Salmiya, Kuwait

On Wednesday I woke up in Salmiya, Kuwait. I made myself some toast and decided to walk around my area a little. I left my apartment building and turned right, past a fish place that I made mental note of to use as a landmark. There was no side walk so I had to walk kind of on the side of the road. When I got to the end of the street I found a busier road with a mosque on it.

I turned right again but didn't walk too far down the street for 2 reasons. The first. I didn't want to get lost and the second, it was really hot and I did not bring a water bottle with me. I have found I don't drink anything but water here and I rarely leave my apartment without a bottle of water, especially if it is during the day. It is hot here! I knew that coming in, but that doesn't change how hot it is, day and night. It's so dry too.

I headed back to my apartment for some water and quality time in an air conditioned room. After that I met some of my neighbours--my floor and the floor below me are all occupied by teachers from ACA--a guy from the states and a guy from Canada. I ran an errand with the guy from Canada and ensured I brought a water bottle this time. When we returned we met another American as well as a girl from Canada. They also needed to run a couple errands so I joined them and went to the same area as before.


I made a video of my room but it isn't uploading, so I may just have to add some pictures of it later.
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The Kuwait is Over

So, I have finally arrived in Kuwait and have not only been too busy to post, but have also not had the means to post as of yet. My computer died pretty much the first time I started using it. I am in my new classroom now and am using that computer. (Since the start of writing I had to leave to catch my bus and have since bought a new computer. Cost more than I wanted to pay but my back was against the wall).

I don't want to get ahead of myself though, as a lot has happened up to this point. Starting with the Plane ride and the usual excitement that goes with that. While waiting in the airport I sat beside a lady and her daughter, an 18 year old with special needs. Her daughter had no verbal skills and required a wheel chair. I was reading and some young children from Syria started asking her questions. The questions were very innocent and the lady was very good with them. They were asking her if the daughter scared people and telling her how they thought she was scary. The woman just replied that her daughter was harmless and the noises she made were just her way of speaking. The children were very cute and had very big brown eyes. I wondered if that may be a taste of the children I will be teaching eventually.

I flew to Istanbul and had a 5 hour layover at the airport and that is when things started to set in. I am going to Kuwait for 2 years! I also got excited about the new people I would meet and the places I would get to travel. I saw a couple people during the layover that I thought may be also teaching (and was correct). I didn't talk to them much though.

After what seemed like forever I finally arrived in Kuwait. I had a small problem with the Visa as I didn't realize they wanted the paper one in addition to the one stamped in my passport, but luckily I had that with me on my carry on. Someone was holding a sign that said ACA so I had no problem figuring out where to go. From the airport the first stop was in Salmiya, my new apartment. I was left with instructions on how different appliances worked, a fridge with food and water in it and was told I would be picked up Thursday in the lobby at 9am for orientation. It was Wednesday at 3am, so I had about 30 hours to kill. The first order of business was to sleep.

A Trip to Ottawa

This should be the start of many more blog posts. This has been a busy summer and the end is finally in site. Attached to the end is another long adventure that will surely fill these blog pages with more stories.

This summer I have worked full time at a day camp, and enjoyed most of my time there. The kids were cute (for the most part) and the staff I worked with were pretty awesome too. My weekends have been pretty busy as well, between a bachelor party, weddings, baseball tournaments and baseball games.

As you may or may not know, I leave for Kuwait on August 29th, 8 short days from now! This week, in addition to packing, I want to catch up on some summer blog posts before I am bombarded with Kuwait stories and stories from Ottawa and Niagara get left behind.

The reason for the trip to Ottawa was to ensure I had a work visa when I moved to Kuwait. I needed to get documents signed by the foreign affairs office as well as give them to the consulate myself. The trip wasn't particularly exciting but I did get the chance to see some government buildings and monuments.

One such statue was Terry Fox, one of the greatest Canadians to ever live. I am unsure how known his story is to the rest of the world, but to Canadians it is well known. Back before I was alive in the early 80s as a young man he had cancer and decided to run from the East Coast to the West Coast on a prostetic limb, all the while collecting funds for cancer research. Sadly he did not finish his run being forced to stop near Thunder Bay Ontario because cancer had spread to his lungs. His run ended after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, but his legacy lives on.

