Dubai, December 2008
Friday, December 19th, 2008
Just one week ago, I returned from my second trip to the Middle East. I stayed in Kuwait the majority of the time, with a short excursion to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Past adventures include vacations to Israel, Egypt, as well Jordan. Since my arrival back in the United States, I have been continuously asked the obvious question of how I enjoyed my vacation. I will call it a vacation since I have returned to my house, my job, my friends, and my material belongings in Las Vegas, although in all reality I was not vacationing at all. I was living there just as much as anyone else does. Whenever asked this question, I always seem to use the same adjectives to describe my experience: ‘peaceful’, ‘relaxing’, ‘calm’, ‘care-free’. But upon further thinking I don’t believe any of these words do justice to what I truly experienced during my stay in Kuwait… In truth, it is very difficult for me to describe to people just what it is like there. Without ever traveling to that part of the world, people already have a vision of what they believe it is like, and any adjective I could possibly use will not change that vision. Everyone reading this knows just what that vision I’m taking about is, and it is not of the actual landscapes, but rather of objects or events. Burning cars and scattered bloody bodies, piles of garbage and dilapidated buildings, camels walking with piles of junk piled high on their backs through the sand. Mobs of people screaming and protesting in the streets with signs written in what appears to be just scribble, chanting ‘Allah Ackbar’ and burning American flags. It is not like I can blame anyone for thinking like this or perceiving these images in this way, for this is how the Middle East is portrayed in America, in the news and in school, and if I had not visited there and seen for myself what it is like, I would believe the exact same things.
Let me just say that I am extremely fortunate to have a family who values learning through travel, and seeing the world first-hand instead of hearing about it through external sources. We are not a rich family by any means, but we certainly have different priorities than most which has allowed us to allocate money in ways to accommodate travel. I think it is most appropriate for me to describe my latest experience in the Middle East as that of a ‘spiritual’ nature. I had the time of my life, but it was not necessarily “what” I was doing, but where I was doing it, and that inner happiness that I felt while doing it. Every night for instance, I would sit for hours upon hours in a sheesha lounge down the road from my Mom’s apartment building in a poorer area of Kuwait City named ‘Hawally’; smoking hookah, reading books, drinking tea, and conversing with locals about politics, customs, religion, literature, psychology, sports, life, and the differences between their world and mine. I was amazed at just how intelligent the majority of the people are, and how well they spoke English as a second language considering I, as the majority of Americans, only speak one language myself. I can honestly say without a doubt in my mind, that the average person in Kuwait is more intelligent than the average person here in Las Vegas, and that may seem harsh, but I know I would have had a tough time carrying on conversations of that nature with most of the people I have met here. That’s not even to mention the very fact of the difficulty in finding a complete stranger to have a conversation with here in Las Vegas to start with. The difference is, that intelligence in that part of the world means nothing, because of the environment in which they live, and the lack of opportunity that they are born into. There, knowledge of the world and how it works is a requirement for every day life, while in America it is more of a choice whether or not to obtain that knowledge. And yet, these people seem so much happier than people here. They have a basic sense of camaraderie towards one another, and socialize and love the people around them in ways that would seem strange to most Americans. When I would go into that lounge every night, I would enter into a packed room, take off my shoes, sit on a long cushioned bench in-between two complete strangers, smoke my grape sheesha and drink my Red Label tea, and by the time I left I would know the stories of those two strangers lives. Everything from where they were born, where they had been, their nationalities and religious preferences, and essentially their philosophies towards life. I was told by a friend I met there that the average Kuwaiti male goes to work early in the morning, goes home around four in the afternoon, cooks and spends time with their families, and then heads to their favorite lounge at night to meet with friends and family and relax and smoke sheesha, while simply enjoying their “brothers” company until it was time for bed. That was life five days a week. When I go to a hookah lounge here, or any restaurant or place for that matter, I sit with the people I came with, and that is the only contact I have with anybody except for the person serving me. In the Middle East, the people love and value one another, and aren’t afraid to have a conversation or sit down right next to you to see how your day is going. You can’t help but fall in love with these people. They are generous and hospitable, and have a love for life that I envy greatly.
As I mentioned before, this trip to me was that of a ‘spiritual’ nature. Kuwait is a dry country, meaning alcohol is strictly prohibited, and drug use is very scarce. Dating does not really happen, and it is extremely rare to see unmarried young Muslim men and women together in public. Partying as we know it here in America does not really exist except to non-Kuwaiti expatriates of other nations in an underground sort of scene. Pre-marital sex is absolutely forbidden. It is a deeply religious nation, living according to the laws of Islam as much as possible, but not to the degree that limits the happiness of their lives. For anyone who knows me, it would seem that this would be the last place I would want to visit, and certainly not a place that I would enjoy. Sure, many of the laws seem extreme to us, but this is how these people have lived their entire lives. It is a different culture, and it makes them happy to live under the morals of Islam. They aren’t riding camels to work, or living in mud huts, or living an outdated stone-age lifestyle. They are people just like us, only born and raised in a different part of the world. Here in Las Vegas I am known as a guy that likes to drink, party, have a good time, and whatever. But while I was there, I really discovered how much more to life there is than drinking and partying, despite how fun and seductive that lifestyle can be. I rediscovered my passion for reading and literature, and found what might be my future career: Psychology. I regained a love for the smaller things in life, like a good cup of tea, or a simple conversation with friends and strangers alike. No, this does not mean I have gone soft! I’ll still party my ass off while I’m young, but it won’t be the determining factor in whether I’m having fun in my life, and I won’t feel lonely or bored if I am home alone on a Saturday night, for I am in good company.
The Middle East is not known as a peaceful place. It never has been, and perhaps never will be. But in all reality, in my experiences, it is one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been to, and was just what I needed to really be able to see the beauty of life itself. Not too many of you will ever visit this place, nor will ever have a chance to. But if you do get that chance, take it. Try not to see the Middle East as it is portrayed in the news, but rather as I have described. I can assure you it is much different than you think.
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