“The American University of the Middle East is emerging – after five years of extensive research and studies – to be an icon of quality higher education and development in Kuwait, the region, and the world.” – AUM Website.

I visited their campus, and I can’t put it in just two paragraphs so please bear with the long read. It’s well worth it.

I drove my friend to AUM for their scheduled tour that was supposed to be in July, and at first sight I saw 2 very small buildings and kept saying “That’s it? That is it?!” then I approached the gate that’s still under construction and I was lead to the small parking which is basically a bunch of lines drawn on the ground. No need for fancy pavements. I saw a stray dog running around the parking lot, the first sign of doom.

After parking we headed for the tiny door crossing a bunch of workers since the sidewalks are finished yet, and we were questioned for our names by two gentlemen, then we walked 2 steps and were overwhelmed with a large number of harem-like girls asking for our names yet again, and we were escourted to the other building where I was shoved in a waiting room and my friend was taken for his tour.

My friend was put in a room and got his picture taken for his ID by a laptop’s webcam. Amateur or simply high-tech? After getting a few students with him they took him on the grand tour showing him the full three floors of the campus. A floor for AUM, a floor for the college ACM, and an empty floor for the non-existing restaurants and cafes. They mentioned a number of restaurants and cafes implying that they still didn’t agree or contract with one yet, while saying they’ll be open by October 7th.

After waiting for a while my friends came to me with their schedules, a full year of English before starting any university classes. A full year consisting of 4 classes, English Reading, English Writing, English Speaking and English Listening. It’s either a whole year of preliminary English, or starting your major immediately. All students start on the same level of English, they finish levels 1, 2 and 3 in one year even though they strictly, strictly stressed and insisted on bringing a TOEFL exam even if you know you’ll fail to know on what level they should put you on. Do they receive commission? A TOEFL exam costs about K.D.75 and their mandatory placement test and application fees cost K.D.30. They all start from scratch even if they don’t need to.

After arguing with one of the blonde 19 year olds they hired about one semester of English being good enough, I found out they don’t have enough students, faculty members and classes to handle that. It’s either they start with the new year, or they start with the next one with that year’s freshmans, cutting cost on people who’d start from the second semester.

The buildings aren’t fully furnished, the student parking isn’t finished yet, there are no restaurants, there was no dean or any faculty to be seen except a bunch of female tour guides running around in their tight jeans, there’s nothing but a big block of land behind a big construction fence for the rest of the campus yet they say within 4 years everything will be completed.

Most of the kids there are on a government scholarship, so who the hell authorized paying for an unprepared university like that?

End of transmission.

..when someone is posing with you.. :|

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The cool thing about blogging is that you can go and enjoy something, come back and criticize it and demonstrate your pefectionism whilst insulting an undeserving large number of people.

So in the spirit of blogging, I went to the Japanese Urawa Red Vs. our own Qadsia Hiya Hiya for the Asian tournament thingy.

Parking : A stadium that holds tens of thousands of course doesn’t need parking so you need to use parking across the stadium and cross a very dangerous road.

The stadium : It’s almost an antique with its old style, handwritten guiding signs in “خط الرقعة”, dusty old ass breaking concrete to sit on, and one meter wide exit doors that are supposed to digest the thousands coming out only to create a tiny, humid, homosexual orgy of a bottle neck.

The beverages : Usually you’re not allowed to bring anything in that can be thrown, Kuwaitis like to throw things you see. The first words that came out of the speakers were “!لحد يحذف شي!! لحد يحذف!! لحد! يحذف”.

Of course that didn’t stop them as they threw their water bottles at everyone whenever Qadsia/Urawa scored whilst screaming “!!محقق كونان” at the Japs. Oddly enough the police only caught the chubby kid who couldn’t throw even if his life depended on it.

Escaping the traffic : Of course I couldn’t because a guy blocked the exit with his long GMC Suburban.

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It’s official as of today. I can’t text, but I can call.

I have a 9XXXXXX number and now it’s a 99XXXXXX, and supposedly numbers that start with a 7 should add a 7 before it but a friend’s number is now 97XXXXXX.

This is blasphemy.

End of transmission.