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Saturday 9 October 2010

Appreciation


After Each time I write a blog post I always wonder what I will be able to write about next. Sometimes I think I wont have anything to talk about because after a while I feel like I`ll be writing about the same thing over and over. However, that is not really the case, it just takes time for my next significant thought to develop.


The thought that has been looming on my mind the past week or so is my worldly appreciation. It has been quite difficult for me to synthesize and process this thought to myself, as it very overwhelming to contemplate. One way to give perspective to what I`m trying to describe, is to think about your purpose of travelling. For many this purpose can be to visit friends, family, vacation, or to go see a country out of interest. It is obvious when we go to other countries for these purposes we will visit the areas of historical value, important buildings and see the tourist areas.

It is obvious my reason for travelling is for the purpose to work. However, the more I think about it the more I realize, I`m not really travelling, in fact, I have moved for a period of two years for work to start my career and life. This is what has had the greatest impact on my experience. It is knowing that I am not staying for a short while and that I do not have to go see everything imaginable in Kuwait, because I only have 2 weeks or a month to visit. Kuwait, for the next two years will be my home.

As I sit here in my living room, as I so often do looking out my balcony watching the traffic, people playing cricket, the sunsetting and my thoughts wander through my mind, this one simple idea really sinks in fully, this new place has become my life. The thrill of examining and exploring in the first two weeks has ended. In those two weeks it felt like we were on vacation. That we really did not move here for work. The idea of having a full time job had not truly sunk in fully at that point either.

With the realization of Kuwait, actually being my home for the next two years, all the buildings, people and lifestyle has quickly become less novel and just a natural everyday occurrence in my life. It would be a mistake for me to say that I look at the urban geography here like I would in my home town of Mississauga, or my university home of St. Catharines. There are still obvious adjustments I am still making, but things are not as foreign as they once were. There is a more natural feel to the everyday here for me.

It would also be a lie for me to say that I do not still feel out of place at times. However, I feel more confident going to places that I once felt awkward about. The staring we get does not bother not bother me as much. Perhaps this is where I will start giving some more definite examples of of my appreciation I have gained since being here.

I will start with the staring. I am always surprised to see how much attention you can attract when its obvious you are not from the surrounding nations. Having lived in Canada your entire life, you become quickly accustomed to living with people of all nationalities, religions, beliefs, values, cultures`; I have literally grown up with the entire world in Mississauga. Through the years seeing someone walk past me who is entirely different than myself in every aspect would not receive anymore thought from me than the two seconds they are in my range of vision. Even then those differences mean very little, as it is as natural as the air we are both breathing in that one spot. Having lived in Canada, the amount of exposure to the world I have gained to the rest of the world without ever leaving the country is phenomenal.

Now a month and a half later, I am realizing I am encountering people who have moved from their own countries to Kuwait to work, but they have had very little exposure to a multicultural environment. From this I have gained a greater appreciation for having had an opportunity growing up to understand many other cultures from the country I was born. In the same instance, I also appreciate the curiosity of those who stare at me. I literally could have been the first white person they may have ever saw, now that may be an exaggeration, but you get the point.

Another great part of my appreciation since moving is the simplicity of life here, or so it feels like. If there is one thing I know about Canada, or developed industrialized nations, is boy do we love our material possessions. Here I have been humbled by all classes of people who live in Kuwait. Material items and temporary pleasures and satisfactions from what I have noticed are non-existent. There is a strong feeling of community here. People are always together, doing things. In Canada there is a stronger sense of independence among the people. We have so many toys that keep us much more occupied and independent from one another. Instead of meeting up and doing thins together, we will text, send messages or simply communicate through face book, but we will never actually physically interact in time and place.