Every year as a child I remember participating in the Terry Fox run. It has not only become a national run but an international run as well. The Terry Fox run is the largest one day cancer research fundraiser in the world. Over $500 million has been raised in his name. Seeing this statue gave me goosebumbps and rereading his accomplishments ( found on wikepedia) have brought tears to my eyes.

 I arrived too late the first day in Ottawa to work on my visa so had dinner and a rare early night in the hotel, vowing to awake early and get my visa stuff done. I decided to walk where I needed to go, to save money and to enjoy the setting of the Rideau Canal. I walked along the path beside it, desiring the winter time where skating down the canal is such a famous thing to do. It eventually brought me to 'Old Ottawa' where all the embassys, government buikdings seemed to be. I saw a sign called 'Confederation Boulavard' which is exactly what I walked down. On that road I found Notre Dame cathedral along with the Kuwait embassy that I was looking for.

Everything at the embassy has been taken care of and now I await the plane ride alone! 8 days.

Baseball: NYC Style!

When thinking about a city in the United States, my first thoughts are always drawn to whether they have a baseball team or not. That said, if I get the chance to visit a city, one of the first things I will do is check to see when and where the team plays (granted New York is the only American city I have ever visited, it would happen for any other city or be the whole reason for the visit to the city...like all my visits to Detroit).

It turned out, the Yankees were not only home, but they were hosting the Toronto Blue Jays. I knew that would be extra motivation for another Canadian friend to join me at the game. I checked for tickets frequently leading up to the game and found that the most affordable tickets were going quickly. I decided to buy 7 of them and figured I could find enough people to go to the game.

One of my favourite TV programs is This Week in Baseball. It is a weekly highlight show that does different segments on different baseball teams and players. A new portion to the show is called the MLB Fan Cave. MLB had a contest trying to give a fan their dream job of blogging about baseball. They would also appear weekly on the TV show where some of the top players in the game would stop in to hang out. The Fan Cave itself is every baseball fans dream. There are several TVs--enough for every baseball game--all set up side to side and up and down.

Why mention the Fan Cave? Well, I stayed near Washington Square Park and the day of the wedding I had time to kill before hand and walked right by it! I was in awe. It was early in the morning, so the TVs weren't on, but I was excited none the less. I circled the building several times until the security guard came outside and began talking to me. I told him I was in town for a wedding and had just been staying in the area by chance. He told me there would be an open house later in the day. I unfortunately could not make the open house tour, but snapped some pictures around the outside. When returning one night the TVs were on and I saw the guys from TWIB blogging. I may have found that more exciting than I should have.

On Monday May 23rd I went to the Bronx with 3 friends and met another two people at the game. One ticket went unused, but at $6 that wasn't the end of the world. This was my 3rd game of the season. I saw 2 games on a weekend trip to Toronto when the Detroit Tigers (my team) were visiting. This would also be my 3rd active stadium (Rogers Centre in Toronto and Comerica Park in Detroit being the other two), or 4th overall (former Tiger Stadium being the inactive one). A stat I plan on improving whenever I can.

New Yankee stadium did not overly impress me. I felt like it was just a giant cement pad. Nonetheless, it was still exciting to be in the Yankee Stadium atmosphere. I joked to the Yankee fan next to me about how poorly Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada had played this season. It was interesting to talk to the Yankee fans around. I wore a tiger hat, was cheering for the Blue Jays, but also cheering for Yankees that were on my fantasy team (A-Rod and Robinson Cano). I could not believe how loud they were cheering Jorge Posada. Barely a week removed from him demanding to be removed from the line-up because he didn't want to bat 9th and as a result being a late scratch. The Yankees were justified in batting him and his .165 average at the time 9th. As a player being restricted to only Designated Hitter duties, that is unacceptable. Why the Yankees still bothered playing him and why their fans cheered him louder than everyone else was puzzling to me. I booed extra loud.

One thing I wanted to see was a Bautista Bomb--a homerun by Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista--and I did not have to wait long to see that. The first pitch he saw in the first inning was delivered into the outfield seats. I also saw him hit a homerun in one of the Tigers games earlier in the month. At the time of the homerun he was on pace to hit over 60 homeruns, but has only hit 2 homeruns in the month since (that was his 19th, he sits at 21). Disappointing for all of his followers, myself included. Toronto managed a 7-3 victory which was what I had hoped for. My friend was pleased and he joined in celebrating with some other Jays fans we ran into in the stadium.

