Two Suitcases

It's official! Scott and I are living out of two suitcases a piece. The movers came and packed up the rest of our stuff for our "quick shipment." Hopefully we timed it right so that our first big shipment and this quick shipment will arrive in California at the same time. It's been quite a job. We have a lot of stuff. Really, a lot of stuff! Then there's the confusion of what to do with opened toiletries and medicines. Do we pack them? Do we dump them? Do we leave them behind? Mostly, we dumped them.

We are planning to have a gigantic yard sale in August. Moving around like this really opens your eyes to how much unnecessary stuff you have. We are giving our maid and pool guy quite a bit of stuff. It's all new and nice. They each already asked us to give them whatever we weren't going to take back with us. We were able to sell a lot of our large items that we bought here and are 220v. Benny has been moping around all day as we have been organizing and packing. He hasn't taken this move well from day 1, poor guy! He'll cheer up when we take him to the boarding facility on the 15th. He'll stay there until we fly out of here on the 23rd. Scott and I will also move out of the villa on the 15th and into a new luxury hotel, The K. I am looking at this as a mini vacation for me. I work until the 19th and the rest of the days will be resting days. The last few months have been pretty stressful and I'm ready for it to end!

Last week was the last full week of school. Next week we have two days of school, but the majority of my kids have told me they are not coming :) So, last Thursday I ordered them all burgers and fries from McDonald's. I let them bring in their electronic toys, which were Blackberries, i-pads, i-phones, PSP's, and laptops. These are third graders!!!!!!! Why do they have these things? I didn't even get a walkman until the 4th grade. We just partied all day. The best part was when I played them a couple episodes of Leave it to Beaver. They LOVED it! They were laughing like crazy at little Beaver and his antics. I think he reminded them of themselves. I took Beaver in because I had nothing else. I never imagined they would love it as much as they did. They were chanting, "Beaver! Beaver! Beaver!" as they walked out of the school building at the end of the day.

Scott's been busy doing turn over with the guy coming out here to replace him. I've been busy cleaning up my classroom and putting stuff away. We've both been running on full speed for so long. We know it'll be full speed ahead once we get to Port Hueneme as well. A dozen days and we'll be back on American soil!

So, since I'm finally leaving this place I decided to make two lists. What I'll Miss and What I Won't Miss About Bahrain.

What I'll Miss
My maid
The food
The base and its small town feeling
My friends
Filling up my Jeep for $15
My students
Being able to travel so easily
The amazing malls
The jewelry stores
Always feeling safe
The kind people

What I Won't Miss
The heat
The crazy drivers
The heat
The ants
The humidity
The lack of fresh produce
Hot water coming out of the cold tap
The heat
The limited TV show selections
The crazy drivers
Not being able to wear what I want when I want
The humidity
Having to cover up my shoulders and knees at all times
The heat
The AC units breaking down all the time
The crazy drivers
Not being able to drink water or even chew gum in public during Ramadan
Trying to convert Bahraini Dinars to US dollars to figure out if I'm being ripped off or not
Having to repeat my food order 4-7 times until the person on the other end understands me
The humidity
Running out of gas for the stove/oven while cooking and having to call for a new tank
The heat
Locals jumping to the other side of the road when we walk Benny
Not eating a decent Mexican meal in 2-years!
Having dry hair and skin form the desalinated water
The crazy drivers
Going to Starbucks and asking for cream for my coffee and getting a wallop of whipped cream
The humidity
Giving directions based on local landmarks rather than by address
No one is ever on time
Using bottled water for everything including cooking
Having to use transformers to get our electronics to work
Blowing out the transformers
"Tomorrow" really means in two weeks
The HEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Countdown Has Begun..........

This has been a busy week for us. I think every week will be a busy one for us the next few months. The movers came and loaded our big shipment. They did a great job. They were much more careful and meticulous than any packers we've dealt with in the states. We packed up 95% of the stuff we brought with us and have accumulated over the past 20+ months. It was a lot. All this stuff added to our stuff in storage in Memphis will equal too much stuff when we get back to California. Of course, this all depends on the status of our stuff in Memphis. They have had two large floods since we left. We are assuming everything survived, but we'll have to wait and see. We are already planning to have a pretty large garage sale in August. Moving so much really reminds you to keep only what's absolutely needed. Unpacking will be done very carefully with a few keep piles and many garage sale piles, I'm sure.

