I knew what I’m about to hear was not good at all.

That’s how the conversation with the bus driver started as we were waiting at the first stop.

I didn’t hold my breath for what’s about to come next. Because by now I’m used to it, it has become a familiar pattern. Not a pattern for Muslims, but the pattern of what Non-Muslims remember about Muslims.

“He started drinking beer and I told him are you supposed to do that!! and he replied well it is different I’m in UK now”

WTH! This is a new religion all together. A religion that is bounded by geographical location apparently.

I for one do have a change in behaviour when I’m abroad, less self concious and more out going, I can put on my trainings and go for a run and not have to deal with stupid remarks and comments.

But that is an extreme …

That dude should’ve said: “Well it’s not allowed but I’m an ignorant self centred dumb ass who doesn’t know the first thing about Islam, so please consider this my doing and not a reflection of my religion”.

People remember the ODD and they also remember what they like to believe!

Down the corridor, there are a group of Muslim guys, who drink and laugh like maniacs at night and cook and eat in the mornings of Ramadan.

As a person who’s aware of what Islam is, I know they are acting out on their own accord.

To outsiders who have a negative view about Islam, it’s a rebellious act against a dark religion which oppresses the youth and starves them out of food and water forbidding them from enjoying life.

To outsiders who have a positive view about Islam, it’s just boys drinking and eating and it has nothing to do with Islam.

I met a girl a few days ago, she’s just embraced Islam, it was so beautiful how she summed up deciding to become a Muslim “AHA, now it makes sense”.

I wished I can see through her eyes and feel what she is feeling and then I thought to myself, maybe I need a journey of my own, a journey to rediscover Islam.

People were climbing it and my heart just raced, I need to climb too

The first steps and probably the last set. The rest of the path was rocks and dirt.

A view from the top.

Seems like there was a fire!

More to go.

Had to climb down that

Then I discovered there was a grassy path from the road going up hill It would’ve been easier but less fun.

More to go.

A rocky path

A view from the top.

A little more.

Done

Going down. Those tiny stones are tricky, I was slipping and grabbing air

Finally, after time of being totally lost , I ended up at Holyrood park which I found on the map and managed to find my way to the cinema

Not all these windows were built at the same time. St. Marget’s Church, people can actually get married here or hold a baptism, for 20 people only that is.

You can attend plays potraying different eras in Scotland history. They look so cute wearing skirts

Prisoners of war!

Wars Scotland has been in.

Even dogs had their own cemetery.

The ticket booth queue!

Just book online and collect your tickets and don’t forget to write down your booking reference number.  You can’t even see a queue

Go on their free guided tours, it’s informative and funny. It only takes 30 minutes and then you can explore on your own.

The stairs are very narrow and you get kind of dizzy from twirling your way up! It is very difficult for two people to squeeze up/down, so you’ll hear shouts, “Coming up” , “Going down”.

A view from the top, Edinburgh castle.

I got off at Waverley railway station and walked. Everytime I go to a place I get myself a map, they are usually around the railway station and for a pound. I couldn’t find one and thought to get one later from any shop.

My breath was taken away by their beautiful mountains and hills. The brown, the black, the green, the blue … amazing.

As soon as you walk around, first thing that sticks to your mind is the music, their Scottish music being played everywhere constantly. People on the street, shops and restaurants.

It is a historic place, I went to museums, Edinburgh castle, the Scott monument, climbed a hill, took a tour, etc. The most amount of walking I have done in my life, I am feeling the aftermath already but it was worth it.

I got lost because I didn’t have a map but then I got one and found the light at the end of the tunnel

If you are one of those who come to UK frequently but always go to a single spot, London for example, you are missing a lot! UK is filled with interesting and amazing places to go and they are only a train trip away.

I’m in LOVE with the Scottish accent. Though I need to read their lips and listen hard to make out what they are trying to say

“Please taaake yourrrr rucksack off and ‘old it in yerr ‘and”

I’m not sure if he said rucksack, backsack elmohim, I need to take it and hold it in my hand for walking inside the museum

The way they pronounce their “R’s”, I guess that it is the fascinating part and they speak on the low level. And Scots have their own language too, Gaelic.

Someone was asking me where I was from and then started asking me where I went and where to go, most of what he was saying I could not understand, I opted to a random select of Yes/No answers but I could listen to them talk all day

I’ll be posting my pictures soon but they don’t do the place any justice at all.

Some said, the poor houses that are featured in the mosalsal are considered fancy to them

I mentioned that we don’t walk around wrapped in textiles of every colour and texture, chained in all the jewellery our hands can reach and body can endure, wearing full clown with Dracula influenced makeup!

