Snow Day

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the constitution of Kuwait.  The country planned a party to rival all parties.  For weeks we had been hearing about the epic events to come:  laser shows, guest appearances, and fireworks -- oh the fireworks!!  Yesterday a large portion of the gulf was shut down for the 8 hour celebration.  People and families came out in droves with McDonalds and lawn chairs in hand to post up and wait for the ceremonies to begin.  As the time for the fireworks drew closer the speculation and rumors over the celebration became rampant (Kim Kardashian dropping in from a hot air balloon happened to be a personal fave).  At 8 pm, the show began.  1 hour, 77,828 fireworks, and 4 million KD (15 million US) later, the show was over and the Kuwaitis were saying, "Take that Queen Elizabeth.  Our jubilee just set 7 Guinness Book of World Records.  Yours just ended with your husband catching pneumonia!!"  We all set to bed contented but already noting that we had stayed up WAY past our bedtimes.

Flash forward to this morning when we got up at our normal wake up and set about getting ready for work.  About 20 minutes before heading out the door, Adam sat to read the newspaper (and check if Kim ever did make an appearance). There, on the front page was an announcement that as of late last night His Honorable Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah declared all schools and universities to be closed today in honor of yesterday's festivities.  After a few phone calls and an emergency phone tree later, we officially had the day off of work!!  It was the equivalent of a snow day in Kuwait -- little notice and so much excitement.  It did not matter that we were dressed, fed, and fully caffeinated -- we had another day to our weekend.  Thank you HHS Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah!!  You made our day just that much better.  We bet Kim would agree!!

This is what over $15 million looks like.  That's money going up in smoke.  Literally.

What do you do when school is canceled with less than 1 hour notice?  Since we were up and at'em at 5 am, we decided to celebrate our "snow day" with a nice morning coffee treat and a walk in the cool weather along the gulf.  (Note:  holiday cups have arrived in Kuwait!!)

We enjoyed the cool morning weather.  The news announced a warning that weather was going to be "unstable" today with a chance of rain.  We could not help but laugh as we cruised in 80 degrees and sunshine.

Next stop ... the mall which just opened a brand new wing.  We were hungry so we stopped by the grocery store in the mall to pick up a "Delicious snack" ....

... of Punjabi Samosas.  Whomever invented spicy mashed potatoes and peas deep fried in a crispy corn-meal crust -- may Allah bless you.

Heidi in the new wing of the mall not so sure what all the hype was about.

Yes, there are palm trees inside along with fake store fronts.  Adam commented how amazing it would be if they tried to keep the real Kuwait as nice.

This is a Starbucks INSIDE the mall.  With the new wing open that brings the grand total of SBUX inside this mall to 10!!

Finally you finish off a snow day (filled with coffee and fried foods) with a trip to the gym. 

"Wait," Heidi says. "We only have 3 days before another 3 day weekend."  Awesome!!