The villa is so empty now. Each room echoes when we speak or walk up the stairs. Pictures are down and all personal touches are gone. It's a bit sad, but it's only for about 5 more weeks. We can handle it. It's amazing how cold and "un-homey" your house can feel when all your personal items are missing. Each morning since we've lived here, I've walked out of the kitchen with my cup of coffee or tea and placed the mug down in the same spot. Well, I went to do this yesterday and I couldn't do it. I'm getting myself into a whole new routine. I, like most people, don't like changing my routine. I'm handling the change much better than Benny. He's a walking, depressed, needy and emotional lab. Most of his toys have been packed up and the ones he has left, he's been ripping to shreds. Scott, as usual, is as cool about this as he is everything else. Maybe he's just used to doing this since he's been doing it for 20-years. Benny and I are still fairly new to all this. Hopefully our next move will be our last & I'll be an expert by then.

Work is going well. We are winding down. We have about a month to go. My class went on their second fieldtrip of the school year on Thursday. We went to see the movie, Rango, and then went to a burger place for lunch. There's a big play area for them to run around like wild animals. Fortunately no bones were broken, no one choked, and no one was separated form the group. We had a good time and it was a sad feeling for me because I knew this would be our last outing as a class. I've been finding many notes on my desk lately asking me not to leave Bahrain and asking if I could be their 4th grade teacher. Saying goodbye in a few weeks will be tough.

Whenever someone leaves their current duty station in the military to go on to a new duty station, a hail and farewell is held. This was all new to me a few years ago. What happens is, the person leaving is "farewelled" and the person replacing him/her is "hailed". Ideally you like to have both people there. Last night was Scott's farewell. There were three other colleagues who were also farewelled. Scott's replacement (relief) is still in Afghanistan, so he wasn't there last night. Scott's boss spoke very highly of him (of course) and Scott gave a nice speech as well. Scott works with really great people. We all realize that we have to make the best out of living over here, so real bonds form. We all have dealt with the same stupid stuff that we're not used to while living over here, so we understand eachother's frustrations. The hail and farewell was held at a colleague's "bachelor mansion." This guy is a single guy living in an unbelievable villa. Apparently, he's known as the bachelor who likes to entertain at his pad. He's a really nice guy and reminds us of The Rock. The food was catered by a great Turkish grill. As with most guys who throw parties, the main item available was liquor. Luckily for me, there was soda and water. Not a vegetable in sight. Lots of chips and salsas and of course the meat. No complaints, though, the food was delicious, as usual!

It is officially hot here now. We have reached the triple digits daily. Evenings and early mornings are in the 90's. We're happy though because there has been minimal humidity. The humidity is the real killer. I crack up when I see friends posting current temperatures on facebook. We'd love to have a high of 90-degrees. That seems almost perfect. Try 111 over several consecutive days! I try not to complain, because I really do think about the guys in Afghanistan wearing full uniform all the time while dealing with this heat or worse. At least I can go indoors to an air conditioned house and I can wear loose, cool clothing. So, I promise to do my best not to complain. No guarantees, but I will try.

Benny has been swimming most days. We have to be careful. Due to his double coat, his hair doesn't dry quickly and he got a skin infection last summer. It's hard to keep him from the pool. We aren't walking him as much or taking him to the dog park as often because of the heat, so we just let him jump in and do his thing for a while. Poor guy! Soon enough he'll be a California beach bum. We can't wait to take him to the beach and let him just run free.

Transitions

Today I watched a commoner become a princess. Talk about a huge transition! We leave Bahrain in seven weeks. Talk about an even greater transition! Sorry Kate, moving constantly is a little more difficult than becoming a princess, in my opinion! One thing I've learned being a military spouse is that moving every two years is not easy. It's not just the packing and unpacking. It's mostly the feeling of leaving "home" so often. Once we're settled, Boom! we're moving again. New home, new job, new friends, new doctor, new dentist, new grocer, new everything. I have so much respect for those that have done this for twenty or more years (including Scott). Fortunately for me, if all goes as planned, it will only be a six year experience for me.

