  Wataniya and was asked what kind of phone she has, she told him she has an iPhone. So the new thing is Wataniya has some how made wireless accounts for customers and if you hook up to any wireless network your card is charged. She thinks it may be from using her wireless internet at home as she only turns on wireless when she's in her home. Has anyone else had this problem?

K's Path Work Truck Road Rage

This morning I heard the story of the K's Path truck involved in road rage with one of my co-workers. He was driving to the base this morning when he had flashed a slow moving "work" truck in front of him. All of the sudden the work truck turned on bright yellow lights and slammed on the brakes as the guy avoided hitting the truck he noticed the words K's Path in blue letters on the side. As he got back in front of the truck again the yellow lights were turned on as if to intimidate or something. It was a white guy in his late 30's driving the truck with license plate 14258 or 12458. Did the driver of the K's Path truck think he was tough or something? After all it was 6 in the morning which is a little early to be ticked off. It's not just Kuwaitis who drive crazy, everyone does it.

Police in full effect- Be Careful!

This past week there has been a cop posted on the street above the 40 highway. He has a radar gun and knows how to use it. This is the road leading to Arifjan and the perfect position to catch speeding vehicles coming from KSA or the chalets.

 

He has been there every day for the past week so I wonder how many people are going to have to pay fines soon. On my way home from Arifjan the 30 is covered with police vehicles pulling over people. Every day I count at least 10 police cars on the highway so everyone slow down because you may not see them but they are lurking somewhere. The MOI is raking in the dough!!!!!

Operation Hope Yard Sale Pictures

We had a great turn out for OH yard sale and we are now out of debt from our winter warmth campaign, yay! We can now focus on our other areas of contributions. Thank you to all of those who participated! We are still selling raffle tickets for the quilt shown below, if you are interested in purchasing raffle tickets please contact Operation Hope. The winner will be announced during our Mother's Day event and winner need not be present.

 

Esther's Attic is open every Saturday!

IHOP- Avenues Yum!

My boss wanted me to check out IHOP and let him know how it went, no problem! It was the grand opening on Saturday, it wasn't too crowded at 2:30 pm. The restaurant was full of eager staff waiting to help us. Since I never really go to IHOP it took me a minuted to find what I wanted. I ended up choosing the stuffed omelet with steak and my hubby got the sirloin tips breakfast.

It didn't take very long for the order to come out and it tasted so good. The sirloin tips were juicy and melted in your mouth. The orders came with pancakes on the side, you can add .750 fils for a spoonful of fruit with whip cream but I got them plain. 

If you like your hash browns crispy you should let them know when you order or else they are kind of mushy. Overall a great meal!

Violence at the Park

My mom took the grand kids out to the park in Fintas for McDonald's and some play time. She took their big wheels we got them from the states for them to ride. I guess there aren't any big wheels in this country as the kids in the park surrounded our kids and were eyeing their rides. One little Egyptian boy grabbed my daughter by her hair and pulled her off her bike so my nephew came over to save her and got called "hywan" (animal) by this little boy. These kids are 3 and 4 year olds and already have violent tendencies?

When they were eating inside the restaurant they had left their bikes outside and my family watched as another Egyptian boy inched his way to my son's bike and then jumped on it and took off so my mom had to chase him down. The sad thing is the parents don't even discipline their kids they just say "sorry" and walk off. All I can say is it's a good thing my sister and I weren't there because we would have ended up at the police station.

How are these children being raised? They think it's ok to pull another child off their bike and steal it? Is this a look into the crimes of the future? Kuwaiti children in their own country being harassed and attacked by children of expats?

When I first came to Kuwait in 2003 it was so much better than it is now. I came to visit during the Kuwaiti Liberation holidays and it was so cool at that time to go and foam people and get sprayed because it was FUN but not anymore. Kids attack people now and open up car doors and pull people out. It's sad when Kuwaiti citizens would rather go on vacation during this time than to be in their own country. I saw pictures of the celebrations back in the 80's, there were parades and joy back then.

I'm afraid to ask what's next?

Esther's Attic Spring Sale

Esther’s Attic has had a busy close to 2012 and a refreshing start to a brand new 2013.

With spring just around the corner, we are geared for a cleanup.

Yes …that’s right..It's here again!

Operation HOPE is scheduled for its

Spring ATTIC Sale, on Saturday Feb 16th,2013,

Time: 7:30 AM -1:00 PM,

Place: OH premises, Rumaithiya, Block 9, Street 92, House 23.

From Household items to books, clothing to toys….!

So mark your calendars, because we will be looking forward to seeing you!

We welcome you all to take this opportunity to do your own spring cleaning and donate any gently used items towards the sale.

Donations will be received daily until Feb 15^th at OH premises.

Kindly contact us at 99375613 or hope@ohkuwait.org for queries.

Vote for Life in Kuwait!!!!!

