Rowan Update

I thought it was about time to give an update on how Rowan is getting along. The pictures are all a few months old but I haven't had a chance to get new ones transfered. Picture him in swimming trunks, tan and blond. He looks just like a little California surfer.

Rowan is doing just great here in Kuwait. He has so much more of a social life than he did in the States and he is loving it. Just the other day he told me how much he loves Kuwait. Of course that was just after he had been in the sea and got within two feet of a good sized stingray, saw two cuttlefish, and loads and loads of "regular" fish. Not a bad day if you ask me. Having the sea out our front door is just amazing.

Homeschooling is also going really well. Much better than I expected. With the way Jesse's schedule changes every other week, I can't imagine how hard it would be if we had Rowan's school schedule to worry about too. He is technically in Kindergarten and we didn't even start it until January. I was planning to go all summer long and be ready to start 1st grade in the fall. Rowan is burning through the Kindergarten material so fast that I think we are going to be done sometime in July. It would be nice to have a little break before starting up again.

I have mentioned before his love for science and having the sea to "do" science with is really great. What he is really into right now, though, is space. I know that most boys (and many girls) go through a space phase, but with Rowan's obsessive personality he has to know everything there is to know about something before he can let it rest. Luckily we got our hands on this really great show called "The Universe" put out by the History Channel. It's not made for kids, but he just loves it and it gives him more answers than his Kindergarten books.

Right now, of course, any moment not spent doing something else is spent swimming. He has really come a long way in a short time. He swims compeletly independantly with no floatation devices. He can dive quite well and is starting to do flips. He can spend around four hours in the pool and still have energy left over!

All in all Rowan is doing great. He has a good group of friends who all love the sea ( and the creatures in it) and is having much more of a "life" than he has ever had before. Who knew that Kuwait would be the place for him?

Marrakesh, dishdash, and nightshift

Kerri and I went to a nearby Morroccan restaurant called Marrakesh for Mother's Day. I had checked it out once before and put it on our list of "special occasion" spots as it was quite pricey (average main dish was around 5KD). Wow...it was one of the best meals we've had since being here. We went for the "feast" which was 9KD per person, but was really a great deal if you are checking out what they have to offer. It's a soup, prescribed appetizer plus one additional of your choice, main dish, and dessert with tea. As we both got it, we got to try what seemed like more than half the menu! I have to say my favourite dish was the appetizer I ordered: Pieces of tongue. I hadn't had tongue since the States, where it is my favourite burrito meat (la lengua, por favor!) and I really missed that succulent tenderness. I had to pass up the brain, which though I have no trouble with the taste and texture, I do have this curious desire to avoid ever contracting Mad Cow disease, so I do avoid brain generally. The main dish was not very large, but they do bring rice with it (first time I haven't had to pay separate for the rice) and with everything else, you should be royally stuffed by the end (I know we were). The ambience of the place was spectacular, with intricately carved and decorated walls, ceiling, you name it. The dishes were all in the same morrocan theme as well. Service was excellent, and overall the best $70+ I've spent on food in a long time (it hurts less to think of it in KD). I do want to go back again sometime and try the couscous dishes...

Last weekend, me and another guy who works in the same area I do, and who lives here in the same compound, went down to the Fahaheel souks and got measured for our dishdashes. It's about 8KD to get one tailor made (most necessary with our frames), and there are several places where you can get it done. You pick your fabric and they jot down some measurements, then you come back in a week. The other day I picked mine up, and today I wore it out for the first time. I don't have the knack of the full headgear yet, so I just wore the dishdash itself, along with the long underpants and undershirt. I have to say, it was incredibly comfortable and suits leisurely walking along the beachfront very nicely. We ended up going to nice Lebanese restaurant in Fahaheel called Tanureen where we finished up our evening out. I did get some odd looks, more looks than I've ever had since being here (Kerri says "welcome to my world"), but on the whole I'm willing to put up with that for the comfort. Jeans are just too hot for walking about in here.

After that evening, we started into the next one, as I am in the process of shifting my schedule to night shift (wake up at 2pm, go to work at 4pm, come home and go to bed around 6am), and the rest of the family is trying to shift theirs later as well. So we kept Rowan up til 11pm tonight by starting into the Chronicles of Narnia with the Magicians Nephew. We are about half way through the first book now. The 3rd evening started after that, with Kerri and I finishing up Season 2 of Heroes and starting into Season 1 of The Tudors. Then Kerri went to bed, and I decided to run out to see what's open at 2:30am and get some food (lunch? I think...). Pretty much the only type of restaurant open at this time of the morning is the arabic food type, which is fine, but I was hankering for some indian...guess that'll have to wait til tomorrow. I have a long weekend, as I got a transition day, my weekend, plus I'm taking my Memorial Day holiday too, so I should be good to go by the time I have to go back to work. It's 4:10am now and I'm counting the minutes. Figured I could do a quick update while I'm waiting.

I'll try to get some pictures of me in my dishdash tomorrow.