The only regrets about my baseball experiences in New York City are not getting a chance to see the Mets play at Citi Field and not getting a chance to tour the fan cave. I guess that just leaves me in need for another trip to New York City!

Random in the Big Apple

Another reason I enjoyed my New York City trip--and the city itself--is how much seems to always be happening. This includes Central Park, and seeing New Yorkers taking a break from the busy city life and relax. What a place to do so!

There is so much more to the city than just the park. One stereotype I had heard was about New Yorkers always being in a hurry and always unfriendly. While everyone seemed to be in a hurry I did not feel the unfriendliness. Anytime I asked for direction, I did not feel as though people were grouchy. At one point I saw a lady running for her bus and a lady walking by yelled into the bus driver and made him aware someone else was trying to catch the bus. That doesn't seem unfriendly to me.

After wandering through Central Park, I continued south for several blocks. I was still waiting for a call from recovering friends and also still had all my baggage, I stopped every once in a while to sit on a bench, recuperate and do some reading and people watching. I eventually walked to another park where there seemed to be a big festival going on. It was 'celebrating' the big inter league baseball series going on between the Mets and the Yankees.

I also heard music playing in the distance and decided to see what it was. There was a parade going on with a lot of girls and some guys dancing to loud music on a float. I later found out it was a parade to promote a night club.

Afterwards I finally met up with my friends and we wandered around some more. Near Times Square we saw some people walking around with an unfamiliar flag. The flag ended up being one from a group of people that the Czars in pre-Soviet Russia pretty much exterminated and hid. It was an unknown genocide.

More of what randomly happens around the city came with a street show outside of the Public Library. A group of young men did a lot of jaw dropping break dancing moves. They were pretty impressive. I have included a small sample of what they could do.

Central Park

This was not my first trip to New York. I had already been there in January and February of 2009, and I was not left with any of the same impressions others usually have about the city. I have my reasons.

Nonetheless, I was still excited for this new trip to New York. A big reason for the excitement was the reunion aspect of the trip. Most of these friends I have not seen in 2 and a half years! The reason for the reunion? A wedding on Long Island. I met both the Bride and Groom while living in Daegu, South Korea. The last time I saw the Groom was in January 2009 (the trip to New York was to visit him).

Unfortunately I missed the Bachelor party on the Friday night, having arrived early Saturday morning. My flight arrived at 9am, and I planned to meet up with friends as soon as I could. That did not come as soon as I hoped because of the Bachelor party the night before. I made some calls and got either no answer, or a half awake friend who needed more sleep. I'm easy going, so I just figured I would find something to do.

The last time I was in New York I was hanging out with 3 friends and mostly just following them around. That is what I tend to do when I travel with others.

This time I was on my own which I am more than used to. I took the M60 bus from LaGuardia airport intending to get off at Astoria where the guy I was staying with told me I could catch the N R subway line to close to where he lived. Of course, I waited too long before working up the courage and asking someone where the stop I wanted was. I ended up way past it in Harlem. The bus driver gave me instructions how to take the subway and transfer.

I got off the bus and even considered walking. I did have all my stuff however and as I started walking I started feeling uncomfortable. I knew Harlem was a rough area and the landscape seemed to reinforce that. So I decided to hop on the subway after all. I saw no need to take it all the way to where I was spending the night, my host wouldn't be home until 8 o'clock anyways. So I got off at the South East portion of Central Park.

Central Park is what made me fall in love with Manhattan. I had been there before, but it was different this time. I was free to wander on my own, stop when I wanted and go where I wanted to go. Most importantly, it wasn't winter time. I got the chance to see real New Yorkers in their elements. They were walking their dogs, jogging, taking their kids out, and just reading on a rock in the sun. The day was absolutely gorgeous as well, so there were a lot of people out and about.

I also took a few breaks to read. I was, after all, still carrying my big back pack. I felt like a walk through the park was an authentic aspect of the trip. Obviously there were tourists, myself being one, but it didn't feel touristy. Just wandering around reminded me of getting lost along the canals of Amsterdam. Being in a big city, yet away from all the traffic. It was the best of both worlds.

One man was making balloon animals for kids. I was getting a drink from a water fountain when a couple with a child, maybe about 4 years old, approached him and asked him how much a balloon animal was. He asked the child what he wanted and responded they could pay what they liked because he couldn't put a price on a child's happiness.