The situation has calmed down here the last few weeks. There are still little uprisings but mainly in villages far from where we are. Life is pretty much back to normal here. We're out and about more, but still not like we used to be. We are focusing on all the things we need to get accomplished before our big pack out scheduled for May 11th. We've been to the Manama Souq a few times. Scott and his friend, Ralph, are having custom suits made by a tailor. Scott has had four suits and a sports jacket made. I am really proud of him. The guy hates shopping, but I think he has finally out shopped me! The tailor shop is run by two brothers (either Indian or Pakistani). They make all the suits. You choose the fabric, they measure you and within a week or less a perfect suit is made for $100. You really can't beat a deal like that.

My work is great. The kids continue to crack me up and drive me absolutely crazy on a daily basis. They are all so happy to be back in school and to be able to go out and do things again. I know for a fact that their parents are thrilled to have them out of the house and back in school. We have been learning about different cultures of the world in Social Studies the past two weeks. Most of my students treat the foreign nationals (Indians, Pakistanis mainly) who are the laborers here in Bahrain pretty badly. To be honest, they completely disrespect them! So, I started a campaign to explain to them the proper way to treat people from any country. I also used this as a chance to explain how to show respect to people from different cultures and how to also respect and properly treat people with disabilities. The theme here......embracing diversity! Being a speech pathologist and working with so many children and adults with disabilities, this is something I consider very important. Our class discussion was fabulous and the days following our discussion the majority of my students shared how they actually "talked" to their nanny, housekeeper and/or house watchman. They also reported every disabled person they saw and shared what they did to help them. That was a great feeling. Hopefully they will carry these acts on into their adulthood.

Scott's fine. He's got his usual busy stuff at work. If all goes as planned, we leave here on his birthday, June 23rd. What a great birthday present! He's taken charge of this upcoming move. He spends most of his free time making lists and/or organizing all our stuff. He's also doing all the paperwork and running around. Moving from an overseas location back to the states is pretty hectic. We also have to schedule having our stuff moved to California from storage in Memphis. Who knows what condition that stuff will be in. What a job ahead of us.

Benny is his usual nutty self. The heat is rising here again, so today he went for a nice dip in the pool. He loves spending as much time as possible in the front courtyard barking at these three young boys on bikes that harass the heck out of him daily. There's also a British man that walks his cat on a leash and has the cat stop right in front of our front gate. Why the leash and why stopping in front of our gate? I have no answer for any of that! Benny has been a little stressed watching us go through everything preparing for the packers. Just as he can tell when Scott and/or I will be traveling, he seems to know when we're getting ready to move. He dealt with two moves in Memphis and three moves here in Bahrain. We've been in this villa the longest and Benny pretty much owns this place. This is his house. Poor guy! Good thing he adapts well. As long as he has a tennis ball, actually, he's a happy guy. Needless to say, we have a few dozen!

Staying Home

With all of the unrest happening here lately, we have been staying home every weekend. We feel perfectly safe. We're just trying to avoid getting stuck in a major traffic jam caused by protesters. We've been lucky so far. Our weekends consist of church and grocery shopping on Fridays and meeting friends on Base for a doggy playdate on Saturdays. If we're courageous, we go out for lunch and then go right back home. I've only missed one day of work. I feel fortunate to have my job to keep me busy and to keep my mind off of things. Yes, it is boring. Yes, I'm tired of it. Yes, I'm sad for Bahrain. We have truly enjoyed our time here - from the people to the food - it has been great. I want it to go back to the way it was.

Right before the unrest here, we went to The Bahrain Fort. It was much bigger than the Arad Fort which we had gone to a few months before. It was a beautiful day with spectacular weather. We were happy about that! The Fort was very large and we were able to walk through and climb wherever we wanted. Scott enjoyed that part more than I did. I loved taking pictures, of course! I loved the architecture and the fine details. It's amazing that so much of the structure is still standing and that we could walk through a piece of ancient history. I can't believe how many forts I've visited since living here. Two in Bahrain and one in Crete. Typically I could care less about this kind of stuff! Since I'm a bit ADD, I'm pretty much done exploring after 5-minutes. I wonder if we'll stumble upon any more forts in our travels? If we do, I'll let you know about it!

This is the last blog post I will write before I turn 40. Normally, I'd be freaking out about turning 40 like a lot of people I know do. But, I am grateful to turn 40 and look forward, to 50, 60, 70, etc...... Every day is a gift! I am fully aware of this. I just wonder how much more insightful I will be in my 40's? Will people still think I'm in my 20's like they do now? Will I stop falling for no apparent reason once I'm 40? Is 40 really the new 30? Will I learn how to knit things other than scarves in my 40's? Will I start remembering things in my 40's? These questions plus a bunch of others I can't think of right now will hopefully be answered in the next 10-years. I'm looking forward to it!

