TASK 1 and 2: Comparing and Contrasting Kuwait and the United Kingdom

INTRODUCTION

Kuwait and The United Kingdom are two countries with a rich history to boast. Kuwait was part
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of the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of civilization.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom was once a valuable stronghold of the Western Roman

Empire. CITATION Mor96 \l 13321

CLIMATE

The weather in the UK is mostly to due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and latitude. Since

the UK is located in the boundary of Eurasia, which is the worlds largest land mass, the mixing

of moist maritime air and dry continental air creates a large e temperature variation resulting to a

weather they call gloomy and or moody. The United Kingdom has four seasons namely
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Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter

Kuwait is UKs polar opposite. The latter is a dry, arid, desert typical in Middle Eastern

countries. Kuwaits closeness to the Persian Gulf gives it a parched climate all year round,
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whether it be summer or winter.

TRANSPORT AND GEOGRAPHY

Kuwait is a relatively small, compact country with a largely flat topography and small hills. It is

made of nine islands, namely with a total area of 17.818 square kilometres. CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 The

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (wikipedia, 2006)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (wikipedia, 2006)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (wikipedia, 2006)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Kuwait Government, 2013)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Kuwait Government, 2013)

TASK 1 and 2: Comparing and Contrasting Kuwait and the United Kingdom

UK meanwhile is larger at 243,610 square kilometres. The latter is a scattering of small islands

and of relatively larger islands namely Great Britain made of England, Wales, Scotland, and
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Northern Ireland.

To get around the United Kingdom, one would only need to rely on the efficient train system,

along with land, water and air networks. The National Rail Network transports goods and freight

across the UK while urban train systems exist in cities like London and Manchester. In addition

to land travel, one can opt to fly, as the UK has ten airports spread throughout the country and
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with direct flights to almost all global destinations.

Kuwait in contrast, with its rich oil reserves, its citizens prefer private transport as the main

mode mobility. Kuwaits efficient and high grade roads allow terrain travel to be highly

accessible to everyone. For visitors who prefer public transport however, the Kuwait Public

Transport Company provides almost 400 buses for the general public. CITATION Mor96 \l 13321

FESTIVITIES

The United Kingdom has a lot of festivities and celebrations up its sleeve. To a tourist, it may

seem absurd that different holidays and celebrations are observed in various British Isles. For

instance, Burns holiday is celebrated in Scotland every January 25th, to commemorate Robert

Burns and his poetry. It is on this day that they also eat haggis or sheeps innards.
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CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (infoplease, n.d.)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (United Kingdom, 2014)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Kuwait Government, 2013)

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TASK 1 and 2: Comparing and Contrasting Kuwait and the United Kingdom

In Northern Ireland meanwhile, St Patricks day is celebrated every March 17, with green and the

clover symbol or shamrock. CITATION Mor96 \l 13321

Other festivities were also adopted by the United Kingdom, namely Diwali, the Hindu festival of

lights every October , Eid-Al-Fitr , the beginning of Ramadan commemorated on August, the

Chinese New Year every January 31 and Hannukah, the Jewish festival of lights .

In comparison to the United Kingdom, Kuwaits homogenous population makes its celebrations

distinctly Kuwaiti, but nonetheless enjoyable. During the whole month of February, Kuwait

celebrates the Hala Festival. Hala signifies the arrival of spring. They also have the Layali
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festival, which is a month long of prayer from January to February of each year.

Additionally, similar to Muslim countries, Kuwait celebrates Eid al Fitr, and Eid Al Adha, the

commencement and end of Ramadan, respectively. October marks the Islamic New year, which

is termed as the Hejira. It is the journey of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.
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EDUCATION

In the UK, there are five educational levels namely early years, primary, secondary, further
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education and higher education . Undergraduate degrees are typically 3 years
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long.

