Heading for home soon

With everything going on, we've (my self and munchkins) been given the all clear to head for the home country early. Send me an email if you need the dates etc...

I found this article on elections in Kuwait:
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090506/FOREIGN/705059827/1002

Those of you reading this from the West, probably recognize things you typically associate with elections. Other things in this article probably feel very foreign to you. I have heard much talk over the past few years about politics/elections in various middle eastern countries. As people in the West think about and discuss topics like democracy in this region of the world, they should keep in mind that there are cultural differences between 'east and west.' I'm not saying this is a 'bad' thing, but there is certainly room for greater understanding.

We all harbour misconceptions about cultures that are not our own. We all look at others and go, "Wow! Crazy! How do they live like that?" It doesn't matter what culture you're from; I believe everyone does this to some degree. We need to recognize that for what it is, and then we need to reach out for knowledge and understanding. We need to attempt to bridge gaps rather than being too afraid that we're going to fall into the gap and not reach out at all.

At any rate, stuff to think about.

Hope this post is coherent; I've got a killer sinus headache today. I'm so ready to be around trees instead of dust for a while.

Peace.