The highly anticipated field trip day for my 3rd grade class finally arrived Thursday the 11th of November. There are four 3rd grade classes at my school. Two classes went on the same field trip the day before. My class and another class went together Thursday. We loaded the buses at about 9:30am. We call them buses, but really they are large white vans with benches that carry about 40 kids. Thirty of my students went, along with myself and an assistant. There were about five less in the other class. Anyhow, our first stop was The Grand Mosque. We were lead on a tour by a highly skilled tour guide. Scott joined us since he had the day off of work for Veteran's Day. My class was so excited to have Mr. Scott with us. They love him!We were all required to take off our shoes. Me and the other women were require
d to cover up in a hijab. I have never been so uncomfortable wearing anything in my life! It was hot and itchy. I looked horrible in it. I was embarrassed to wear it. Its job is to make women unattractive. Mission accomplished. Nothing I've worn before was ever this unflattering. It was horrible! One of my students came up to me and said, "Ms., you look strange." I replied by saying, "Well, I feel strange." I truly don't know how women wear these everyday, all day!
d to cover up in a hijab. I have never been so uncomfortable wearing anything in my life! It was hot and itchy. I looked horrible in it. I was embarrassed to wear it. Its job is to make women unattractive. Mission accomplished. Nothing I've worn before was ever this unflattering. It was horrible! One of my students came up to me and said, "Ms., you look strange." I replied by saying, "Well, I feel strange." I truly don't know how women wear these everyday, all day!As a woman, I am often ig
nored when we go out over here. It's like I don't exist. The men acknowledge Scott and look right over me. So, during our tour of the mosque, the guide continuously went up to Scott to tell him what was going to happen next and to ask him questions about the classes. Scott would look over to me and I'd come running over to answer the questions. Scott was just along for the tour but because he was with our class and he was a man, he was in charge in the eyes of the guide. I guess the women here just have to get used to it, but it's hard for me. I never said anything, but I certainly wanted to.
nored when we go out over here. It's like I don't exist. The men acknowledge Scott and look right over me. So, during our tour of the mosque, the guide continuously went up to Scott to tell him what was going to happen next and to ask him questions about the classes. Scott would look over to me and I'd come running over to answer the questions. Scott was just along for the tour but because he was with our class and he was a man, he was in charge in the eyes of the guide. I guess the women here just have to get used to it, but it's hard for me. I never said anything, but I certainly wanted to.The tour lasted about an hour. After the tour, Scott left (lucky guy). The rest of us b
oarded the bus and headed to McDonald's. I had called in our order the day before, so they had the tables set and the food ready as we entered. The kids ran in like wild animals, of course. We got them seated and served them their Happy Meals. They were then free to buy anything else they wanted, get their face painted, and play in the play area. I cannot believe how much more junk they bought to eat. McDonald's must have sold 50 Oreo McFlurry's and dozens of orders of fries. Many of them also bought food to take home to their parents or siblings. It was crazy! There were only a few mishaps in the play area, otherwise a fun time was had by all. My throat was hurting by the end of the day but we had fun. We have another field trip scheduled for March. I'm hoping it will be another good one.
oarded the bus and headed to McDonald's. I had called in our order the day before, so they had the tables set and the food ready as we entered. The kids ran in like wild animals, of course. We got them seated and served them their Happy Meals. They were then free to buy anything else they wanted, get their face painted, and play in the play area. I cannot believe how much more junk they bought to eat. McDonald's must have sold 50 Oreo McFlurry's and dozens of orders of fries. Many of them also bought food to take home to their parents or siblings. It was crazy! There were only a few mishaps in the play area, otherwise a fun time was had by all. My throat was hurting by the end of the day but we had fun. We have another field trip scheduled for March. I'm hoping it will be another good one.Benny is doin
g well. He is definitely enjoying the cooler weather, as are we. We are now dealing with highs in the high 80's, sometimes low 90's. Evenings cool down to the mid 70's. So, we are very happy! It will get pretty cold in the next few months and then the heat again. At least it will be our last summer here.
g well. He is definitely enjoying the cooler weather, as are we. We are now dealing with highs in the high 80's, sometimes low 90's. Evenings cool down to the mid 70's. So, we are very happy! It will get pretty cold in the next few months and then the heat again. At least it will be our last summer here.Scott and I received some great news this week. We found out that we will be heading back to Port Hueneme, California. We don't have an exact date, but the time frame should be between July & November 2011. We are really excited to get back to the US and in particular back to California. Being an hour away from my family and friends seems unreal. Scott will be the Commanding Officer (CO) of the Seabee school. It's an important job and a pretty big accomplishment. I am very proud of my Scotty and look forward to calling him, Skipper. As we ate at our favorite Turkish grill for lunch today, we said we're happy to head home, but will definitely miss certain things in Bahrain, particularly this restaurant. We had also just spent the day shopping at the souq, which although overwhelming, is a fun experience.
I have next week off in celebration of Eid-al-Adha. This is an important Muslim holiday known as, "The Festival of Sacrifice." It commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervenes and provides a ram for sacrifice instead. Villages throughout the country apparently slaughter lambs in the street. I am pretty much freaking out that I will stumble upon one of these sacrifices. I just don't know what I will do or what will become of me if this happens. I am already a nervous wreck whenever we go out because of all the skinny stray dogs over here. I can't take all this anymore! I am hoping to make it to Dubai for a few days to see my cousin and his family.
