Eid Mubarak!

Eid Mubarak, translated blessed Eid, is a phrase we have uttered quite often the past week.  All over the Arab world workers have had the week off of work to celebrate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son in faith towards God.  This is the time that many of the Arab muslims participate in the Hajj and is known as Eid Al Adha.  This is one of the two great holidays in the Islamic calendar. 

So most people are wrapping up a 9 day vacation, and that includes all the teachers in this part of the world.  Most of Joe's friends at his school and that he knows through Gaelic football are off traveling and experiencing an adventurous week somewhere fun and exotic, but we were forced to stay here in Kuwait due to some residency issues involving the teachers at Lindsay's school.  This is very disappointing for us and for the other teachers because being able to travel is one of the best benefits to teaching in the Middle East.  Oh well, while friends are scattered across the globe in fun places like Zanzibar, Ethiopia, Italy, Maldives, Malaysia, and the Seychelles we were forced to have a nice long staycation.

We have been determined to make the most of our time here, though, and below are some highlights (and pictures) of our Kuwait staycation!

While exploring the desert, we met this friendly Bedouin man and his awesome camel!  Are they not the quintessential Bedouin/camel combo???

This picture was taken at the Saudi border.  Lindsay wouldn't let Joe cross the border, no matter how hard he tried to talk her in to it!

Just your average herd of desert sheep.

Without a doubt the highlight of the week, Joe got to hold a falcon while we were out in the desert!!!

He was very proud to show off his prize possession!  Joe says that the falcon had an amazingly strong grip and that he could feel the talons digging in, even with the leather glove on.  That is how sharp they were!  This was such a cool/awesome/surreal moment!!!

This Kuwaiti man pulled off of the highway while we were taking pictures of wild camels and asked Joe if he wanted to hold his falcon!

While exploring we came upon the Chevron compound, but they wouldn't let us in.

This is one of the few water clocks of its kind in the world, just chilling in one of the malls here in Kuwait.

Joe is so happy to be coaching baseball here in Kuwait, he really enjoys working with boys from over 25 nations all in one program!

We finally got a chance to dress up, as we were invited to a party at the British Embassy.  Here we are with our friend Emily, who is also an IU grad!

We also enjoyed an extraordinary Korean meal with one of Joe's Gaelic Football teammates, Justin, and his wife.  They are from Seattle and we really enjoyed our couples night out with them!

This is our building harris, kind of like a doorman/concierge combo.  His name is Mahaboob and Joe and him have become buddies.  He is from Bangladesh and sends his money home to support with wife and the baby they have on the way.  He can only afford to fly home every two years to see his family.

We got to spend another day at the Hilton Kuwait resort, and it was awesome!

Joe went for a run at the beginning of the break, as temps are finally cooling down enough to run outside.  We have the run Kuwait 10K coming at the end of November.

Sunset in the desert.