so happy to meet you
yeah, me too
and where are we right now
we are in scientific centre
it's been a long time since I've been here
which country are we in?
we're in Kuwait
Yeah
who's been to Kuwait?
I am here with Heera
yeah
hello Heera
hi
Heera is Kuwati
yeah, I'm Kuwaiti
Kuwaiti... but you're kind of also Korean right
I speak Korean, but I'm not Korean and I have no relatives like with Korea
like me with Arabic
yeah,
so you're like... Korean Heera... and i'm Arabic Mike
exactly
cause I'm not Arabic but I speak Arabic and you're not Korean, but you speak Korean
I speak Korean, yeah
so Arabic Mike and Korean Heera... I've just given you a new name
yeah
change your channel name
Korean Heera
I'm gonna estimate that about 99 of every 100 people who watch this... have never been to Kuwait
so why don't we start by talking a bit about Kuwait Like I've lived in Kuwait... you've lived here your whole life, right?
yeah, yeah...
what's... what is Kuwait? What is it? Because so many people when I was moving here...
yeah
many years ago... I told my friends and family... I'm moving to Kuwait
and their response was kind of a... slightly confused one... kind of... oh Kuwait
ok, I've kind of heard of it, but I don't know much about it... so
so you're Kuwaiti.... what is Kuwait?
what's it like to be Kuwaiti?
yeah, Kuwait is like a really tiny country
it is small yeah
yeah, it's a small country and...
usually everyone knows it... if I had to tell them... where's Kuwait... I would say... close to Saudi Arabia
you know Dubai, you know, like they would know it by that...
yeah, like we're
I don't know... how can I explain it... it's nice country is the hottest country I think in the world
yeah, that's a good point
it is sometimes... if you look at the hottest temperature across the world on any one day in the summer
Kuwait's normally up there... 48... 49 sometimes 50
No.. it's 50 and 50+ sometimes
in summertime... so I don't advise anyone unless they want to try (to experience)
how is the
most heat (compared to) other countries...
if you want to... if you want to save some money and you can't afford a sauna just book a flight to Kuwait right?
because you go out... and it's like an oven
exactly
it's like an oven... that's no exaggeration
so, it's hot... it's it's quite small
it borders Saudi Arabia Iraq... and
and that's it, right?
yeah
yeah and then and it's right opposite of...
it's right on the Gulf... so you've got the Gulf...this is the Gulf over here behind us
Yeah, it's here
and I really liked living here, but I was a... I was an expat here
I worked as a teacher
so what's it like to be Kuwaiti?
do you spend the whole year in Kuwait or do you travel a lot? Do you visit other countries?
for a me... because I like traveling, and I like other cultures... so usually I like to travel from time to time
yeah, like I travel a lot like more than any...
where do you go, where's your favorite place to go?
it depends... I don't have like a specific place...
I like usually I go to UK a lot I go to... yeah
because you speak amazing English
thank you
Yea... and I go to... around Europe
I like that's the (country I most) go to Dubai which is so close if I have no time and short time and...
just like a weekend... weekend in Dubai
yeah, Dubai and yeah
I like Asian country and I like really I like I want to travel to a lot of asian countries most like as much as I can
like where in Asia?
Korea, Japan, like I've been in Korea I didn't be in Japan
Seoul?
Seoul, yeah. Yeah. Seul yeah
see I've never been to Seoul
it's amazing
maybe we'll come on to Seoul in a bit
Yeah
I've got so many questions about Kuwait
so tell me a bit about education here
did you go to an international school? Did you go to a government school?
Governmental school
okay... and what are the schools like here? Are they good?
Governmental school actually... they're good... like now the system is getting better and better
but for me like you need to work on yourself even like for studying, you know
like not just depending on what schools give you... that's how I learn even my English
because if I depend only on the books... because there's people who graduate it as my like with the same classes and everything
but still they don't speak like good English... so yeah, it depends on you
the difference between like...
you just worked really hard... I can tell that
anyone who's gone to the effort of getting a YouTube channel
and building up like hundreds or even like a thousand subscribers
that's a lot of work... lazy people don't do that, right?
