Tuesday, May 30th, 2006...10:26 am
Topic 2 : Work
During that meeting I was informed that I will be acting as the Minister of Finance and that I will be greeting and escorting another Minister of Finance for another country! I was extremely happy when I was told that and it put a huge smile on my face! One thing I was a tad pissed about was the fact that they told me that they enjoyed working with volunteers! Especially local volunteers who like to work hard! Why did that piss me off? Well, the manager at work said it was a job and made it a must that I had to go with a co-worker! I did laugh though cause my co-worker isn’t a hard worker at all and he was one of the “volunteers”! Either way, I liked the fact regarding what I was supposed to do and went with the flow!
I do my research and get prepared, then I find out that, apparently, the Minister cancels and so they appoint me to someone else! The next day, I’m doing more research and after my regular job I went to the hotel to meet up with the managers at the governmental job and long and behold they inform me that they made a mistake and they gave me the wrong country! I spend 2 hours trying to find info on the new Minister I have been appointed to and was successful!
I went to the barber shop, then went home! I showered, changed and left to go to the hotel where I was going to meet the chauffeur who will drive me to the airport! I call the chauffeur to tell hi that I am ready to be picked up and it took him 45 minutes to get to me! I call him after 30 minutes go by and he finally informs me that the cop won’t let him in through the gates! I told him to park in front of the cop and walk over to me to pick up the required sticker which his dumb self was supposed to pick up earlier that morning! The cop tried to stop the guy from walking to me but the driver came anyways took the sticker and drove in! I could see that the cop was mad since the chauffeur listened to me and totally ignored him!
The chauffeur was from Somalia and lived in Kuwait for 14 years! I told him we need to go to the VIP section of the airport and he says ok! Guess what? He doesn’t know where to go! 
P He was taking me to the regular airport and so I had to direct him! He sees the sign to the VVIP lounge (where the private planes arrive) which is the wrong one! So we go to the VIP lounge and I wait for the Minister to come out! I met with the Minister, sat down, talked to him and then took him to the hotel after they put his bag into the car! The chauffeur didn’t know how to get back onto the highway! P
On the way there the Minister and I had a small talk regarding the meeting and I was supposed to ask him about whether or not he was going to sign 2 agreements! Apparently he doesn’t have a clue as to what those agreements were all about! The he tells me that the last place he visited in the Middle East was Dubai and asked if Kuwait was the same! He had no clue about Kuwait and didn’t even know the fact that parliament was dissolved! When I informed him of that he bombarded me with questions and I gladly answered! I excused myself to make a phone call to inform the reception that I was going to arrive shortly!
After arriving, we were treated like ordinary people without any special treatment! Why? The Minister I was appointed to was wearing black jeans and a black polo shirt that was tucked into the pants! I finally got him the attention he needed and got him checked in to his room. The guy was pretty tired so I took the liberty to check him in and help him out a little! Too bad the bank was closed so he couldn’t get his per diem cheaque cashed!
Our Minister, the person I greeted and supposed to escort, has a minor issue regarding the trip after the meeting! He leaves Kuwait to go to Italy but his Shengen Visa is not valid until the day after he arrives to Italy! He wanted help to see if the Ministry would help him get his visa arrangements so that he can enter Italy on the day he arrives and not have to spend a day in the airport until he can leave! Being in Kuwait and knowing most of the people here, the Ministry decided against helping him! Oh well!
I had nothing to eat all day so when I got home after waking up at 6AM and working all day till I got home at 9:30PM I fianlly got something to eat at 10PM before going to bed! I was starving!
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18 Comments
May 30th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
That was a helluva long post for someone who doesn’t like reading long posts
Then again, a long post for a long day. Allah ya36ek el 3afya.
May 30th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Tooomz: This sure was a long post! I got tired just typing it!
P
Allah i3afeech!
May 30th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
No wonder why you didnt post for last couple days….that was a hell schedule…I agree….poor minister….
May 30th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Allah i3afeech! means what? how do you pronounce it?….I want to pick one arabic word a day to improve my vocabulary…help me puleeeezeeeeeee
May 30th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Cyber Rowdy: Sure was hectic! As for the Minister, there is nothing we can do for him! He either stays in Kuwait an extra day or stays at the airport twidling his thumbs till the next day comes and he can leave!
As for Allah i3afeech, is the reply to a lady after she says Allah ya36eek al3afya! What the lady says goes on the lines of “May God give you health!” and the reply which pretty much is another way to say, “May God give you health as well!”
Allah ya`teek al-afya (when talking to a man)
Allah ya`teech al-afya (when talking to a woman)
Replies if someone told you that are:
Allah i3afeek (when talking to a man)
Allah i3afeech (when talking to a woman)
May 30th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
That helps mate……
Allah ya`teek al-afya Ma-Salama
May 30th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Cyber Rowdy: You’re welcome and Allah i3afeek my friend!
May 30th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Dude .. ye3teek el 3afya ..
Boy that sure was long … make sure u get a better driver next time .. btw how come a minister from another country wears jeans and a polo t-shirt .. shouldn’t he be wearing a suit…
Bummer about it being a volunteer job, but look on the bright side, it is a nice addition to your CV ..
And as tooomz said, for a person who doesn’t like to rea dlong posts u sure wrote a hell of a long one :S ..
May 30th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
Fractal00: Allah i3afeek! I don’t know why he was dressed down but that’s up to him! This sure was a long post and I apologise! As for the work, I don’t mind it at all and I love the experience but I wouldn’t mind extra money!
P
May 30th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
how fun meeting people ^_^
sometimes i feel like q8 is the only unorganized country bss now i have relized 7atta in the US Stuff happenes
May 30th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Ya36eek alf 3affya Mr. Minister ;P
P.S. EeeeeeaaaaTTTT !!!
May 30th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
LaiaLy_Q8: I love meeting people! ;o) I’ve seen unorganized events all over the world! The thing is that it all depends on the people running the show! If they are compitent then everything will run smoothly but if there is any hesitation then everything will go wrong!
DiiGMaa: Allah i3afeech! I did eat! I ate 3 sandwiches and had a soda before bed last night! Today I actually had machboos diyay and !!! EDO PRIDE !!!
May 31st, 2006 at 9:35 am
I did that long time ago when NBK hosted the Arab Banking confrance which was held at the buliding where you work.. I know what you went through.. the only problems I had is from NBK HRD they were being ass holes to me .
by the way which minister was that ..
The good thing is that I got to tour your buliding
May 31st, 2006 at 12:41 pm
Mosan Mosan: Our building is the shit! ;o)
As for the minister, he’s from Kazakhstan!
June 1st, 2006 at 12:52 pm
As “acting Minister of Finance”, did you get any perks? Any free coffee / good parking spaces / etc? I hope so!
June 1st, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Caff: Perks were that I could drive up to the hotel when no one else could, free drinks and free food but I never to advantage of the free food cause I had no time!
June 3rd, 2006 at 10:20 am
alah ekoon ib 3oonik! If I was in your place I would have killed somebody and also cut them into a million pieces! Too many screw ups!! 7amdilla that part is over with, and good luck with any future “volunteer” endeavors! hehehe
June 3rd, 2006 at 11:13 am
Marzouq: The minister was a kewl guy! Everything went according to plan and he had fun! He did mess up by forgetting a large sum of money in his safe deposit box at the suite he was in and I had to get it! Would have been nice it I could keep it as a tip!
P
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