05-02-08 Orientation Day...

First night in Kuwait, it RAINED!!!
It didn't just drizzle, but it was heavy rain!
Such a rare event and I got to see it.. haha!

The next day (Thursday), we went to work
and started on our administrative paperwork and safety trainings.
One thing we learned.. nothing is organized and consistent in Kuwait!!!

On Friday, it was the weekend!!
(Work week here is from Sunday to Thursday)
One of the expats here showed us Kuwait City and the metro areas!
We drove along the Gulf Road, up to Kuwait City downtown area...
down to the industry areas...
He showed us local and expat supermarkets,
shopping malls (plenty of them around, even IKEA!!!), hospitals,
fresh meat/fish markets, sightseeing spots...etc.
We even went and checked out our apartments!!!
We did all that in about 3 hours.. haha!
It doesn't take long to see all of Kuwait!!

The day after sand storm and rain... the rain cleared up everything!
Beach at the Hilton...


The Hilton poured about 2" of nice sand on top of the hard and packed sand
(it really feels like concrete)... LOL...


Driving on Gulf Road... view of downtown Kuwait City!
I just realized that I took an extreme good picture of Kuwait!! HAHA!!


View of the marina at the Marina Mall.. it's close to the city!


The pool area at our apartment - Refad Palace!
It's a 5-story building with 4 pools, gym, restaurant and room service!
Everything is inside and covered!!


Three of us share an apartment...
(the shared apartments have nicer amenities!!)
Our apartment has 2 stories... 2 master bedrooms, 2 bedrooms,
3 bathrooms, 1 half bath, 2 living rooms, dining room, office,
kitchen, laundry, and a maid's quarter (tiny room & bathroom)!!!
The furniture is quite plush...
nothing I would use to decorate my own place!
But it's nice... I can't complaint :-)
Plus, we have maid service everyday...
She cleans the apartment, changes our sheets and towels,
makes the beds, washes our dishes...
ahh... I can really get used to this!

Living room... it really is HUGE!!!
We even have surround sound hooked up in the living room!
The sofa is comfy... :-)


Office.. with a plasma TV!
honestly, it's a very retarded set-up...
The sofa is a good 20 ft away...
you can't see anything.. the TV is way too small from that far away!
Plus, who puts a plasma TV inside a crazy-looking frame?!?!!!!


An open area between living room, 1st floor master bedroom and the kitchen!


Kitchen... lots of room in there!
No dish water and a small sink..
Luckily, we have mail service!! :-)


The living room upstairs!
I have the master bedroom upstairs, it feels cozier!!


One of the entrances to the building...


Outside view of the building...
surrounded by nothing but SAND!!!!


Fish men harbor by the Sultan Centre fish market...


Outside of the Sultan Centre and mall area...
The Sultan Centre supermarket has all the imported foods/small electronics!
anything from Blue Bell ice cream to Kraft cheese to Nutella...
if you don't find the things you want, they can order for you!!!
It's funny, Kuwait has pretty much nothing but oil...
so all the produce you see at the supermarket were imports..
African red plums, Holland cabbage, Egyptian apricots... haha!
There is also the fresh fish market and meat market!!!