My blog has been nominated for iX13 ( International eXchange and eXperience blog competition)! One of few blogs representing Kuwait so vote for Life in Kuwait and get this country on the map!!!!! You can vote by clicking on this link or click on the button on the right side to vote directly. Thanks everyone!

CIK- 3rd year Already!

I've learned a lot these past three years, I've met some great people and have enjoyed my blogging time. Some people wonder why my views can be harsh but this blog is not for my personal family experiences or for advertising, it's information about Kuwait and sometimes the surrounding GCC states in which I tend to voice my opinion about the matter. For those who understand me and continue to read I give thanks and for those who take offense to some of the things I say it's called freedom of speech, like it or hate it, it is what it is. Happy third anniversary CIK.

Texas Roadhouse got their ribs...Finally

The first visit they ran out of ribs, second visit still no ribs and finally third time I got to try the ribs and they were good although the order got messed up and I didn't get my order as the waiter thought we were sharing but I forgive them because the manager is extremely nice. Great food!

Children of GCC students left behind finally coming into the Light

When love goes wrong: Saudi children left behind in the U.S. - Your Middle East:

 A boy in a shemagh and agaal – a traditional dress in the Arabian Peninsula – smiling into the camera lens. The nice picture belies the true meaning of this US based blog called Saudi Children Left Behind, which tries to reunite the abandoned offspring of Saudi men by American women.

“We tried everything before I decided to create Saudi Children Left Behind; some of us tried to get a resolution between our ex's families and us but they just ignored us, or gave us false promises,” said the founder Jenniffer Crystal.

She had a very personal reason for launching the site, which is specifically for anyone who has had a child by a Saudi visiting student, or is a child thereof.

“Saudi Children Left behind was created over a year ago by myself, during a difficult time in my life. I have a child with a Saudi man who was on a student visa,” she said. “In the small town I live in there were several other women in the same situation I was in and I wondered if the problem was so large where I lived, maybe there were more women out there who I could benefit from having a site like this.”

Indeed, Saudi Arabia is not a country that is easy to deal with in terms of seeking alimony or support for unwed, foreign mothers of Saudi fathered children.

She was also interviewed by Al Jazeera and some Saudi newspapers. (Saudi Gazette Article), (Facebook)
There has also been an announcement by the Saudi embassy in the U.S. stating all Saudi students there must take a DNA test if accused of fathering a child in order to keep their scholarships. Sounds good but will they really do that or just run back to KSA?

There are also two new websites still in their infancy:
Qatari children left behind
Kuwaiti children left behind
Saudi children left behind

The women are not doing this so they can "marry" the father of their children as parents of these students think. Obviously they already found out what losers they are, they just want rights for their children and to try and stop this by bringing awareness. If a man does not want children then he should protect himself!

Every GCC country should follow in the footsteps of the UAE. This country is actually taking the first steps in identifying the children left behind and granting them citizenship. I love the rulers of UAE! (post link)

My blog won an Award- Sweeet!

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read my thoughts, especially those with positive comments that's what keeps me going.

Update: Most of the time I don't mind others copying my links to their blogs. I'm not one to write my name on  pics that I personally take before I post them. I would hope I would get recognition when someone uses my postings, but when I personally cut and fix something such as the award above and someone else uses it  on their blog I would appreciate some recognition instead of just right clicking/saving it to their blog. No hard feelings, just common courtesy in the world of blogging.

Update 2: I thought I said no hard feelings but after seeing the roller paint job over my blog name I guess someone took it to heart....Meow. It really wasn't a big deal just give me recognition as I would. Geez! At least the paint color was may fav shade of blue! Can't we all just get along?

Deserted American mothers launch website to shame runaway Saudi exes

Saudi Gazette - Deserted American mothers launch website to shame runaway Saudi exes:

 RIYADH – An American mother who had a baby out of wedlock with a Saudi student who then deserted her has launched a website to name and shame all Saudi men who leave their children behind in the United States.

The founder of the website saudichildrenleftbehind.com came up with the idea to name and shame Saudi fathers.

Deserted mothers can shame their ex-Saudi partners by sending their families a message about their sons’ true actions.

The goal is to force the father to provide for his son or daughter.

Saudi Gazette gathered information about the website and discovered many Saudi students had left their young children behind in the United States.

These students brought nothing but trouble to their families in the Kingdom. They traveled abroad to come back highly educated.


Instead, they got themselves into trouble then left behind innocent sons or daughters often born out of wedlock.

The stories on the website usually start when an American woman falls victim to a Saudi student who promises her the stars and she falls for it. But when she gets pregnant, he cowardly runs away.

Deadbeat Gulf daddies your days are limited!! Ali Hamad Al-Sulaiti watch out!

