Leaving for Kuwait with chef Tony Sassine

Trip Start May 04, 2007

Trip End May 17, 2007

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Flag of Kuwait Kuwait, Kuwait
Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Today I have to leave my parents and grandfather at JFK airport as I am off to a region of the world I know very little about with people I honestly know very little about as well. My mind is open and paradims are ready to be shifted. As I give my family their hugs goodbye, I don't know what lies ahead for me and don't know when I will be returning, but have a feeling it won't be before long. As my grandfather's eyes burst with tears I feel the need to console him further.

The journey begins and my nerves run wild with excitement for adventure. Although I know I will be working, I still can't believe I am going to the Middle-East. The flight is so long, including the stop over in Amsterdam and the 7-hour time change, I arrive in Kuwait 23 hours after I left NY. As we approach for landing I have my face glued to the window looking for signs of civilization. All there is to see are flashing yellow lights and fireballs all over the vast dessert which double as oil fields. As we get closer, the city shines but not nearly the same scale of those in the US. The pilot proceeds to welcome us to Kuwait in Arabic and I smile. Smile?...yes, smile. I've reached a place halfway around the world where I had never dreamed I would place my feet and yet I am here. Now lets see what Kuwait has to offer.

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