My work is going fine. One day I love my students and the next I don't even want to look at them. They are so darn hyper-active all day long. They get kicked out of most support classes (such as PE) every week. It annoys me that they all come to school everyday. I ask them everyday, "Why didn't any of you stay home today?" They laugh and think I'm joking, but I couldn't be more serious. As much as I complain about them, I already miss them and school isn't over until the end of June. It will be sad saying goodbye especially since I leave Bahrain this summer sometime and know that I won't get to see them again next school year. Oh well! As is always the case, a few days after work is over I probably won't remember most of their names. That's how it is for me.

Scott's fine. He just returned from four days in Qatar. I wish I wrote down all the trips he has taken this past year-and-a-half and the length of each trip. I know it will add up to a couple of months, easily. I'm praying we can get through the next few months without him having to go anywhere. I don't like being here alone simply because it's so hard to take care of Benny and work. Benny is a very, very, very, needy Lab. He's been a great companion though while Scott's on his travels. Scott's big job at home was to file our taxes, which I am proud to say he did! I'm telling you, he's handy to have around.

As for Benny, he's still a lucky dog. He has his "bad boy" moments, but for the most part he's been good. He is in heaven every Saturday when he has his playdate with his buddies. He is a ball catching expert and likes to show off his athletic moves. He rarely runs around wildly like the other dogs do. All he cares about is that darn ball. He still gets a ton of attention from people while walking on Base. He enjoys every bit of it too. The weather is starting to heat up so we are spending as much time outside as possible before it's unbearable. We've already started turning on the air-conditioners in the house while we're home. Soon they will be running 24-hours a day again.

We still don't know exactly when we leave, but are pretty certain it will be this summer sometime. That only leaves us with a few months left in Bahrain. I still can't believe how much time has passed and how quick it was!

Breathe In............Breathe Out

We had a great time visiting with family and friends when we went home for Christmas vacation. I am officially shorter than yet another pre-teen nephew! Let's see who else I'm shorter than when we move back. It all ended so quickly, though. We are realizing how fast time flies now. We have one foot out of Bahrain and into California! Since returning three weeks ago, we've been slowly checking things off our remaining to-do list here in Bahrain. Two years seemed like such a long time almost two years ago. We figured we'd get to everything eventually. Well, our eventually is here and we need to keep checking things off this list. Now, Bahrain is not known as a place to visit because of its heritage or fabulous tourist attractions. There's nothing exceptional out here. Compared to the UAE it's a step behind. But, still, there are a few things you've got to do if you live here.

We went to the camel farm about two weeks ago. The camel farm is part of the royal family's farm and is open to the public for free. I figured I'd enjoy it, but I have to say that I really, really enjoyed it. Who knew camels were so fun to look at. They were funny, too. It was sad because some were tied up by the ankles. They were just standing there waiting to be fed. That bothered me. Aside from the ridiculous amount of flies and the occasional camel poop, it was great! I think it's my favorite sightseeing event out here so far.

Last week we went to the animal park. I don't have many positive things to say about that place. A tour van drives you around and the guide tells you what you're seeing. First in Arabic then in English. She would just name the animals without giving any sort of background or educational information. We didn't see a variety of animals, I'll tell you that much. We either saw ostriches, gazelles, goats or ducks. We did see a couple of giraffes, a few camels and some tortoises. That's it. It was clean and the animals looked well cared for, so that was nice. I got to hold a falcon, so that was pretty cool. I would not recommend this place to visitors. I think once you've been to real zoos this is pretty much a joke.

Thursday night we went to a cooking class that we signed up for on base. A group of nine of us went. A Lebanese chef and his two assistants prepared Fish Majboos with Dachos Sauce, Raita Dip, and Tunisian Salad. For Dessert we ate something called, Um Ali, which translates to Ali's Mom. Apparently, we were told, Ali's (some random Ali) mother made this dessert for her poor family. It then became famous and is served throughout the middle east. Simply put, it's bread pudding. Anyhow, all the food was delicious. The lesson took place at a local restaurant. We had our own area of the restaurant afterwards to eat what we had just watched being prepared. We will probably go to the next lesson as well. I highly recommend this activity. You can't go wrong when food is involved.

