By Rasha Ezzeddine

Incoming! The season of singing and dancing begins, where all the creative houses are torn between wondering how and when they will break this mold of advertising, and at the same time fighting to make sure they capture the soul of the occasion best. Here comes the content change in radio, the friends voting for the best ad (and the worst), the national pride on display in all ways, the only time when fashion disasters are accepted (as long as they are in the colors of the flag). Here comes the time when every organization wants to target Kuwaitis inside and outside Kuwait, here comes the emotional marketing at its best and nostalgia enough to give anyone goosebumps. It’s that time of the year, when all brands turn into Cinderella’s stepsisters fighting for attention but there will always only be one ‘Belle of the Ball’ – who will it be in 2023? Let me know!

National and Liberation days in Kuwait are at another level. The happiness, the unity, the patriotism, the national costumes, the smell of barbecue, live stations and ‘machboos deyay’, the gatherings filled with black, red, white and green, and the national songs in the background coupled with singing and celebrating, the proud flag waving high in the sky and pinned to everyone’s outfit – how I will miss it this year. Some of us left Kuwait for one reason or another – but Kuwait will never leave us…it will never leave me. I will remember my days in Kuwait fondly and my heart will always swell with pride and love as I say a little prayer for this beautiful little country that gave me and so many, so much.

National days is the weekends where we would all go to chalets, or co-ordinate our lives around the traffic of the parades. National day is where culture, family values and the story telling between generations filled homes and heart, because everyone wants to share and teach what the core of Kuwait is. This is when we would go to work and be greeted with flags everywhere you can think of, reminding us of what this tiny country overcame and why it will never go back. This is when we would go to watch the fireworks and laser show at Kuwait Towers, this is when I would look around, laugh, smile and say ‘el hamdilla’ for Kuwait and its people, el hamdilla for being here, watching it grow and being an integral part of my story.

Kuwait, the Bride of the Gulf, the neutral Kuwait where 6 degrees of separation are down to 3, where you make friends that are for life, where Palestine is never forgotten, where everything is secure and easy, where we work to live, not live to work, it’s where you can sleep with the door open. Kuwait is where Talabat was born, where entrepreneurship is at another level, where Instagram boomed, where BBM turned into a social tool instead of business, where bank accounts make millionaires, and where women lead.

Kuwait helped us take care of our families, she helped us give back, she opened opportunities and doors. Kuwait turned me into a food snob (because the food is just so good), encouraged me to experiment with style and to explore. Kuwait taught me to be.

Yes, there are the bad days or things labelled as negative, but they forced me to be creative and innovative, Kuwait forced me to think outside the box and to learn how to create my own entertainment. Kuwait made me appreciate things that I took for granted and get on that plane and go to destinations I never thought of.

Aside from all that, I learnt about the complexities that come with Arabic music and being Arab. My journey was a spiritual and divine one that my soul needed. Whilst I sit in delightful Dubai, my head is missing seeing the beautiful coastline along the Arabian Gulf Road, I remember the sound of the Athan as I got off the plane and landed for the first time in Kuwait. I crave the cardamom, spices and bukhoor smells of Souq Mubarkiya, and oh to taste again THAT falafel from there. I miss the haggling in the souq, the kind merchants of dates, fruit and veg, I miss the conversations with my friends (coupled with the latest dessert find of course), I miss the creative and bold outfits and accessories, those chapati with ‘glass cheese’ and sambousa mornings (with Karak or Arabic coffee), I miss the smell of Bin Al Ameed’s roastery, the yummy nuts at Kuwait International Mills. The visits to Blokkat to find and make our own pieces, the creativity of coffee houses, the luxury taste of Noora Saffron teas.

But more than anything – I miss my friends, friends and friendships that ONLY Kuwait can give and nurture. I may not be Kuwaiti, I may not have been born and raised there, but my heart and soul will be celebrating with you Kuwait #myKuwait. Till we meet again.

Rasha Ezzeddine, CMO at gigCMO – a spiritual global (Belgian) citizen, Sierra Leonean roots, Lebanese blood, Indian in a past life, London at heart, Kuwait at soul, redefining in Dubai. You can find Rasha on Instagram @Rasha208.