Another real thing I enjoyed about New York was different from the stereotype. I actually found them to be quite friendly. This is from experience and from observation. One thing I have come to admire is a helpful bus driver. I have encountered too many grumpy bus drivers that I find it intimidating to ask for help, which can be a problem if you don't know where you are going. Every time I asked for help I was assisted pleasantly, or told they did not know just as pleasantly. New York is a busy city and everyone seems to be in a hurry. One lady who rushed past me was on her way to catch the bus before it left. Ahead of me I saw another lady walking by the open bus door and telling the bus driver that someone was on their way which made him wait.

Justin Verlander's 2nd No Hitter

The title of this blog post may suggest I am getting away from my travel blog and posting something a little more personal. While that is partly true, it still falls under the travel category because I actually made it to this historic game.

First off, I will explain what a no hitter is. It is a baseball term for a game in which the opposing team fails to get a hit. That doesn't mean they don't make contact with the ball, but that after making contact with the ball they do not make it safely to a base without the other team making a mistake. There have been 271 no hitters in Major League Baseball, but that dates back to 1875. Before Saturday May 7th only one had been thrown at this site in Toronto. It was then known as the Sky Dome but it's name has been since changed to the Rogers Centre. This is the first no no since the name change.

Rewind to months ago when the schedule was released and I circled this day as a day I wanted to go to the game. By myself if I had to, although I knew I would be able to find a worthy companion. The one I had in mind was my roommate from Australia, Marc. The two of us stayed up to insane hours to follow baseball while living in Australia.

Plans were in motion for our reunion. As the date came closer, the excitement grew. Finally I looked at the pitching match-up and could not be more excited. My favourite pitcher Justin Verlander vs his favourite Blue Jay pitcher, Ricky Romero (the way Marc says his name gives me chills every time and brings back pleasant Australian memories).

It turned out my parents were taking my sister and her boyfriend to this game. I got them to drop me off in Hamilton on the way so I could drive in with Marc. As was expected, the trash talk began, "Weiler, Verlander has horrible career numbers against the Jays. They are going to get swept." I still was proud in my Verlander jersey. We headed over to Marc's uncle's place for some hot dogs and a beer before the big game. We reminisced about our good times back at 38 cricket, with the gorgeous Danish girls, the boisterous Australians, the crazy French, Earth the Thai guy we have no idea how to contact and words cannot describe Keith Kavhai, the guy from Zimbabwe. We just know we miss him.

As a result, we showed up a little late for the game. We met my friend Joe--also a big tigers fan--and started talking to scalpers to find tickets for the game. I got a little anxious and wanted us to just buy the next tickets and be done with it. We paid $60 bucks for each, no discounts despite missing the first inning and a half. Our seats were in right centre and we seemed to be in the midst of a pitchers duel. Neither team had a hit at the start of the third inning.

That's when the tigers bats came alive. By the end of the fourth it was 6-0 Detroit and the Blue Jays not only were hitless against the Tigers, but Justin Verlander was perfect. In the history of baseball only 20 pitchers have ever thrown a perfect game. I took some time to find my father to discuss, or rather to avoid discussing what was happening.

It is considered bad luck to mention either a perfect game or no hitter.

After I returned to my seat, Verlander remained perfect until one out in the eighth. That meant he had sent down 22 batters in order. Then rookie catcher J.P. Arencibia stepped to the plate. In an at bat that seemed to take for ever--J.P. fouled off six strike 2 pitches--the perfect game bid ended with a walk. The very next batter grounded into a double play, ending the inning, still giving the Jays only 24 up and 24 down and keeping the no hitter hope alive.

In the final inning there were no disappointments. Verlander got his 3 outs and I went mad. Literally mad. I kissed every Detroit Tiger fan in the vicinity on the cheek, and Marc for good measure. Keep in mind I only knew Joe, the others were only fans I had been cheering with throughout the duration of the game.

It didn't stop there. It continued on the way out of the stadium and onto the streets of Toronto. Not all were very appreciative. Some Blue Jay fan started to give me props on a well pitched game so I kissed him too. Euphoria was a plenty and I have never felt that overcome with joy in my life. It was a great feeling and a greater game. I can only imagine what will happen when I am able to witness my favourite sports team win a championship.