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CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Kuwait Government, 2013)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Shaikh, 2001)

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TASK 1 and 2: Comparing and Contrasting Kuwait and the United Kingdom

At the beginning of the 20th century, before Kuwait discovered its oil reserves, it had no formal

educational system. When the oil industry flourished, so did Kuwait, along with other oil-rich

Middle eastern countries. The 1962 constitution of Kuwait emphasized the importance of

education, guaranteeing it to all citizens CITATION Mor96 \l 13321

The three levels in Kuwait are elementary, intermediate and secondary. In contrast to the U.K.,

all levels of education can be availed of by any citizen, free of charge, as well as higher
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education. Moreover, the Kuwaiti public school system practices segregation,
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wherein males are separated from females.

Similar to the United Kingdom, Kuwait promotes educational access to foreign students. It has

an extensive foreign scholarship program for exceptional students.

FOOD AND DRINK

They say that reflects the culture, climate, traditions and beliefs of its people.

When one thinks of English food, fish and chips come in mind. Historically however, it was the

16th century Jews from Portugal and Spain who brought the fried fish idea to the

UK. CITATION Mor96 \l 13321

Traditional British food, is based on beef, lamb, chicken and fish. It is usually paired with

potatoes. CITATION Mor96 \l 13321

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Kuwait Cultural Office, 2006)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Kuwait Cultural Office, 2006)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Kuwait Cultural Office, 2006)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Alexander, 2009)

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TASK 1 and 2: Comparing and Contrasting Kuwait and the United Kingdom

While British cuisine is largely influenced by the flood of migrants in the country, Kuwaiti

cuisine is derived from indigenous tribal food along with Indian, Persian and Mediterranean
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practices.

Kouzi is Kuwaits national dish, spit roasted lamb stuffed lamb CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 . As an Islamic

country, pork is forbidden in Kuwait. One can find pork as a staple meat dish in the United

Kingdom, but Kuwait strictly prohibits it.

Liquor signifies the beginning of friendship and an effective tool for bonding in the United

Kingdom. In Kuwait, all alcoholic drinks are banned. Drinking any liquor is against the Islamic

faith. A visitor needs to be aware of this as one may imprisoned for violating such rule.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Religion dictates much of a Kuwaitis life from friendships to marriage.Most Kuwaitis are called

Sunni Muslims, the traditional Islamic practitioners who follow the teachings of the Quran and

are sometimes referred to as Orthdox. CITATION Mor96 \l 13321

A foreign woman is not expected to strictly follow the traditional Kuwaiti dress however, she is

required to be modestly covered, thus shorts, mini skirts and skimpy outfits are usually frowned

upon.

The United Kingdom as compared to Kuwait, leans more towards the idea of the nucleus family.

The nucleus family is made of the immediate family, and the friends one meets and encounters in

his vicinity. The British youth enjoy a high level of independence from their parents when they

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CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Safari the Globe, 2013)

TASK 1 and 2: Comparing and Contrasting Kuwait and the United Kingdom

reach 18 years old. In contrast to Kuwait, parental authority is less pronounced in the United

Kingdom.

As compared to Kuwaitis, the British freely intermingle with any gender and is accepting of the

third sex. In the United Kingdom, they call homosexuals queer and champion their cause through

parades and festivities. In Kuwait meanwhile, homosexuality is considered illegal. It is a sex

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crime and is punishable as a felony.

In the United Kingdom, single parenthood is occurs quite normally, with 25% of all families
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having one single parent. Such is not allowed in Kuwait, as Islam prohibits

socialization of persons of the opposite sex who are unrelated, those who get pregnant without

the benefit of marriage are punished. CITATION Eva13 \l 13321

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Morgan, 1996)

CITATION Mor96 \l 13321 (Evangelical UK, 2013)

CITATION Eva13 \l 13321 (Morgan, 1996)

TASK 1 and 2: Comparing and Contrasting Kuwait and the United Kingdom

Works Cited
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Barrow, M., 2013. Project Britain. [Online]

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Morgan, R., 1996. Sisterhood is Global. London: The Feminist Press.

Riolo, A., 2007. Arabian Delights: Recipes and Princely Entertaining ideas from the Arabian
Peninsula. London: Capital Books.
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Safari the Globe, 2013. Safari the Globe. [Online]

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