Tomorrow night, or better day-after-tomorrow early morning, me and Dori will be leaving Kuwait for period of time further unknown. My previous hectic week trying to stampify my life didn’t work out in terms of successfully getting rid of any visa problems Dori had – eventually, it did nothing, except cost us several hundreds dinars and some weight on my side.
Well, this is about to be the end of my visit of Czech, I managed – under a handful of stress – to get the stamping done with the last one happening like in an American movie, in the last minutes possible. But done, nevertheless. I have prayed, for the first time in my life, for the taxi driver I’ve picked up on Wenceslas Square to actually behave like a taxi driver – cut in front of others, run over slow walking people, go against the flow so to say, because I was in a dire hurry to get to the embassy before the counsellor casually walks out for the Friday night and leaves me with desperation and things undone standing in front of the closed building. I assume he understood my time limits from me nervously checking my Blackberry every 30 seconds for time, especially when we got stuck in a traffic jam (all right, he didn’t go over the walk path in that case), but he cut the road to the embassy building and went in wrong direction and over red lights just to get there. I swallowed my heart by then, but hey – the stamp is there, on the list. He also made me say “Sweet Jesus” after asking for the fare money ’cause he honestly and completely truly ripped the feathers of my chicken butt (almost 2 KWD a kilometre). He laughed, probably didn’t think a Muslim girl would say that.
Today I’ve finally got some time to get out on the well known clear and fresh air of the region I’m residing in, and snap some very quick pictures on the walk.
It’s right after winter so the nature is defrosting with occasional frost over the night still and some hoarfrost over here and there, but the smell indicates the spring coming, unstoppably.
Me and my mum strolled over the routes we used to take when I was younger, and reminisced a little, and wondered how much things changed in the past few years I haven’t been around the Czech Highlands much. Trees torn down for wood and not replaced, fields widened, roads disappeared, water gone dark and dirty from seasoning tourists swimming all pickled in creams and factors and perfumes, letting the water wash it off and keep it. From azure blue, transparent water in a past quarry I used to swim almost alone years ago, to dark blue, petroleum reminding liquid I wouldn’t touch with my bare foot now. God knows, it might dissolve me. Tax for civilization (read: city people and their trendy magazines) discovering the odds and ends only few kids and villagers used to know about in here.
Dramatic heading, isn’t it? Not so dramatic content of it, however; it’s just been over a year I’ve been in Czech. Nothing much seems to be changed; Islam still lifts newspapers’ popularity with deeply suggestive content (I’m now referring to a magazine made by a newspaper claiming to be the most serious news oracle in the whole country, which put in sale a very blatant article pretending to be neutral interview with Muslim women, but ending being simply awful and once again damaging the fame of the small and already torn apart Islamic community of Czech Republic).
People still do stare on hijab, at least in the small towns, and officialities are still pain in butt to get done. I’ve, however, managed to get half of my work done already, which is positive – my criminal record didn’t require any waiting time anymore as it used to be, and I got it instantly after asking for it. Yay me!
Now the harder part, but inshallah even that will get through.
My travel wasn’t unpleasant, neither jolly, as I hate the murmur of airports and looking for the gates (Dubai airport has got around 300 departure gates, it indeed is very big and somewhat confusing place; Heathrow still leads in confusion, nevertheless.)
As I departed from Kuwait during the night, before fajr prayer came into the play, I’ve had the possibility to enjoy a great show on my second flight from Dubai, when we were crossing over Iran; Shiraz is a very mountainous area and offers a great deal of amazing aerial views. Early morning, clear sky, precious land under us, with tiny dots of housings and villages scattered throughout the mountains.
PS.: Excuse the quality of the pictures in this entry; they’re taken on iPod, as my camera was having a lift in my luggage so I won’t be dragging too many bags with me, and iPod was the only device I could use to get a snap of at least a little of what I liked so much. Plus, small area of economy class seating doesn’t allow much space to position myself, either.
Going to Czech, tomorrow night. Some fishy, I mean – official, business over there for me to take care of; travelling light, with one small luggage, no husband and no daughter. Laptop and pocket money included, as a child of the modern age I ought to have some calming piece of electronics with me, plus some money to feed it, right.
It’s a short trip for not so jolly reasons and I hope it will be over swiftly and more importantly successfully. Well, I can hope in that; with my (our) luck, it will all go everywhere but where we desired it to go. But hey, we’re getting used to it.
Spring came quickly to Kuwait; so quickly that it took just about a week to go from 20ish degrees with fresh breeze to over 30 over the course of the day, and 20ish during the nights. I bet my new shoes that when I come back it will be already summer in full bloom, with it’s typically thick heat which makes you think you will suffocate if you breathe too much. Not mentioning the free showers every few steps.