Yesterday, we joined some other Civil Engineer Corps Officers for brunch at the Movenpick Hotel. Friday brunch is a big thing out here and the hotels can be a bit competitive. The cost is about $50-$60 per person. This was our fourth one. We had heard that this was the best brunch in Bahrain and it was on our to-do list. So....check! We try to avoid these brunches, not just because of the price, but also because we eat so much and feel horrible for about a day afterwards. The variety of food is indescribable. It's simply amazing. Our favorite part is being able to hand pick our fresh seafood and ordering how we want it cooked. I think it's safe to say that this was our farewell brunch.

Our favorite weekend activity now is meeting up with some friends and their dogs Saturday morning on base for a doggy play date. One dog is another black Lab and the other two are Labradoodles. We're hoping to have a golden retriever join us starting next weekend. They run around like fools, catching balls and duck toys. The best part for us is that Benny is so wiped out afterwards that he doesn't bug us for most of the rest of the day. When Benny has any free time lately, he's been destroying his toys. The best part is when I yell at him, he wags his tail. He even loves getting attention when he's in trouble! The weather has been really nice lately, so we are taking advantage of every minute of it. Before we know it, we will be boiling again. Not looking forward to that.

Scott's doing well at work. He is busy with his usual stuff. Nothing exciting to report on Scotty.

As for my work........where do I begin?! I am ready to walk away from this wild environment. I am very serious when I say wild. These kids are out of control. It's not only my class, it's pretty much the whole school. I can't put into words the absolute exhaustion I feel each day. Last week I was almost non-functional and was ready to walk into the Principal's office and quit. It's not worth it to me. I spoke to the kids and things started off OK this week. They were fine with me, but were kicked out of PE and suspended from PE next week and eliminated from the basketball tournament coming up....something they love! Then they were so bad in Arabic Language that the teacher had them stand-up the entire period. Finally, six boys were kicked out of their Arabic Social Studies class and received one week of in school suspension. I had to watch them deny doing anything and cry and beg like fools while the school counselor yelled at them as loudly as possible. Boy was I happy I could understand Arabic while watching this comedy show. And it was a comedy show! I stood there with my arms crossed just watching in disbelief. Next week will be a deciding week for me. I won't put up with this cr*p, I just won't! I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really enjoy teaching the other 26 kids and I love the staff I work with. We shall see.

So Much to See

This time last year, I was feeling sorry for myself. I was going to miss my first Christmas ever with my entire family. Fortunately, there was a lot for us to do here and we spent Christmas with good friends. This year, we are preparing to travel back home to spend time with Scott's family in Colorado and my family in Los Angeles. Most of you know that I hate to fly. I get anxious and nervous. But, I just do it. What's my other option? Staying home.....I don't think so. So, off we go. We shipped most gifts ahead of time, so theoretically we should be traveling fairly light. However, going to these two different locations requires two separate wardrobes. I'll be in the snow for one week and sunshine the next week. I ordered a new pair of boots on November 2nd. It's exactly one month later and no boots yet! We leave in 10-days, so I may be slipping and sliding all over Colorado again this visit. I swear, sometimes I think Scott's family thinks I'm nuts! I can't help it. I grew-up wearing flip-flops 300 days a year. It would be unusual for me not to fall. It's just something we know will eventually happen.

Scott's been in Virginia all week at a conference. We decided to board Benny since I wouldn't be able to run him every morning and come home at lunch to let him out everyday like Scott does. Life has been very quiet around here.........and pretty boring. I miss them both. Thank God for Skype, so that Scott & I could make contact everyday. He was all smiles and looked really good in Virginia. I tease him that although he says he hates going so far away, deep down he loves it. The guy has gone back to the states 4 times in 14-months. It's like he gets a boost every time he goes back. I can't wait for my boost! I need it at this point.

