back in Kuwait and...cold?

How can I say that it's cold in Kuwait when it was -20 when I left home yesterday? (yesterday...thursday...whatever. it all feels like one day...since I lost one in transit!)

We left the airport to a balmy 21C at 6:30pm. Nice! It's gorgeous outside. I did miss the sunshine, that is one nice thing about Kuwait. The weather is gorgeous, although since it never changes, we have nothing to say about it...and being Canadian, it really takes away one major topic of conversation! (Never fear, I can always find something to say about anything...)

But even though it's 21C outside, it's 18C inside. Our apartments do not have central heat (although they do have central air year-round), and my little portable radiator leaves much to be desired! It smells of...melting plastic, which worries me, but not enough to actually turn it off. It's a metal machine, which means that there is no actual plastic on it to melt...and maybe the fact that I'm feeling better about being here is because I'm just plain high off the smell of melting plastic ;) Mmm...healthy.

Christmas at home was AMAZING. I was able to see so many friends, and spend lots of time with family, and drive around and shop in places that I love...and not feel out of place one bit! I got to see Mason, my 5 month old nephew - I think he was the hardest to let go, since I know he'll be the one to change the most over the next 5 months. It was difficult to leave. I spent the last 2 days before I left on the constant verge of tears. It makes coming back here for a second year seem...unthinkable.

But it's alright to be back. Last night we sat around, chatting about our vacations, eating Maki, and it was good. I love the girls here, we really are like a family. Today we went grocery shopping, and it felt NORMAL. Plus, we went to Second Cup (truly Canadian) before we hit up the grocery store, so it was good. It felt right. It's the little things, like a $5 mug of hot latte with friends, that makes me appreciate being here.

Our trip home was fine! And it wasn't without it's drama. Our flight from Toronto to Washington was delayed 45 minutes, which was a little worrisome, since we only had a 1 hour stopover in Washington before leaving for Kuwait! Fortunately this time we didn't have to go through customs or pick up our luggage, so it was smooth sailing from one gate to another. We made it to the next gate as everyone was boarding the plane, which was a sweet deal for us. It meant no sitting and waiting in the airport.

But...Briana didn't make it on the plane. If anything bad is going to happen, it seems that it's always going to happen to Briana. The plane was overbooked by 30 people - so she was placed on standby. Someone even offered to give Briana his seat, but the airline attendant said it was too late! We felt horrible leaving her there, but we couldn't stay without losing our tickets entirely.

We still have no idea where Briana is, which really makes us worried. We hope she got on another plane to Kuwait, but there's a chance that she was stuck in Washington until the next flight...that didn't leave until the next night...and doesn't arrive in Kuwait until tonight. We start teaching tomorrow. Sometimes airlines really suck. Instead of overbooking flights, they should just make people responsible if they do miss their flight...ridiculous. Poor Briana.

That...was our drama. Alright, I should get to planning for my classes tomorrow...and then napping and watching a movie. Life is so hard :P I have strategically set up my radiator right beside my chair. Sweet sweet warmth. (Hey, the thermostat on the wall says that it's 20C in here right now...that's almost reasonable! Perhaps this little machine actually works. Success!)