How Was Your Day Honey?

FYI--David's office can be seen in this picture.(second floor, third from left)

from a local Kuwait blog
Yesterday the American International School of Kuwait had a bomb scare when they got a phone call from someone in Spain telling them there was a bomb in their school. After all the students were evacuated it turned out to be a hoax. Today they had another bomb scare. It isn’t confirmed yet if it was another phone call but the rumor is, and again I want to highlight the word RUMOR here, is that a school teacher found the bomb today on the way to the bathroom and that’s why they were evacuated. Hopefully that doesn’t turn out to be true and stays a rumor.


It's been an exciting couple of days here in the neighborhood as we've had two days of bomb threats at school which caused an evacuation both days.

Now, before you lose your breath or really think that I'm living in a war-torn place (I'm not, really) let me explain.

Sunday, the school received a phone call indicating that there was a bomb in our school. As any administrator and teacher knows, one has to take these things seriously and not blow them off. SO the police were called, the bomb sniffing dogs brought in and the students were secured in a safe area within the school. By noon, after our kids had been patiently (and I do mean patiently) waiting, we were told to send them home. This provided with the only mildly chaotic spot of the day when all the parents came in their big vehicles and tried to enter our small parking lot at the same time.

This morning, Monday, two students found a device in one of the bathrooms that made a ticking sound. Of course, again, the police had to be called. Only this time, we had the BIG OFFICIAL Bomb Squad van with the real SWAT guys. I was in the auditorium with the 8th graders, who were taking a test. We didn't sense anything was wrong (although one could probably smell brain cells burning as they were furiously working on the Standardized Math Tests). Anyway, this time the decision was made to dismiss the students and have them cross the street to a vacant sandlot and have the parents again be called to pick them up.

This time, it got a little crazy as teachers were trying to lead students across two busy roads (Kuwaiti drivers are not known for stopping for pedestrians, in fact, I swear I've seen them actually speed up when I am trying to cross the road). Parents were understandably upset and this time, a little scared. One of my kids told me there was a text message going around that four people had been killed at our school. Rumors can really fly in this highly dramatic society and this gave them an opportunity for great stories.

Fortunately, all went smoothly and I only had to comfort one crying mother who was visibly upset about her child. (hhmm, I wondered, if she had put this much effort into her son at other times, would he always be on the detention list?!)

The owners and the administrators are viewing it as a hoax and once they get "their hands on the little minds that came up with this prank", it will not be pretty.

Unfortunately in this country, the police are not known to be nice and understanding of juvenile pranks. We recently had an incident where the police were called in and the five youths involved are not only had to spend some ugly time in jail, but they are banned from attending school ANYWHERE in Kuwait. In short, they don't mess around. Especially if you aren't from this country.

Hopefully the "Dramah" will all be over tomorrow and we can begin the process of returning to normal--whatever that is. Stay tuned for future developments...