I called to check on Benny the morning after we dropped him off. I called only because last time he was at the kennel he ended up in the hospital with emergency surgery. The report was mixed. He wasn't injured which was a relief, but he apparently caused some commotion with the other big dogs and they had to put him with the medium dogs. I didn't ask any questions. I don't want to know. I theorize that it must have involved his obsession...........tennis balls. We always put a few in his bag, but I know that he has a hard time sharing. I keep praying that the lady who runs the facility doesn't kick him out. I try to make my phone calls and interactions with her as quick as possible so that she doesn't have the opportunity to kick him out. He's the best dog & everybody who meets him loves him. He never growls or bites and is just a BIG teddy bear, BUT he is as hyper as they come and like I said before, he is obsessed with tennis balls. It can all be too much sometimes. But we love the guy.

Before Scott left, we went on a few fun excursions. The USS Abraham Lincoln was in port here for a week. Scott was able to get us a VIP tour of the ship. Along with Scott and I, our friend, Ralph, a fellow Seabee joined us and our friend, Jimmy, a Marine joined us as well. It was amazing. It was my first time on board an air craft carrier. We were greeted and treated so well form the first moment. One F18 pilot gave us a tour of the fighter jets and answered any and all questions we had. I was able to sit in the Captain's chair which is a special privilege not given to all people. It was a very comfortable chair and you could see everything from up there. Touring the USS Abraham Lincoln will stay with me forever. You can't help but be proud of our country when you see one of these in real life and meet its crew.

We also went to Dilmon Pottery. Pottery is one of the oldest traditions in Bahrain. Aside from pearls it is one of their economic traditions. It was a bit overwhelming. Everything looked beautiful. It was hard for me to narrow down my choices. I was able to see the man working in the studio which was a big room with clay pots all over the place. The craftsman was sitting on the ground spinning a piece of pottery. It was great to see. I can only imagine how hot he and the other workers must be in the summer time. One of the men I spoke with explained to me that they are all brothers and/or cousins. This pottery shop has been a family tradition for generations.

At school last week, I had parent-teacher conferences on Thanksgiving day. No holiday for me or the other teachers. All meetings went well. I had one parent come in and tell me that she didn't speak any English. I told her I spoke Arabic but not perfectly. Somehow we both survived. I definitely used my hands a lot and code switched all over the place. She spoke the Jordanian dialect of Arabic. It was tough for me, yet it wasn't. I don't know how else to explain it. I am so grateful that my parents and grandmother spoke to my sisters and I in Arabic growing-up. I can't imagine this experience without knowing the language. It has been amazing. Scott and I spent Thanksgiving evening on base. We signed up to volunteer again this year and then ate dinner. It was very nicely done again this year.

Saturday was our school carnival. This was my first one here. I started working last year in January, so I missed the carnival last year. What an experience! First of all, all teachers are required to work four hours........without pay. California teachers unions would never have allowed this to happen! Anyhow, I was given the 1-5pm shift. I wanted the 9am-1pm shift but no one would switch with me. The afternoon before the carnival a fellow 3rd grade teacher called to ask if I wanted to switch with her. She wanted the afternoon shift. I switched, of course. So we had to be there before 9am. We were there. We stood around until 10:45 doing nothing. As if anyone in the middle east would wake-up early enough to come to a carnival at 9am. No way! They go to sleep at like 4am. So, at about 10:45 we were told to go up to the auditorium to monitor the kids who were going to watch the juggling act and magic show. I'd say about 50 people showed up. The parents or nannies sat with their kids. We were not even needed. We sat in the back and laughed as the juggler kept dropping his balls and the magician did lame tricks. The kids liked it though, so I guess that's all that matters.

This carnival was like one I've never seen before. There were no rides aside from a motorized bike that pulled around two small train cars. There was also a jumper. I've been to birthday parties with more for kids to do. So, I soon realized what the carnival was all about. It was a chance for people to show off their designer clothes, shoes, and handbags. It was also a time to see who could wear more make-up. The funnest activity by far was the people watching. I went to the ladies room at one point. I could barely get in because of all the girls making themselves up. They wouldn't move away from the sinks so I could wash my hands. I had to push my way in there. In addition to all the fancy clothes it was nice to see many students come in their traditional clothes as well. Experiences, experiences, experiences!

There will be no post until January most likely. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah as well as the best 2011!

A trip to Remember

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 required 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 ignored 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 boarded 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 doing 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.

