Michael Jackson & Stray Dogs

We drove by Michael Jackson's Bahrain Compound on Amwaj Island while we were house hunting with one of our agents. We are considering a house approximately a mile from this compound. We were told that it has been bought by a man from Dubai. The house we like is beautiful. It is brand new & won't be ready for a couple of weeks. The back door opens up onto our own private dock right along the water. The downside is that it's a little above our budget & it would be a long commute for Scott everyday. Also, we'd have to build a fence to keep Benny from jumping into the water or running off. It will be hard to pass this one up! We are also looking at another place here in the main city of Juffair. Scott could walk or ride his bike to work. It's close to all the shopping I would need to do & I would be close to Base to use the gym, etc... It has a nice courtyard with a small lawn which will work for Benny. It also has an indoor pool! We'll be deciding within the next few days. From what we understand things don't always go smoothly here when you decide on a place & go to sign the lease. The owner can decide to give the place away to someone else at the last minute if they are offered more money. This happened to one of our neighbors. So, I'm not getting my hopes up too high.


We've been keeping very busy! This week just flew by. Scott is still going through his check-in process which involves all day boring meetings. I've been busy running around with agents house hunting & of course playing ball with Benny. Fortunately his girlfriend Maggie joins us every once in a while to shake things up. She bugs the heck out of Benny & he gets all worked up when she steals his ball. We went out last night to a dinner party here in town. We met some really nice people. Most Navy guys are here alone, but there were a few wives. We used a taxi service and the whole thing was comical. The driver showed up 15-minutes early. The taxi office called 4-times to tell us the taxi was on its way, even though the guy was already here. Finally while we were driving in the taxi they called again & told us the wrong taxi came to get us. Did it matter? We were on our way to our destination. It was just hilarious. I love it when Scott speaks to the locals here. He speaks very slowly, almost like a robot. He is very patient. I have had to use my Arabic a few times. I am definitely not as patient as he is.

Every two weeks the wives meet at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. There were about 30 of us. It's a nice way to connect with other wives & network. Most wives here are older. Now that the school has opened, younger wives & kids should start coming, most likely in the summer. Apparently 90 new families are on their way here. This is an active Base. There is a weekly social group that meets for drinks & appetizers. I'm signing up for an Arabic class & rug buying & gold buying class. These are all offered for free and should be really helpful. One of the Naval ships is coming into port here today. This means that about 5,000 sailors will be converging on the Base & all over the city. We are staying in tonight. These guys apparently go a little "wild" when on shore because of all the restrictions they have while on the ship.

One of the saddest things to see are all the stray dogs around here. I'm always in a panic that I'll see one get hit by a car. It's sad because they look so hungry & tired. It's still so hot, so imagine how thirsty they are. I was out walking Benny yesterday and a pack of 4 dogs came running around the corner. I was in flip-flops and the roads are sandy & full of little rocks. Benny & I ran from that group of dogs. I'm shocked I didn't twist my anlkle or fall. Benny just thought we were going for a run. He was thrilled & pulling hard! Now I'm freaked out about walking Benny alone. There is one animal shelter here but it is over-crowded & they don't have enough people to round up all the dogs. It's really just so sad!


We spend a lot of time on American Alley. It's close by and we can walk there. Our car should be here in a couple of weeks...so they say! We celebrated our second wedding anniversary with a nice Italian dinner. These two years have just flown by! I've enjoyed talking to everyone who has called. Our skype number works great. Our moving notices that I ordered could not be delivered to our FPO address. So, here's our info:

Address: Scott & Monique Loeschke
PSC 901 BOX 50
FPO AE 09805-0001

Phone Number (home): 310-584-7374
Scott Cell: 011 973 3941-3674 Scott e-mail: s_loeschke@yahoo.com
Monique Cell: 011 973 3618-4979 Monique e-mail: mesplang@yahoo.com

Talk to you next week!