Walking around the house in pyjamas and morning kishas is a daily scene in some houses

A shocking question, do we all have body guards!! Apparently, there is a mosalsal featuring a Kuwaiti family with body guards!!!

My answer: ROFL!!! Wein qa3deeeeen.

Some questions are beyond my comprehension, is it true that the wealthy “sho3araa” poets steal poems from the poor ones! How would I know! And isn’t that a global concept, rich always taking from the poor. This concept isn’t applicable only to individuals, its proven for companies, countries, HELL even worlds, if another one existed.

A cute question was what does “machbooos” mean YUM YUM. I explained the dish. But the question, why is it called “Machbooos” and not “Chicken with Rice”.

عاد في فلسفة ورا كلمة كبس\جبس اللي اهي من أصل مجبوس

LOL, wallah madree did I explain it right walla laaa!

oo lazim football being mentioned! I look for a wall of shame to hide behind But as all faces were staring I declared, our football team sucks BIG time, thank GOD for Yemen in the gulf tournament, our sucking isn’t a standalone, fee wa7id we can beat. We were good, we crashed, we crashed even more, a little more … ba3ad more … I don’t know till when, but we will rise again

Questions about gays and lesbians in Kuwait, another mosalsal dealing with this issue I guess.

Some were interested in our politics Our majlis omma is a mosalsal by itself!

I say there is some truth to our mosalsalat, a minor one, that is buried under the drama, extreme extravaganza, shoving of million story lines down the scenario throat, commercialisation, etc.

I tell them: “شوفو مسلسلاتنا زمان أول” ohhh and one more thing, please please please “لا تشوفون مسرحياتنا الحين”

But seriously, I always criticise and point the wrongs, but compared to other countries, especially Arab ones, we are doing better in terms of living standards and human rights.

Please do not say “الله لا يغير علينا”, I prefer “الله يغير علينا للأحسن انشاالله”

Prayers are rarely answered?

Has GOD taken a step back?

Or have we?

Has GOD stopped giving?

Or have we quit appreciating?

Am I crossing the line, in voicing out my thoughts!

I wonder why GOD has not quit on us already. Why the world has not collapsed. Why we don’t burst into flames.

Not because we don’t pray, we don’t believe, we don’t thank …

We destroy, we kill each other with words, we stomp and shout, wipe it all off and start again. It’s the simple things.

We brush off the little things that slowly penetrate solid structures and nibble away, bringing it all down piece by piece!

I ask why, when I’m down and under, when I’m hurting …

Where are you, as I rest my forehead, on my hands and knees, and pray … please don’t leave me …

Asking the very question GOD can ask!!!

Where are you?

Where were you?

When I’m high and above, dazed in happiness, I smile, I stretch and laugh, I giggle, I go higher and higher, until in the background I remember, it comes to me, OH yes Thank You!

Taking many things for granted …

Still I wonder … wait … stop …

I dare not voice my objections, in fear of them becoming my excuses, my arguments …

Prayers are answered, we just don’t pay attention.

We look for them in what we ask … Not in what we have …

We look for them in moments of despair … Not in moments of peace …

We look for them when we are on our knees … Not when standing tall …

They are answered … we just stopped believing … please forgive me.

Skip once in a while

You need to fill out a form and this form is not available online, you either have to go to the headquarters in London or they’ll mail it to you. Weird, you’d think it is a super form, it is a lousy un-scanable, the printed form is so badly scanned and indented, it is pathetic!

You need to provide four photos with a blue background. The official photographs in UK are with a white background. I ended up having my photo snapped in the middle of Jessop with a white background and told them back home to photoshop in the blue background.

Also, you need to write an official letter to “مسئول الشئون القنصلية” stating that you are student, where you study, your address and the person who’s going to renew your passport information.

I filled the form, popped in the photographs, the official letter and passport and sent them off to the embassy in UK. According to the embassy official, all should arrive to Kuwait by Monday.

Almost all my official identification end in 2010! My passport, my civil ID and my Kuwaiti bank card!! 3ad I do not know how I’m going to handle my bank card, I need to call KFH.

I’m coming back passport-less, bank card-less, civil ID-less! Yeah and I think my car back home isn’t working Actually the A/C isn’t working, but it is all the same to me, NO A/C is NO use

Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small, spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them

I heard a lot about this show, but didn’t get around to watch it. I’ve watched the movie spin-off “Serenity” and it was good. I decided to go ahead and watch the TV show. It is amazing! Why did they cancel it, I’m not sure.

It has all the elements, it is well written, funny, realistic, not boring and so much more. I’ve watched all 14 episodes and it left me wanting more

Link: IMDb