Kuwait-Home after Home

Monday, February 19, 2024

When my cousins back in India ask me, which is my favourite place. I have started satisfying them with a standard answer, “India is my favourite place to visit as my people stay in India, but Kuwait is my second home.” After spending few years in Kuwait now it’s easy for me consider Kuwait as my second home. When I was a younger, I used to wait for the arrival of summer vacations. I felt excited when I travelled to India but used to feel sad while returning back to Kuwait. As years went by, I realized that even though we say, that, we have a house in India, the apartments in which we live here in Kuwait have something very special. Our houses back in India might be huge and with graceful, flowered courtyards but the coziness of the apartments here, is incomparable. Kuwait has helped me to learn how to get adjusted wherever I am, in the case of accommodation as well as climate. With a beautiful sunshine in the morning and white and golden streetlights shining in the night, ultimately Kuwait became my second home.

People who migrate to Kuwait from India might feel bad at first because of the extreme climate, small flats etc.and I felt the same. To make me feel good, in this new location of ours, my parents decorated rooms and hosted people for meals. However, calling them home that happened gradually, often ended with a long drive to the desert, picking up strawberries at different farms at Wafra, enjoying roller coaster rides with friends at Winter Wonderland. Kuwait became my second home because of people here. People who opened their homes to us where in we enjoyed the middle eastern food either at their home or in different Arabic restaurants. The baklava and the Kanafeh after lunch or dinner helped to take sweet moments to another level. Gradually the school teachers and school friends opened their classroom doors and hearts to me for conversations. I found people who showed me how to get to buy variety of chocolates from the shopping malls and conquer the grocery store(bakalas) with chips and juices.

Even though Kuwait is a desert, the lovely parks and gardens give the freshness of greenery. Beaches are the best places to sit and have chat with your family in the Evening. During the weekends, family and friends gather, enjoy, and share their opinions on various issues. In such various ways, our second home helps us to lead a joyful life.

Niya Mary Rijo, VII-D, Carmel School , Kuwait