There is no charge for awesomeness

*blows dust off blog*

A new chapter in life, a new (more relevant) look for my blog. Since I came back from Europe, this blog has been rather neglected – not that there wasn’t anything to blog about, but I reasoned since I’m back there wasn’t much need to update since I was around……well actually I was just too damn lazy. However, my passion for writing hasn’t abated yet and regular updates are just round the corner, just that they’re halfway round the globe.

2008 was a mixed year of highs and lows – dotted with periods of calm and stress, tears and joy. A year where I matured (ok yes I know you can’t tell), and even found the time and money to go on a couple of overseas trips. I felt it was quite extravagant since I went to so many places in Europe last year, but the guilt was tempered by the notion that I would be earning money pretty soon. Money can’t come soon enough.

Anyway, the impetus for this sudden blog revival is, of course, the commencement of my search for a pet kamel in two weeks’ time. Yes, thats camel with a K – no prizes for guessing why.

Since the offer in March, its been a pretty long wait. The most popular question posed to me by far last year – “So when are you leaving for Dubai?” Evidently, everybody thinks I’m going to Dubai. Almost all conversations (in the early months) would go like this:

Friend A: “Hey Chris! When are you leaving for Dubai?”

Me: (friendly laughter) “Jan 09, and no la its not Dubai, its actually Kuwait”

Friend A: “Ohh Kuwait? I thought you were going to Dubai. How far is Dubai from Kuwait?”

Me: “Err its about an hour’s flight away….”

At this point in time, Friend A looks quite interested in a comparison between Dubai and Kuwait. Due to its aggressive tourism drive and stories of unprecedented opulence, many Singaporeans are much more familiar with Dubai. I’m no expert in Middle East culture by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d gamely go on about the 2 cities anyway, trying to sound like I know exactly what I’m talking about.

“Well its not as touristy as Dubai, its not all that similar actually. Dubai is more….whereas Kuwait is more….blah blah blah…oh you know it gets up to 50 deg C in the summer and your car’s dashboard will melt if you park it directly under the sun blah blah…”

Seriously that was how many of the conversations went. A few months later, I’d bump into Friend A again.

Friend A: “Hey, you’re still around! When are you leaving for Dubai?”

Me: (smiles knowingly) “Next jan!”

Friend A: “Cool!”

That was much easier than giving another soliloquy on Kuwait vs Dubai with bits of Iraq (just north of Kuwait) thrown in. And it wasn’t just Friend A, friends down the alphabet did the same thing too.

My aunty is extremely worried that I’d be killed by terrorists over there. Everytime I see her she’d ask me if I can reject the job and stay in Singapore. I am very appreciative of her concern but initially I laughed it off, saying that I wont go to Iraq or do silly things that would endanger my life.

Gradually, however, I began to think about the fact that I’d be staying in a predominantly expat neighbourhood (i.e. Western), the anticipated pullout of US troops contributing to the unstability in the region, present and past wars in Iraq/Israel/Gaza/Palestine/Lebanon, the unpredictability of Iran’s President, govt travel advisories asking citizens not to travel to Kuwait…..and many more flashpoints.

In a way, these things made me want to go more. Not that I like to put myself at risk but its going to be a real eye-opener, and really, if you keep worrying about these things, you’re letting the terrorists win. And when I was there, I felt totally safe. The Kuwaiti invasion happened almost 20 years ago now, and future invasions are highly unlikely.

After reading so much on the news about the Middle East, I can’t wait to go there and see things for myself without any media-tinted glasses. Of course, the Arabs are much more sympathetic to the Palestinians than the Israelis, unlike some of the mass media. I remember reading that Yasser Arafat once promised that Palestine would be the ‘Singapore’ of the Middle East.

One thing I’m not looking forward to, however, is the possibility that  I might be the only Singaporean in Kuwait. Who will know my deep deep pain when I miss Singapore food? What if I actually miss the PAP? What if nobody understands what I mean when i say ‘how come there are no trees by the road here one? how come everything so brown?! arrghhh!’

While collecting my visa, I asked the nice lady at the Kuwait embassy (amazing private suite at the top floor of the Ritz) whether there are many Singaporeans in Kuwait, she furrowed her eyebrows, went into deep thought for a few seconds and replied ‘errr well I received one visa enquiry a few weeks ago….’