Scavenger Hunt

My entry to Nicole's 1st Scavenger Hunt photography game.

What is a Scavenger Hunt?

"You grab your camera and the list I will give you and shoot pictures of the “items” on that list. Preferably the shots are new shots, not out of the archive. But that’s up to you."

You know who to vote for !! o(>_<)o

VOTE FOR ME HERE!!

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1) local currency

36.750 KD = 124.57 $ = 96.36 € = 89.00 £
*today's exchange rate* :P

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2) local flag
*Salute*

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3) local food
Not really "the" local food but I couldn't get a pic of "machboos"
so, this is the only thing I came up with.

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4) something rusty

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5) local wildlife

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6) local nature


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7) local stamp

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8) part of your neighborhood

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9) traditional house

Diwan Al-Shamlan. :)

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10) a local person

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11) local weather
Yeah right. That's just one day in 365 days.
The real weather is a mix of humidity and/or sand storms. :P

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12) local transportation

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13) traditional local clothing
"Dishdasha"

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14) night sky
Cityscape on a clear night.

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15) sunrise

Correction: I posted this as "Sunset" on Intlxpatr's Kuwaiti Sunset Challenge. After checking the details it turned out to be a sunrise! My mistake. :P

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16) local product non food
"Souq Al-Safafeer".
To someone begins with an "i".. Feels cosy doesn't it? :P

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17) something furry

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18) something feathery

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19) a sign of the season

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20) a part of you
The devil's footprint matching my foot at Frauenkirche :P

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21) your main hobby

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22) a local shop
The only thing I could get. Plaza Mall.

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23) a local restaurant

Marina Waves (?three? restaurants) I lost count.

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24) a street sign

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25) a local mail box

OCA Opening Ceremony & Congress Meeting

"The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is the apex sports body controlling the sports in Asia. It is one of the five continental associations recognized by the IOC.

The OCA was formed in 1982 and has its permanent headquarters in Kuwait. The main objective of the Olympic Council of Asia is to develop sport, culture and education of Asian youth and to promote international respect, friendship, goodwill & peace through sports."

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"The activities of the inauguration of the Sport Congress of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), due to kick off here on Wednesday under auspice of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, will attract over 1,300 celebrities, a senior Kuwaiti sports official said on Sunday.

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge as well as chiefs of the Olympic committees of almost all Asian countries will be among the participants in the largest Asian sporting gathering ever, OCA Director Hussein Al-Musallam told reporters here.

On the second day of the activities the first scientific OCA Sport Congress will be held under the chairmanship of OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah. The event aims to introduce an academic approach to the practical sporting practices and reach recommendations on for improvement.

The expected recommendations of the congress will be subsequently tabled to the coming meeting of the IOC to be held in September, Al-Musallam pointed out.

After the inauguration ceremony of the OCA Sport Congress, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad and Rogge will held a joint press conference. Chairman of the organizing committee of the Asian Games, to be held in Guangzhou, China, in 2010, is scheduled to hold another press conference at the end of the four-day event to explain the preparations for hosting the games, Al-Musallam added.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee Obeid Al-Anzi voiced gratitude for HH the Amir for his kind sponsorship of the inauguration of the OCA Sport Congress. The organizing committee will do its utmost to ensure the success of this grand international sporting event and show the bright civilized portrait of the State of Kuwait, Al-Anzi added.

For his part, Assistant Director of OCA Ali Al-Murri said the event will deal with six axes namely; the female sports in Asian countries, marketing, the independence of the Olympic movement, the sports science, the Asian Games and the sports-environment relationship.

A total of 120 research papers will be tabled to the congress and the top two will be win the award of Sheikh Mohammad Bin-Rashed Al-Maktoum at the closing ceremony. The OCA Sport Congress will be held between March 12 and 14, 2009, Al-Murri added.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has been responsible in organizing the Asian Games, the Asian Winter Games, the Asian Indoor Games and the Asian Beach Games and proactive in promoting sports in Asia through various activities." --KUNA

In other words...

MARCH 11, 2009:
AVOID GULF ROAD
AND ALL ROADS LEADING TO SCIENTIFIC CENTER

MARCH 12-14, 2009:
AVOID COURTYARD MARRIOT (AL-RAYA)
AND ALL CONNECTED ROADS NEAR AL-RAYA BALLROOM

War Experience

"I cannot imagine what it must have been like living here at that time, Mac. I think more people need to write it all down, we need a record."-- intlxpatr

Being in the middle of a war is unbearable. But having to live in war twice is the worst thing a man could experience in his life, and so having to bear with these memories is simply a nightmare. A nightmare that has a mixture of good and bad memories.

The first war was the invasion of Iraq on my beloved country Kuwait. Back in 1990, our closest neighbor and our greatest ally simply decided to take over our country without regarding the greatest bonds and our trust in him. That was my first experience in a war that turned my innocent childhood into a dirty playground.

We were just a bunch of naive children back then. We used to play outside until morning not knowing how critical the situation was and how stressful it is to our parents. Even though I was young I remember my country being robbed and citizens taken captives right of their doorstep but back then I was too young to care.

President George Bush supported Kuwait against this hostile behavior and unleashed Operation Desert Storm to free Kuwait. After 7 months from the invasion Iraqi forces retreated from Kuwait scorching everything on their way out.

Thirteen years later, President G.W. Bush raged a new war in the region (Operation Iraqi Freedom) facing the Iraqi regime and their leader Saddam Hussain. During this war Iraq launched missiles towards Kuwait that have hit close to residential areas and a shopping mall (Souq Sharq), causing terror between citizens in Kuwait and bringing back memories of the first invasion. Fortunately, there were no casualties in Kuwait.

Thanks to the last war, not only Kuwait has rested from this atrocious regime, but the whole world and especially Iraqi people that have been tortured in every way. However, mistakenly I thought Iraqi people can live in peace and harmony and feel the freedom that had been taken away from them all these years after liberating them from Saddam's regime but I was wrong. Only God knows how that mess would end.

War is a waste of money, time and lives. No one could ever disagree with that but; sometimes-peaceful solutions simply don't work for some people. They hold on to their wrong acts and make their own people suffer for their greed. Just like what the Iraqi leader did to his people. Is it really worth to be killed for someone made you suffer all your life? Are we going to learn from all the wars that we've gone through? These are some questions people should be asking themselves, and more importantly world leaders to prevent such situations.

In conclusion, it is a great feeling to sleep safe past these experiences. We can only hope that someday we will wake up living a peaceful world.