No, actually, I like to work
I can be lazy but some things when I get focused on it
I'm just kind of really... I would just love to just get really into it
one day two days maximum because I feel that I need a break
yeah, but like it's more than that I get crazy... like for me
I found immediately a job after I like I graduated I want to work in anything
just like for experience or something,
I know some people they wait forever for something specific or they don't work
so it's like crazy for me. I don't like to stay at home the whole time
So I like I just work... search for work
I like that.. it's good
how is Kuwait different from your neighbours like, have you been to Saudi?
I've been in Saudi
do you like Saudi?
I have Saudi relatives actually...
sure... it's quite common, isn't it
it is yeah...
for Kuwaitis...
but Saudi is more strict to be hones
is it strict?
we're more open... they call us more open people in there
their more open, but that what they think like around like it's more strict about that
their culture their clothing that all that like it's more than Kuwait like yeah, in Saudi
you need to wear abaya the whole time
would we be allowed to be shooting this video in Saudi?
would this be...
to be honest like yeah
I feel it's ok... like now in Saudi, they're getting more open and open within the day
so I feel like yeah, you can do that... there's even like Saudi influencers now around the world
like yeah famous ones
yeah Dyler, right? is he Saudi?... I never know...
Dyler... he is a Saudi... not just males even females
sure
what about... so what about Kuwait compared to UAE like...
how is the UAE compared to Kuwait cause I'm not sure which is the stricter country.
Can you...
UAE like... we're like we're kind of similar
but like even you like let's say I'm talking only about like clothing like...
all that like... Kuwait it's gonna be the top of like open and free, like you can wear whatever you want
like I know Emirati girls... some of them they don't stick with it
but some of them like they really like they need to wear abaya... it's like part even if they are not a scarf wearer
do you get any Emiratis who don't wear hijab and abaya?
no, but if I go to Emirates... like I don't wear it, but it's like... but with for Emiratis themself, they wear it
so all Emirati women will wear it
yeah, usually most of them
Yeah, I see them around like most of them they wear it
yeah... yeah here in Kuwait you can find...
they can find people who wear like short dresses...they can find people who wear scarves... strict... not strike
you can find any anything in here
yeah
I like Kuwait... I think it's a really nice place...
it's a nice balance... lots of combinations of all different places
yeah, even though we have a lot of cultures
like it has like strict culture itself, like... like between Kuwaiti families between Kuwaiti people...
we have like culture between each other but we are open for other people... yeah.
why do you think...
...because I'm from the UK... where... I don't know how many siblings you've got
I'm from quite a big family
I've got four siblings but...
we are four, too
you're the same, okay so...
so in in the UK that like... my family is quite big
but families here are bigger, right? generally speaking in the Middle East... in the Gulf and Kuwait and Qatar... Saudi
Emirate... I feel like families are bigger... UK we have like one child, two children... sometimes none
So... what do you think about the families
and why do you think people in some countries like maybe West... the Western world have smaller families?
yeah, maybe like also it's because of financial thing and time thing... like here like for a Gulf country
especially we have like a lot of helpers at home
so like
usually they depend on them like with like
cleaning doing all that they have more time for themselves so they can have more like
kids... there is no problems for that
but... and also the country itself supports like every... every family who has kids for each kid they...
they like with financial they support them
so it doesn't make them feel like they're... they can't have fam... like a big family
yeah, that's really interesting. Yeah, so there's there's nothing kind of stood in your way... there's no, 'no, you can't... I can't afford it'
I haven't got the...
free schools... free schools
education's free
free medication
also for each kid like for each case
it has a certain amount of money that from the country that gives the kid until
they work they graduate and work even in like when we are in university...
they give us support as well like like financially
this sounds really good
so yeah, we don't have any problem with that
yeah sounds like a nice country to be part of
yeah, you wanna swap passports later?
yeah
I'll have your blue one, you have my orange one
I'm proud to be Kuwait
wow...
yeah, but I love to have also other passports... I don't mind... if it's legal. I know it's illegal for Kuwait
yeah
yeah, so...
