I've moved!

Hi! Sorry I am not using blogger anymore, you can read my updated posts at spicyessence.wordpress.com.

Thank you!!

Happy Canada Day - 1 day late!

It has been 18 days of living in Kuwait. I still cannot  believe that we moved here! Life here is so different and I do feel homesick. I miss our 18th floor condo and my comfy couch! I miss my kitchen and being able to whip up whatever I feel like. Can't wait to find a place of our own and make it a home! I know things will get better once we have a place! 

Yesterday was July 1, and that was Canada Day! Wanted to wish all the Canadians a Happy Canada Day! I remember last year during Canada Day, my youngest brother was with us so we went to watch fireworks and have ice cream with him and our friends. I was thinking about all of this last night and was feeling sad because this year we didn't do anything. 

On the apartment front, I have to say the saga continues! We went and looked all day Saturday and yesterday after we got out of the office. Saturday we went to different apartments with real estate agents and that was a bust! One had a good place we were considering, but decided not to because of the traffic around that area. Real estate agents in Kuwait ware horrible! They don't dress professionally, they are not polite, they don't know how to sell the property at all! The funniest was we met a real estate agent who was from New Orleans. I asked him where he was from because his accent was southern and when he told me he was from Louisiana, I was excited and said I'm your neighbor from Texas! Usually this leads to a great conversation and all, but this guy was a complete jerk and I was disappointed that a person from America had no sense of how to sell a home. Whatever happened to southern hospitality?? He tried to act like he was a "Kuwaiti" and there was something off about him that both of us did not like. We liked one of his homes, but didn't like him and so we decided not to take it. 

This other guy we met on Saturday drove a beat up old Mercedes and drove like a maniac! And then he opened his trunk at one of the properties he showed us and it was full of old tires! That was just so weird... He was rude and instead of showing us the apartment he would go off and take pictures of the apartment. So that was a no!

Yesterday we went to another location and went to about 6 apartments and none of them had any empty apartments! By the time we were done, I was exhausted and hungry! And so we picked up food and went home. I was sitting alone in the room and thinking of all the family and friends we left behind and how if we were in Toronto we would've had a BBQ with my in-laws and then watched the fireworks with our friends and fam! 

Next week I think is the start of Ramadan, which is both exciting and scary for me. Exciting because we only have to reach the office for 9:30 and leave by 2, scary because no drinking, eating, chewing gum, etc in public!! Three years ago we visited Kuwait and it was during Ramadan time.. The whole time The Husband was getting mad at me because I was drinking water in the car and he told me if they catch me I would go to jail! What was I supposed to do? It was 130 degrees outside and I was thirsty!! So this year I have been warned early by The Husband to stay off the H20 while in public! 

TGIT- Thank God It's Thursday!

It's Thursday and that means it's equivalent to Friday!! How exciting :)

I've finally started doing some work, which is great! I hate sitting around and doing nothing. Started inventing my own work to do! My usual days were to read the news, look for apartments, and call people about apartments. Then I would read about the product that I would be selling for a while and try to memorize the presentations. But I couldn't concentrate because for me to memorize, I need to talk out-loud and can't really do that in an open office without people thinking I'm weird... which they probably already do!! With this job, I have to sell certain products and I fear sales!!! I have always ran away from it and have never sold anything in my life! The Husband gave me a this motivational talk yesterday on how I could do it and all, but I'm still unsure of it. Hopefully I can do a good job with this! I hate letting others down...

So yesterday, the Husband and I walked around the building and we found a little cafe outside the building! We went in and looked at their menu's and were so confused. Outside they had pictures of Arabic food, but their menu was all sandwiches and salads. So I asked the lady on the counter, do you have Shawermas? She replied with,"No, but I have Pahitas" I was tired of trying to figure it out so I said ok, give me a Fajita... I looked on the menu for it and it's spelled Fajitah.. Anyhow, we ordered our food and were waiting and out comes a panini type sandwich with chicken and green bell peppers and onions.. It wasn't an actual fajita, but the sandwich tasted pretty good..

 My Fahitah Sandwich

O speaking of Shawermas, I have an interesting statement to make about them.. But until I do some further research, I will keep my mouth shut.

An update on the housing situation, we are going to check out a place called Bneid Al Gar.. Hopefully this place is good.. Let's see how it works out! I'm not going to get too excited. On Saturday we have a few places to see also. We are also going to spend the whole day out trying to find an apartment so let's see how this goes!!

Yesterday I created some goals. I don't usually write down my goals, usually I just have them in my head, but thought I would write them down and see how it goes.

1. Find an APARTMENT!!
2. Join a gym
3. Find a trainer
4. Learn to swim - I would like to learn to swim before our next beach vacation..

And the apartment saga continues!

Weds - June 19
We have been trying to find a temporary place to stay and it has been tough! First of all the Kuwaiti Dinar is about 3.6 to the Canadian/American dollar! So we are looking to pay between 300 – 500 KD per month and originally we were looking at furnished apartments, but now we are thinking an unfurnished. The only problem with unfurnished is that we have to buy all the appliances and wardrobes..(There are no walk-in closets!) I have been calling different companies to see what is available, but not having so much luck. It is hard to find a place in the location we are looking it. There are many available apartments if we go about 30 – 45 minutes out, but we are trying to avoid traffic. Traffic is horrible in Kuwait! People here are impatient, rude, and crazy! I have been calling different companies to see what is available, but it’s been tough! Finally, I found a lady who has something available! She had a studio and a one bedroom. So we are going to check it out! I will update on how this goes!

