Soyaras and Gatwas


This is my "soyara." "Soyara" is the arabic word for "automobile." I really like my car. It's a late model Toyota Yaris. It's about the best deal a teacher can find on a rental car at $400 U.S. monthly. Now, look very, very closely at my car, because this story isn't really about a car...

For every adventure in Kuwait, it seems there is also a mis-adventure.


This sweet little kitten decided to hitch a free ride from Kuwait City to Fintas (a 40 Kilometer ride at speeds up to 100 m.p.h. on the Kuwaiti Autobahn). Al Hamdulilallah, the gatwa (cat) survived. Does she look a bit stressed??? Or did she enjoy the ride???

ONLY after being doused with water, prodded with a skewes and broom handles, enticed by kitten food, and having a team of auto-technicians from my car rental company scratch their heads for about 30 minutes trying to figure out how exactly to extract the kitten from the front end of my car did somebody happen along who could actually put an end to poor Gatwa's woes.

An Indian guy named Kola (above in white) was ambling down the street and stopped to check out what all the fuss was about. In no more than 5 seconds of assessing the kituation, he effortlessly popped out the plastic grill of the car's front end, and off scrambled Gatwa faster than you can say the word pussycat!!!!!!!! I will sleep much better tonight knowing we were able to safely get Gatwa to her final destination. I can only hope that dumpster diving is bettter in Fintas than in the big city. And I hope Gatwa learned her lesson that there is no such thing as a free ride. Bravo, Kola!!!!