Just about that but it's still like but nowadays raising the kids is really hard like it's not easy
so like with new generation
it's getting way less than the old generation
what do you mean.... it's harder to raise kids now than it was before
because now the life now is getting even more expensive like even
though the government support us with money and all that but it still it's hard like
for a kid you need a lot of attention you need to teach them you need to
do all that like now the education is so important like
people now graduating from University and still they can't find good jobs
they need a lot of attention and you can't do that
if you have really huge family like a huge amount of kids like how can you focus on that?
and now a woman works as well, like women and men like work at the same time
so even that... even though with that it's it's getting harder
so now it's getting less and less and less with like yeah having babies
that is really interesting
maybe there's a trend
like that every generation is different than the other one
like yeah now we're different a bit
yeah... I think that's I mean... yeah
that that all makes that all makes a lot of sense because I think one of the reasons people...
in my country have children later and have fewer children and smaller families and maybe no family, you know
no children that is...
is because of exactly those things....you know, you're working... you might you know might not graduate till you're 22... 23
and you come out in a lot of debt, so no money... you can't even afford to buy yourself a house
you can barely afford to rent sometimes... typically and...
then the thought of having children is like a big commitment... you want to be... you want to be kind of...
Mentally really... stable... and financially stable... and settled
and what's the word... you want to have a good foundation before you can start having children
so sometimes people don't reach that till they're in their 30s... typically by then
you've been so used to not having a family, children... you have your independence
you start thinking that maybe... maybe do I want children... do I not?
so it's... it's a really interesting trend because I mean even 50 years ago in England people
would have a lot more... bigger families
Yeah, like for here
people they're saying but because they're even for marriage now like it's not getting a high percentage now
people want to live their life for a first like they want to travel those things before...
in Kuwait?
sounds like America
yeah, it changes like a change like with the new...
it's my generation and younger which like their they wanna like...
you're gen z.. are you born in 96?
no, 91
you're born in 91?
yeah
okay... so you... we're actually only two years apart
so you're millennial like me?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so like
Yeah, so yeah
basically now with changing like the thinking everything like where I don't know like
the mentality is shifting
yeah, the mentality is shifting
and you're hard working... you've traveled a lot
yeah, I've been I mean I...
at what age are your friends and people your age if you don't mind saying thinking about getting married and having kids?
like for my friends, like now like when I was in university
usually they would say like we don't want to have any marriage when we're studying like we need to finish studying
some people they say like I want to work for a couple of years... travel
enjoy my salary and then we can think about marrying but sometimes like you don't know it happens, you know
like just you meet someone good and just see it... just getting you get married and
sometimes if you don't find, it doesn't mean you need to stress about it because that's the thing
what we have in our cultural thing... like you need to get married before it like
they say the train like, you know, passes by
the train's left the platform
yeah you need to do that. But now we don't care like as we do it like we need to be ready for that
fascinating
interest stuff
this is really yeah... really good
you're very good a... very good speaker
thank you
I think you're gonna get 100k
I hope so
Heera has a channel and a YouTube channel as well
called 'I am Heera'
just tell the people a little bit about what you... about what you do on your channel
at the beginning I started my like my channel for a Korean culture Korean like
topics like in different kind like like the country itself the culture. What's the difference between like Arab culture?
and Korean culture all that but now I'm starting also to talk about different cultures
not just about Korea because I'm interested
also in other cultures
me too
so yeah
yeah... good match for the channel, right?
yeah
Heera, thank you so much for chatting it's honestly such been such a pleasure
thank you for you like having me here and like to share about
different cultures and talk more about my country because I know it's a bit like not that famous
but I hope not now from this video, it's getting big hits and like everyone knows what Kuwait is
well, yeah, I have nothing... that's it
I have nothing to add to that perfect
more videos there and there... you can see Heera's channel up the top as well... subscribe over there
and until next time... byebye!