One week of leaving Canada!!

Sunday – June 23

First weekend in Kuwait! I cannot believe that Friday marked our first week of leaving Canada! Thursday night we went to a place called Salmiya to check out apartments… We were trying to avoid this area because of all the traffic, but we are getting a little desperate. We went to a building that was recommended, but there were no available flats! After that we went to dinner at PF Changs! HELLO Lettuce Chicken Wraps you are so delish! Dinner was delicious as usual :) . Also, Thursday night is the start of the weekend! Have to get used to the weekend being Friday and Saturday! Friday morning we went to church. After that we went to look at the one bedroom apartment. And boy was the real estate agent misleading! I was so disgusted.. the apartment had a foul odor and it was so dirty! There was no way we would stay there! Saturday morning I got my nails done at a really nice place called Nail It! The salon was clean and the staff was very friendly. They did such a great job on my mani/pedi. I also had a neck massage done during my mani/pedi and it was amazing! My shoulder and neck muscles are always so tense. After that we went to look at more apartments. This time we went to a place called Riggae. It was a quieter area and the apartment was a bit older, but very spacious! We looked at one that was 3 bed 2 bath with a good living room and dining room. My only problem was the bathroom and kitchen were older and dated. The apartments in this building are very popular so we are not sure what to do! We were thinking of maybe moving farther out to a place called Mahboula. This area has more newer apartments that are catered toward westerners. The only problem is the drive which is about 30 minutes to the office without any traffic. Another friend said there were some apartments in a place called Abraq Khaitan. Hopefully something will pan out this week! Last night I went to the mall in Kuwait called Avenues. This place was packed and so many people all over the place! It reminded me of the Galleria during Christmas time!! And one thing I noticed was that everyone was dressed up! Note to self: Make sure to always look nice when I leave the house

First Migraine in Kuwait

June 25 – Tuesday

Gorgeous view! 

Last night we went apartment hunting in a place called Mahboula and we looked at 3 places. The first one we saw was an older property and it was not so nice, but it did have a lot of space and a beautiful view to the sea! The second one was newer and nicer and it had an even better view of the sea! The third one blew my mind away! The apartment was spacious and gorgeous! It had a huge kitchen and all the rooms were big and each room had a straight view of the ocean! It had an amazing kitchen with a DISHWASHER!! I fell in love! The only problem with this place was it was over our budget by 400! I could not take the apartment out of my mind even if it was more than what we budgeted for! We came up with our budget because we want to travel and if we get a place that is more expensive it goes out of our travel budget.. I contacted another company yesterday because I came across their website and he said he would call me back regarding the property I was asking about so I gave him my cell phone number and email. But of course he didn’t call me or email me back! Last night by the time we got home I had a killer headache! My headaches are the bane of my existence! I knew it was my fault this time because I did not eat properly…AKA skipped lunch! By the time we finished looking at apartments and walking in the heat I was gone! It sucked because we picked up Papa Johns on the way wand I couldn’t properly enjoy it! And I love Papa John’s..one of the things I missed living in Toronto! By 9:30 I was in bed! I just wanted this headache to end! A friend of ours from Toronto went to a homeopathic doctor in India for his migraines and I am thinking of trying that.   I went to a neurologist in Toronto, but she prescribed medicine for me and all the side effects scared the crap out of me so I just stuck to my own prescription 3-4 Advils and sleep in a dark cool place with a cold cloth. Anyhow, I woke up this morning and felt so much better! Also, this was the first night I slept through the whole night! I hope I am able to sleep through the night from now on!

The beautiful dishwasher!!! 

So I called the real estate agent about the apartment he never called me back about and he said it is not available and neither are any of the others that I asked about! Why does your website have all these apartments showing as available, but they really aren’t? So confusing and frustrating!

Flying to Kuwait

We took the Emirates flight from Toronto via Dubai to Kuwait. The flight was so long and for some reason I was in no mood to use their in flight entertainment. After 12 hours we reached Dubai and I was amazed by how gorgeous the airport was! There was a huge fountain and it just took my breath away! I forgot to take a picture of it.. We couldn't get the earlier flight into Kuwait so we had a 7 hour layover in Dubai. We took the train from the airport to the Dubai Mall. That was pretty cool! I can’t wait to go back to Dubai and spend a couple days to explore the mall! We finally reached Kuwait around 4am and we were so exhausted and we have to go into the office in the morning!!

The heat was not so bad when we walked out of the airport. It actually felt nice and I wished there was some sun to go along with the heat! Some of my thoughts/feelings on Kuwait..

There has been a lot of issues going on in Kuwait recently and many people have been getting deported. This is really scary and Kuwait is not known for their friendliness! But I know everything will be ok. Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on your own understanding! I haven’t really been able to venture outside much because of my jet lag and also been going to the office every day. So there has not been any time to explore. Today is Thursday, June 20^th and it’s the start of the weekend so hopfully I will be able to explore a little bit!