In Kuwait, you will never see anyone alone. People are always doing something together; whether it is the people playing cricket outside my window, or sitting downstairs drinking some coffee and eating some food,you will rarely find someone off on their own. For example, back home if you had not been in contact with anyone for a few days no one would even notice or even worry. However, here, if I haven`t seen someone in a few days, let alone a day you really notice it. Having that sense of independence and going on your own does not exist here, and something I fully appreciate. Also, it is something that we are doing without noticing. Since I have been here, I have not done a single thing by myself. If I am going to go somewhere, I will round up the usual suspects and we march together. It just does not make sense to do something by yourself. The only things I have done on my own, is go the gym, go for a run, or walk to the nearby seven eleven for food. But even then, I am bound to run into someone I know. The alone time that I do have is always spent in my apartment, but even then my it is known where I am, and thus I am not fully alone; as my door is always open for whoever to come in.

Now what about these temporary pleasures and satisfactions that I speak about? Well first of all, all that fast food and junk that we eat back home to help deal with our stresses, I don't even consider ever here. Watching T.V. shows, movies, and so forth or spending my money on material items to buy away my worries doesn't happen either. All those temporary fixes I find we do so often in Canada, have become luxuries to me here in Kuwait. I can't fully explain it, it might be something in the air, the water, or the food, but the simplicity in life that I have found here away from the petty drama, and superficial worries, have been replaced by that of substance. That substance for me has been the the relationships I have developed. Sitting down and just being beside someone with a simple conversation has taken on a greater meaning that you could ever imagine. In this case, I would have to say I more than appreciate the luxuries we have back home, but they have become so commonplace that we quickly become bored and unsatisfied with what we have that we want more and more, until finally we don't know what we want and everything seems so boring mundane and less than exciting.

Here, I have gained the greatest appreciation for these luxuries, watching my dvds of Entourage happens rarely, my only source of junk comes when we go to the souks and stop for the coffee and two donut deal at Krispy Creme. What I have learned and have come to truly appreciate is my reintroduction to social interactions. In Canada, yes we interact socially, but that can only be done if you're doing something. For example, to sit down with another person is boring and there is no value in that, unless your're watching a movie so you can be distracted from having awkward silence. You literally have to have an actual plan of doing something to be around someone, or else there is no purpose to see them, and as a result creating a very independent society. Now don't misunderstand me, I absolutely love my alone time. However, having the choice, I'd rather be with people as much as I can and the alone time that I do have, should always be a luxury.

Now for a quick change of pace, one aspect that I truly and absolutely miss is the changing of the seasons. How strange it is to tell you that I still feel like I am in the middle of the summer and not entering the second week of October blows my mind. This lack of changes become quite tricky believe it or not. You wouldn't think it, but life at times seems to stand still, stagnate. It feels like there is no forward motion at all. Each day can feel exactly the same, no change in temperature, not a cloud in the sky, and nothing that tells you are you are 5 days away from the weekend. You will quickly miss the brisk fall air, the sharpness of a cold wind, those cloudy days that can determine your mood. The snow that lets you know Christmas is just around the corner, and the deep thaw that lets you know there is life after a cold and brutal winter. Yes, the weather that I too am so guilty of complaining about in all my years is something that I do miss greatly and have come to fully appreciate. Often times, no matter where I am, my mind thinks of the changing of the seasons. The changing of the seasons has for me become synonymous with the passage and growth of my life; as there is obvious and change and progression that you can measure. However, here that can be easily lost as nothing really feels like it changes, and it is certainly humbling how the something like the weather can have such a significant impact.

As I sit here thinking of all the things I have come to appreciate, I realize there is not enough time to go on about. Mostly because I have to take a shower and start lesson planning for tomorrow, something which I did not accomplish at all this weekend. However, to conclude about the things I have really began to appreciate, I would have to say that no matter where I live and for how long, I know that I will never change as a person, as bold as that may sound. My ideas, opinions and attitudes my change, but I thin the core of a person will never change. I will continue to gain greater appreciations for the world as I continue to live in and experience Kuwait, and with the travelling that I will do. As exciting as it is to travel and for all the moments I will live in while I am away, nothing will replace home. But from this experience and short time away, I have come to miss and develop a great appreciation for what I have and will always have, family.

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