A Meyer in Myanmar: December 2011

They have Dunkin Donuts coffee here. The crazy part is that it's about $21.00 per pound. No thanks!
Like every desert oasis has a palm tree, every dumpster has a dumpster cat. This is 1 block from home on this really derelict street where it stinks of sewage and the buildings are "pre-war":

There was actually a 2nd dumpster cat inside the dumpster just out of view of this shot.

Kuwait doesn't recognize the existence of Israel but thankfully they recognize Vlasic Kosher Dill sandwich stackers! There's no denying those Jews make a mean pickle!

Wall sockets take a 3-square-pronged triangular plug, yet most kitchen appliances come with 2-round-pronged plugs. WTF? This forces you to get creative with adapters. Also, my kitchen has 1 plug for all the appliances, including my washer/dryer.

Cable TV really tries to spell Western movies correctly, but something is always lost in translation.

Yes that's "Alien vs Predator." Butchered-spelling in proper horror movie fashion.

Lamborghinis and Ferraris are common in some places. Porsches are everywhere! SUVs are also pretty popular. What's funny is when you see a guy step out of a $190,000 Bentley wearing crocs under his dishdasha. I noted in my ipod that I saw my first Lamborghini on Nov 16 about a block from my apartment...you never see those at home.

*The "sausage" is not real sausage. No pork = not real! But "A" for effort!

Despite being in a Muslim country, stores in the mall still put up their Christmas displays. GAP, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Express, Starbucks, etc. etc. all have their seasonal displays which makes you feel at home. I even saw a cab driver today who had a Santa hat pulled over his head rest on his seat, I complimented him as I walked by.
Paisley patterns are popular everywhere! Carpet souk had a million-and-one paisley designs.

Since alcohol is illegal, Kuwaitis are juice-a-holics. It is fun trying new juices. I have a favorite brand strawberry juice that is super good! Their pomegranate is also good!

You can buy monosodium glutamate (MSG) off the shelf in the spice aisle at the grocery store. I never noticed that before at home-just thought it would be weird to sprinkle that onto your leftover Chinese food...
When you buy Christmas lights here, you have to plug each set in individually. You can't connect them to each other and then plug the one end into the wall. So, decorating a tree can become a logistical nightmare of 3 hole plug powerstrips, plug adapters (of course the lights have the 2 pronged plugs!), and tangles of wires. We got a nice tree decorated at a friends house anyway!

Sharing cabs is awesome! To the point where sometimes it's worth becoming a sardine in a cab to get wherever you're going in one cab! Then again, sometimes it's not. Haha.
Sometimes when you walk into a restroom you never know what kind of toilet you're going to get!

Being over 6 feet tall, sometimes you have to watch your head in places. Especially some dodgy bathroom stalls.
In a similar size-related vein, buying clothes here sucks if you're tall and/or "big boned" or "curvy." I'm not a skinny European-style dresser so my options are limited.
I've downloaded 3 Apps on Arabic, and it still confuses me.
Having a friend who can speak Arabic, therefore, is worth its weight in GOLD. Especially when negotiating prices with cabbies, market people, and other stuff.
Speaking of gold, there are even billboards about winning a kilo of GOLD per day here for whatever contest you enter and win...crazy. Goldmember would be proud.

Menus are always good fodder for humor. Especially typo-humor. But sometimes a properly spelled menu even from a place such as IKEA's cafe will provide funny options too! Funny chicken nuggets??? hmmmm, they make it too easy!

That's all for now hope you're all getting into the holidays. Here's my attempt at holiday lighting.

-Derrick-

A Meyer in Myanmar