Driving Me Crazy

Before I came to this country, I read that Kuwait has one of highest car accident  fatality rates. Now living here, I see how it's true.  I am often terrified when riding in a car or taxi.  The ride usually consists of me holding the overhead grip at least once because of some insane driver in a rush or not paying attention.  I've also noticed an alarming number of people who don't wear seat belts.  And children playing on the dashboard.

Keeping all of that in mind, today, the hubby and I  spent a couple of hours at the Kuwait Scientific Center in the Aquarium.  Just some good old fashioned family time.  The aquarium is much smaller than the massive ones like the Georgia and Tennessee Aquariums in the U.S. but I still found it to be filled with unique and interesting specimens like bats, penguins and killer sharks.  The video touch-screens describing each exhibit were a nice touch as well.

On the way home my cheerful mood was grossly violated when not 2 minutes away from the Scientific Center, we drove past flashing lights and an apparent car accident.  An SUV's front end was run up on the curb and 3 police cars were on the scene.  I was thinking, "Oh, not another accident.  I hope no one was..."  And then I saw him.  A man was lying on his left side in the fetal position.  I thought maybe he was in pain, waiting for an ambulance.  He wasn't moving.  Then I saw the top of his head.  There was a gigantic hole in it and his brain was spilling out from his skull.  I squeezed my eyes shut and wished that I had not looked.  Other than a funeral, I have never seen  a dead body.  After feeling very scared, shocked and very sorry for the man, I began to get very angry.

First of all, I should never have seen that, no one should.  I started thinking that I had just come from a place where there were hundreds of children, and that many of their families were probably right behind us in their cars.  What if I child saw that?  There were enough police cars on the scene for one of them to have covered that body.  Police officers are often the first responders and they should have survival kits with a blanket in their trunks.

How can this culture cover up a woman's body in an advertorial photo by blacking out too much leg or photo shopping a fake shirt on a woman because it exposed too much cleavage but no one rushes to cover a man's brains spilling out on the street? Censorship is so strong in this country.  OK I get it.  But what about real life?  It just seems backwards to me.  Speaking of backwards, on the WAY to the Scientific Center, we saw a local driving an SUV with a sun visor on the front driver's side.  It covered the entire window!  I know he couldn't see the side view mirror.  I guess he thought he wouldn't need it since most of the drivers here just lane jump with out looking anyway.  I just keep thinking about that poor, unfortunate man.  Was he trying to cross the street?  Did the car just jump the curb?  Or did someone like the dumb ass I saw earlier ( that couldn't see properly from the drivers side because he was driving with a sun visor at night) decide to not slow down because everyone here seems to think they have the right of way?  What happened to pedestrians having the right of way?  Is that even a law here?  It should be.  But then again... the traffic laws don't seem to be enforced here.