My name is Mark Pachiorka and I am living in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Yes, that is indeed the country that was invaded by Iraq in 1990 and liberated in the Gulf War by the coalition forces. Unfortunately, it is also the same country that is presently in the middle of Saddam Hussein's ranting and ravings of 1997.
Prior to living in Kuwait, my wife, Heather, and I both taught in Weyburn for the last three years. With stints at Haig School, Souris School, Assiniboia Park and Elgin School we had the city covered! A warm and cheery hello to all our friends and students we have taught.
Why are we in Kuwait?
Heather and I are both teaching at the American School of Kuwait, the first year of a minimum two-year contract.
Our school is a private K-12 school which enrolls about 1300 students. The students are from all over the world, but the bulk of these students are Kuwaiti, American, Indian and Canadian. All of the classes are conducted in English except for the mandatory Arabic class.
The school's facilities are housed on an enclosed campus with separate buildings for the elementary, middle and high school students. There is a large two-court gymnasium and semi-Olympic-sized pool complex, a smaller gym, and an auditorium for the arts and performances.
The school is technologically wired for the future with all the classrooms hooked up to Internet via satellite. The school boasts of having 600 computers on line throughout the campus. It truly is a well-stocked school, due in part to tuition of around $10,000 U.S. per year. Unfortunately, the high price of tuition keeps this school a place of the well-to-do.
The school atmosphere is quite energetic due to many after-school activities and extra-curricular events. The different school teams travel to places such as Turkey, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Egypt. As a coach, I am scheduled to go to Egypt with the track and field team in April. This sure beats the road trips to North Battleford that I took as a coach with the Comp Eagles football team!
Kuwait is an Islamic country where much of the traditions of Islam are practiced.
For social occasions the men have their own parties called diwaniyas, and the women have their separate diwaniyas also. Rarely do you see a group of single females and male Kuwaitis together on an outing. Most "dating" is discreetly arranged in controlled circumstances by the family.
One of the nuances of all Islamic countries is they have a call to prayer five times a day. These calls are broadcast from every mosque (there's an estimated 800 mosques in Kuwait or one every four blocks) over loudspeakers.
The first week in Kuwait, I thought of these calls to prayer in Arabic as so romantic. Now, after a few months of being awakened at 3 and 5 a.m., it makes me wish they didn't exist. The calls are sort of chanted and sang in Arabic with each mosque caller trying to out-do the other with his musical rendition of his call to prayer.
As far as the diwaniyas go, they're very yawn boring! My second week in Kuwait, I was invited to go to a diwaniya. A group of men (all Arabic) and I sat around on a carpeted floor of someone's chalet eating (without the use of utensils) a huge plate of rice, raisins, chick peas and a leg of broiled lamb on top.
After gorging ourselves, we reclined on pillows and talked - they talked Arabic and I listened, throwing in the occasional "hmm, I see what you mean" at points in the conversation. We then drank Turkish coffee, which will grow hair on anyone's chest, talked some more and went home.
In retrospect, the country of Kuwait is truly a mix of eastern religion and western influence coming together at times with a less-than-harmonious note. Some Kuwaitis are very traditional while others have adopted western lifestyles. This has caused great debate from both sides of the spectrum.
The lifestyle for Heather and I is very similar to that of Canada. We have access to supermarkets, shopping malls, theatres, etc. The average cost of living is higher in Kuwait because everything is imported, but that is offset by the fact there are no taxes here.
Some of the things we miss from Saskatchewan are the wide open spaces, the friendly people and the clean environment. Kuwaiti people are not the least bit environmentally inclined. Their theory is that if you have garbage throw it out on the street, because they can always hire someone to clean it up later.
Now on to everyone's favorite topic in Saskatchewan, the weather. We have been blessed to see some real extremes in Kuwait weather since our arrival.
There was the extreme heat (48 C) on our arrival in mid-August. The hot season lasts from June to mid-September, with the temperature hovering between 40-49 C. During this hot season it is very important to drink lots of liquids and stay out of the sun.
From October to December, the temperature is a beautiful 20-25 degrees, while in January and February it drops to 10 to 18 degrees. Other than the extremely hot days, we love the weather here and there is no shovelling snow!
Heather and I experienced a sand storm, on our first day in Kuwait. The sky was dark at midday and the sand was pelting us and constantly irritating our eyes. The flood of the millennium also occurred here last month. Kuwait received the most rain ever in one rain storm. The freeways were flooded, roads washed away, one brave soul even had a jet ski out on one of the flooded areas. People abandoned cars when they tried to go through a flooded area and the car stopped. It was chaos. I had never seen a car float by me (a Ferrari, no less) until this moment.
In retrospect, the Middle East is really a fascinating place to be. I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to venture out of their comfort zone and be willing to blend in with another culture. Heather and I are really glad to experience it and our only regret is that we didn't start living abroad earlier in life. The only disclaimer is that there is no place like home. Canada is still and always will be the best place in the world!
Box 400, 904 East Avenue
Weyburn, SK
S4H 2K4
Phone: (306) 842-7487
Fax: (306) 842-0282
E-mail: production@weyburnreview.com
This web page and its contents are copyright of the Weyburn
Review (1987) Ltd.