Cultural Cohesion

Culture is one of the first things that strikes you when you get here. Muslim culture. Most notably it's every few hours if you're in the city and you hear the call to prayer from the p-a systems at the myriad of mosques surrounding you. Muslims pray five times a day so you hear five calls at various points in the day: pre-dawn, mid morning, afternoon, sunset, and night. Even depending on the radio station (if you're in a cab) or watching television (if you have the right channel) they'll take a break from programming and play the call to prayer and give you time so that you can stop what you're doing, to a certain extent, and get your prayers in. The other thing to factor in is that there are many many mosques around, so the p-a systems send out their calls (based on the sun's positioning, and their clocks) at various points throughout the day-but they are not synchronized. This has its pros and cons. For example, in the morning, there's the first call that typically happens around 4:00am and is fairly distant. Crazy early! The first time I heard it I was jolted from a deep slumber and in my groggy state finally realized what was happening. On the plus side this serves as my version of a Muslim "snooze alarm" since there are calls from mosques at around 4:15, 4:30, and 4:45. They all vary in relative timing but the one around 4:30 is the one that usually wakes me up no matter what; it's the mosque closest to me and it's LOUD. This always tells me I have a little time to snooze, or get up, depending on how ambitious/tired I am for the day. The only negative is the person who owns the rooster that's on top of one of the buildings in my area. In the predawn hours it decides that once it hears the call to prayer that it's time to start crowing...probably my biggest annoyance because he's random and he sound like a screaming baby sometimes. I snooze through most of it and my failsafe is my alarm clock which is set to go off after all this morning malarkey. My bus to school is at 6:15am, so I typically rise at 5 or just before to get ready for work.

Based on this pious schedule you would assume that all Muslims follow the Koran and show respect to fellow people "of the book." Not so! Particularly from the cabbie the other night who screwed me: I was shopping at the "largest shopping mall in the world", The Avenues,  and was splitting a cab with my friend back to our different apartments. After my friend got dropped off and I was on my way to my place the cabbie randomly decided that "he had another fare to pick up" and I had to get out. We had negotiated the fare beforehand and he was expecting the full fare for his services. Unfortunately since he never took me all the way home I shortchanged him, rather logically, for not driving me to my apartment. This somehow didn't compute with him and we ended up arguing over the fare. I stuck to my guns, despite his exasperation at my not sticking to the deal. I kept saying "whole ride-whole pay!" After I repeated that phrase for about the sixth time he hopped back into his cab and I went to find another who eventually took me home. So there's always a random element of mischief involved a.k.a. "Shit Happens." Friends at my apartment say, "T.I.K." for "This Is Kuwait." When you need something, you get it done on "Kuwaiti Time" which is slightly more dysfunctional than "Island Time" if you were vacationing in the Caribbean. Actually a lot more dysfunctional.  It took 3 requests, and eventually 3 people, to finally fix the problem with my internet and phone in my apartment. My phone still isn't fixed, but I'm satisfied with my internet and besides, I have a cell phone so what's the use of a land-line when there's only ONE PHONE LINE FOR THE ENTIRE APARTMENT BUILDING! Haha, "this is Kuwait!" So you have to be flexible, laid back, and take things as they happen...it almost makes you want to become a Buddhist!

Other cultural mixing is funny, especially when it comes to American fast food culture. It's everywhere and rather insidious wherever there's a market or shopping area. I haven't been into any fast food joints yet, I'm still trying to find quality "local" places. It seems to me to be a bit of a "sell out" to go into McD's or BK and buy food. Coffee joints are another story. Totally NOT ashamed to get my Starbuck's coffee or Dunkin Donuts...coffee is no laughing matter! In a country where there's no alcohol, you have to take something seriously. So Kuwait has that going for it-they're big on coffee.

So it's an interesting mix of cultures colliding. There's the fast-paced Western food system sprinkled into the strict Muslim society, and a modernizing culture trying to hang onto its older, slower paced ways. I see the Muslim culture as the agar in the petri dish and all these Western influences as colonies of bacteria. Some are under control, and others are spreading everywhere. Some people welcome it and you, and some people resist it by kicking you out of their cab. (Not bitter!) The end result: there are almost as many mosques as there are fast food joints. "TIK"