There's No Getting Me to the Church On Time

Today, one of my best friends in the world and his fiancée are getting married. Although I'm happy to be experiencing life abroad, I'm not at all happy about missing their wedding. I've known my best friend since I was four years old (yes, that's a whomping 26 years, folks), and ironically, thought all those years ago that I would marry him (yes, I was in love him when we were kids). He's the guy who ended up keeping me grounded, gave the best advice, and the one I would talk to on the phone for hours until the wee hours of the morning. My bestie even came on my family vacations because that's just what he means to me. He was also the first person to laugh and poke fun at me, but he taught me how to laugh at myself and keep it real because life is too short NOT to laugh! He's getting married today and I love his fiancée (you know when two people are meant to be together? That's this couple). I attended her bridal shower just days before I flew to Kuwait. Below is a group shot of another good elementary school friend's spouse, me, the groom's mother and the bride-to-be enjoying the quiet after all the guests had left.

The boys came to finish all the leftovers and, of course, take group pictures for us

I know this blog is public to a whole lotta people who don't know me, but let me assure you that I'm not a wedding person, so the fact that I had ended up at three bridal showers and two weddings this summer was a bit overwhelming for me. Despite my feelings about weddings, the friends I've been blessed with have reminded me that love is amazing, and I was surrounded by it all summer and thrilled and honoured to be present at all the wedding events. I KNOW that this particular wedding will be a blast (not stiff or stuffy like weddings can be)! I'm sad and disappointed that I won't get to dance with my best friend or his father, or celebrate the occasion with our friends, so much so that I have to remind myself that I'm here because I have to be, or else the guilt will seep in. So, I'm in Kuwait, thankful that I left Canada on such a good note (it will make going home all the sweeter). Look at all the smiles in the snapshot below! Of course, I'm eating in the picture, but the groom's mother made AMAZING cupcakes (Oh, yeah, I was all over that frosting recipe!).

Tea leaf reading and inside jokes about "invasive" Asian friends

To my best friend and his fiancée  I love you both and I'm so happy for you. I've thought long and hard about it and I think you should name your first born Mik since it's a unisex name. Awesome.

The first shot of the happy couple as husband and wife!

On a side note, this weekend in Canada it's gobble-gobble day (or more commonly known as Thanksgiving). I would miss experiencing turkey coma (or as my family fondly calls it, "turkey comma." after my mother made a one-time typo), but my family is forgoing turkey for...Pizza. Well, at least they won't have to endure turkey comma, hahaha! To all my friends and family in Canada, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'm very thankful for all of the people (family and friends) who have committed to their relationships with me, stuck with me through thick and thin and made me a better person; I'm even more thankful to those of you who have walked out of my life, making me appreciate those amazing people and teaching me about the quality of people who I deserve to have in my life.

Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Kuwait (as I'm sure most of you know), but birthdays are, and that's what I will be celebrating tomorrow! That's a good thing since I need a reprieve from the stress of moving. Today I spent half the day packing and moving all of 100 feet to my new apartment. It has been a stressful week. I was told by my roommate (Lebanese lady #1), that she didn't want to move into the apartment we had planned on moving into. Even worse, she wanted to live alone because her family has decided to visit and there wouldn't be enough space if we were living together...Ummm, yeah, Tuesday was NOT the day to tell me this (we were planning to move in three days time), but that she did and I was pretty upset. However, I knew that things would somehow work themselves out, I just wasn't too thrilled with receiving this news at the last-minute. As I scrambled around trying to figure things out, my amazing friends (because they're really not ONLY my colleagues), came to my rescue and offered me a place to stay while I tried to find alternate housing arrangements. Although the Irish chef and the Serbian gentleman offered their sofa, I'm old-fashioned and couldn't agree to moving in with them. I could just picture my father's face if I told him I was moving in with not one, but two guys...Sorry gentlemen, but my dad's still a traditional Japanese man (Kyushu danji) at the end of the day and definitely wouldn't be the first person to give us a house warming gift. The Serbian lady then came to the rescue, but her place is so tiny I felt like I was taking advantage of her kindness. It was the Polish lady and the other Lebanese lady (#2) who saved me (that's not an overstatement). The Polish lady's roommate (the  Lebanese lady #2), was originally planning to live alone and so the Polish lady and the Lebanese lady (#2) agreed that the Polish lady would move in with me. It was settled, and today the Polish lady and I moved our (few) belongings into the new place (fully furnished, expats only). 

We unpacked, freshened up, chatted and hit the corner store for a case of water, which Abbas (the gentleman from Iran who works at the store and helped me out my first day in Kuwait), carried to our apartment. Wow! Quite the service! He calls me "Mickey Mouse" because he can't remember my full  name, nor can he pronounce it-too cute! Although, if I were being honest, no one except Japanese people pronounce my name correctly. Tomorrow the Polish lady, the Irish chef and I are going to the Souq and then the Polish lady and I are going to hit up the HUGE grocery store in the Avenues Mall so we can get some food for the week. She also wants new shoes. I'm going to attempt to purchase some body butters from Lush (to moisturize my dry skin...Oh, desert air, you're cruel to my finicky skin). I think I want another "Buffy" and I want to try "You Snap The Whip"....With a name like that who wouldn't want to try it?

Since my co-workers and I all had to find our own places (our company had prearranged our living accommodations for our first month here), most of us moved to other areas in clumps. The Turkish ladies and their husbands moved to Mangaf, the Serbians and the Irish chef moved to Fintas, the Georgians are closer to Salmiya (I think), and then there are the few ladies who stayed in Mahboula because we actually really like it here. I now directly face the coastline. I'm charmed. I also discovered a new gem of a restaurant just a few hundred feet from the apartment; it's an Indian joint and I LOVE it! The Irish chef and I decided to brave it and I'm so glad we did! Hello SAMOSAS! The food's delicious! I haven't had ONE problem with sensitivity to the food and it's ridiculously cheap. Look at the spread below (we'd already devoured the samosas, ooops!):

Biryani (with sauce), veggie curry, nan and salad

Then, the Irish chef and I had our "last supper"; he made me shrimp curry and home made pumpkin soup because I've been missing autumn.

 I am SO going to learn how to cook with curry powder! It's amazing!

Mmmm, fresh pumpkin soup to warm me up in the desert, ha!

It's obviously not horrible or difficult to live here (or in many other countries, I think). You just have to find amazing people to surround yourself with. That's the difficult part. I've been blessed with exceptional company wherever I have lived-something I'll always be thankful for.