Little boy lying on the highway after a car Accident

Last sunday I saw a horrific accident where boy parts were strewn across the highway which bothered me greatly. Yesterday on my way home from work once again I came up on cars with flashers, it was another accident. Not a big deal until a white T-shirt caught my eye. In between the two crashed cars there was a little boy wearing a white T-shirt and jean shorts, he was about 2-3 years old lying there unconscious, I hope. He was lying on his stomach with his legs tucked underneath as if he were sleeping. I lost it after that, I just started to cry and prayed for him and hoped he was ok.

There was no one there to hold his hand or console him. Just a group of men yelling at cars and waving their hands as the boy layed there all alone. I thought about pulling over and running to the boy if only to hold his hand but I know that there would be problems. Unfortunately in Kuwait if you try to help you could be held liable if something happens to that person so people just drive past accident scenes. My heart goes out to that family and I pray for the little boy to recover Inshallah.

This is the exact reason I brought car seats with me from the US for my kids. Why can't people understand that holding a child is the worst thing a parent can do. Even if the police enforce this law no one will follow as the police are not respected here and I could only imagine a cop trying to pull over a Kuwaiti man and telling him to buckle his kids up or to wear a seatbelt. That guy would probably kick the cop's butt. Until parents care enough to buckle up their kids they will continue to face heartache when they kill or hurt their kids due to negligence.

Operation Hope Yardsale Pictures

It was a nice sunny day for a yard sale. Operation Hope had a pretty good turn out and all of the donated furniture was sold quickly. We had rented out spaces for individuals to sell their goods and I think they made some money as well. Overall,Esther's Attic is doing very well and we have been able to help so many more needy people with the funds from Esther's Attic.

If you are interested in stopping by please do so soon as Esther's Attic will be closing soon for the summer and will reopen when the weather is cooler. We will always be taking donations no matter what so please keep bringing your clothing throughout the year.

Again,we are still in great need of donations. We accept items in good condition, we do not accept used underwear or lingerie. I was the one who got to open the bag of used thongs which was not what I expected.

http://ohkuwaitblog.blogspot.com/

Azteca Mexican Food

There's a new Mexican restaurant at the Villiage, exit 208. I had heard about it and finally stopped by on a weekday when there wasn't any crowds. I met Chef Jorge who was a totally nice guy and a professional chef from Mexico. He would like to teach classes on cooking Mexican food when he has time. The restaurant is owned by a Mexican lady who also sells the traditional Mexican dresses. I spoke with her on the phone and she seems liek a really nice lady.

I ordered the chipotle beef burrito and my hubby ordered the chicken burrito, they were pretty big in size for 3KD. It was 350 fils for a small cup of pico de gallo which wasn't enough, in California you get a huge amount with burritos. I also ordered horchata, a Mexican rice drink for 1.250, it came in a skinny glass and was about 3 drinks. My hubby ordered sprite in the little can which was 850 fils, ouch! The burritos were a little bland for my liking and this was the first time I had a burrito with white rice. I was told the way we eat in California is the "American" type Mexican food and not the way it's made in other parts of Mexico.

The tamale was really good. I would definitely go again for that. They are usually made with lard so no tamales for me while I was in the states but now I can eat them when I crave one for 2.750 KD. I would have had another one if it wasn't so expensive. I really wanted tres leches cake but couldn't spend another 2.750 KD for a piece. I know some ingredients are imported but this place would be a once a month visit. They are supposed to change the menu next month and are trying to include carne asada. Chef Jorge says they will introduce grasshoppers! Hmmm I don't know about that.

The chef had us try the stuffed churros, which were good but would have been better freshly made, these were a bit rock hard. All new restaurants need time to get out the kinks so I will give it some time and visit in the future to see how they progress.

Contact: 23907546

Old Kuwaiti items- Proud 2 B Kuwaiti event

These pics are from the P2BK event. This booth had old Kuwaiti documents and items.

This is also the booth that had the Kuwaiti driving license for the late emir. I read in the Arab Times someone had stole it, good thing I got a picture of it. It's really sad when someone can't display historical items without the fear of some lowlife stealing them. I wonder if they recovered it?

Old Kuwaiti Recipes

Since I'm addicted to "khabooth" (however you spell it) I looked online for the recipe. I could not find it at all. I'm so sad. I looked on amazon for any old Kuwaiti recipe books and only found one which is pictured below. It's from the 70's but they want $60 for it? Really???? A friend of mine has a website which featured some old recipes, I copied them but no recipe for Khabooth. I can't really explain khabooth except it's like a thick soup with meat, spinach? and dumplings. Next time I will take a picture of it.

Hubby says his mom knows how so maybe she can show me but I'm bummed that there aren't any old Kuwaiti recipe books. So if anyone wants to contribute some old Kuwaiti family recipes please do. I would love to make a recipe book for my daughter to have in the future. Everything from the past is slowly disappearing....


This book is from the 70's but I would never pay $60 for it. So readers if you have any old Kuwaiti recipies please send them to me kuwait411@yahoo.com as I would love to try to cook some.