An American Woman in Kuwait

Book excerpt: An American Woman in Kuwait is a travelogue written by an American lawyer who accompanied her husband, a Ph.D. immunologist, to Kuwait. The trip spanned almost six months, during the cooler parts of the year, from November 2004 to May 2005. This is an account that is academic rather than light armchair reading. Kuwait is a tiny nation covered almost entirely by barren desert. Its huge petroleum reserves and strategic location have made it a playing field on which great military conflicts have been settled during the past two decades. The country, located at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, became one of the wealthiest nations in history following discovery of oil in 1938 and development of the oil fields brought its citizens an unparalleled level of personal comfort. The author lived among Kuwaitis, ate traditional foods, mingled with Kuwaitis, studied Kuwaiti history, visited most of its museums, and spent a weekend with her husband at the Wafra Farms Oasis as Kuwaitis celebrated their Independence and Liberation Day holidays. She was even lucky enough to meet Kuwait’s most famous woman suffragist, Rola A. Al-Dashti, Ph.D. Stephanie made friends with Kuwaitis. She and her husband met people from Kuwait’s large community of expatriates – Egyptians, Turks, Syrians, and even one man from Saudi Arabia, which led to a hilarious encounter. Their cat, Scheherazade, a Kuwaiti war veteran herself, accompanied Stephanie to Kuwait. An American Woman in Kuwait is also the perfect guide for anyone traveling with a pet in the Islamic world. The book includes a glossary of Arabic words with a bibliography of the books and articles she read while in Kuwait.