Cell phones

Everyone in the Arab World has a cell phone or two or three. Some people switch them out to coordinate with their outfits or their mood. You can't live without one. In some cases they have bypassed landlines and just use cell phones (here we call them "mobiles"). At any rate, I survived in Kuwait for a week without one, but it was on my priority list to go and purchase one yesterday.



My friend that I stayed with lives with only her mom, and they said I should wait until I was with a man to buy a phone because the women don't really know anything about them. So when my guy friend came to show me around and help me find a place to live, he also took me around to cell phone stores. These stores are actually more like booths where they keep models of the phone and try to get you to pay more than you should. If you like a phone, they call some number and have a person bring it. This could take 30 minutes to an hour.



When I found my phone - of course the cheapest one available- they insisted that I leave my money with them and come back in an hour to pick it up. They also needed a copy of my passport and entrance visa. Ok, I thought. This isn't America, this is Syria and I can trust them with my money. I pay the guy my money and leave to go look for a house. An hour later we return. No guy. Door locked. I almost get upset but I calm down by reminding myself that people do go to lunch and things do come up, so we'll try back later. Two more tries back later and the guy has come back and I get my phone! alhamdulilah!