My Weight-Up Call

So, I put on the Anthropologie dress I wore when I married Scott in Memphis (before our big LA wedding) 3-years ago. We were going out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Reality hit me BIG time! It fit. It zipped. It looked OK. But it didn't feel right. It just didn't fall properly. So, I have started to take charge of my eating and exercising. I workout 5-6 times a week, but I don't push myself. I need to push myself to the next level. I miss my personal trainer so much. He transformed my body. He knew what I needed and he pushed me to get there. The eating isn't that much of a problem. I don't pig-out. But, I am trying a lot more stuff since we've been living here & when we travel, which is every few months, I eat whatever I feel like. So, this time next year, that dress will look as good as it did on me three years ago! You'll see. Side note to Scott.... stop bringing home chips & nuts! My metabolism is nowhere near as fast as yours.

We've been celebrating our anniversary all week, pretty much. Why not? We certainly waited long enough to get married, so we might as well make-up for lost time. Some days it's hard for me to believe I got married at all. What a different life I led only four years ago. If I was given a choice, I would choose my life now. Scott is the best guy I could have ever asked for. We are enjoying all our adventures together.....and we have had many the last few years. I wouldn't change things at all. We just want to get back to southern California. We still have not heard where we go next. We hope to know within the next few weeks to months.

Tuesday night we went see Edwin McCain perform live on base. He was awesome. We really enjoyed every song he performed and he was funny, too. It was an intimate gathering which was nice. It was not advertised very well at all on base, so not too many people showed-up. I'd say there was less than 100-people there. It's odd because some things are overly advertised and others aren't. I don't know who's in charge, but they need to get their act together! As is typical, there were dozens of empty seats all over the place, but a group of teenagers decided to sit right behind us for a while. Their cell phones were ringing all the time and they were talking and laughing so much. I gave them a few dirty looks, but they could care less. Eventually they left. I hate when people talk so loudly during performances or movies. It's so rude & selfish!

Last night we went to a Thai restaurant, Monsoon. It also serves all other types of Asian food. The ambiance was great as was the food. Sitting next to us was an Asian couple and their about 2-year-old daughter. The girl never shut-up. She was going on and on and on and on! I think what bugged me the most was that I understood nothing of what she was saying and it sounded like babbling. It was like an annoying background noise that you could never stop. Her parents never even acknowledged her. So much for our romantic anniversary dinner! Fortunately the food was great and my fresh mango juice was very refreshing!

Both Scott & I are busy with work. We're just going week by week. Counting down, down, down! My kids were actually pretty good this week. They received their penpal letters from LA and were beyond excited about it. I threatened to stop the letters if they didn't improve their behavior. It seems to have worked, at least for this week. My kids were amazed at how much their penpals looked like them. I think they're realizing how similar we all are. The names were tricky for them, as I'm sure my students' names were for the LA kids. I really think this will be a great experience for them. So many have already told me that their penpal is their "best friend." The parents are just as excited as the kids. A few kids told me their mothers jumped up and down when they heard the letters had arrived. I can just see the drama now! The women here are highly dramatic people. Everything here is overly exaggerated.

Benny's doing great. There are 3 boys that live two villas away from ours. For some reason, their bus drops them off in front of our villa everyday after school. Benny rarely barks, but he always barks at these boys. The privacy screen on our front gate is customized so that Benny could have the bottom two feet open so that he can see what is going on outside of our place. I often see these boys walk up to the gate & kick the gate to make Benny mad & Benny barks like a mad man. His tail is wagging like crazy, but he's a mad man. I usually miss being able to catch them in the act and yell at them. Well, this week was different. I came home a little later than usual from work. Just as I let Benny out and turned to go in the house, they struck. I grabbed my keys and ran after them. I caught up with them just in front of their villa. I yelled, "Hey! Please stop kicking my gate and upsetting my dog!" The two younger boys, probably aged 12 and 10 immediately denied doing anything. I recognized the 12-year-old's shoes as the ones who had just kicked the gate. I told them to stop lying. I knew they did it and that I've seen them do it before. This local guy across the street was watching me yell at them. The oldest (around 16-years-old) stepped forward and apologized. He said they wouldn't do it again. I thanked them and went back home. Let's see how long this lasts.

Cooler Days...............Sort of!

We're finally in the 80's & 90's instead of the triple digit heat everyday. It's such a weird feeling. I'm so used to being so uncomfortable when I'm outside. Now, I rarely complain. My negativity is gone for the most part. I don't know what to complain about now. I'm sure I'll find something. Oh wait! I remember something......the 32 pains in my side I deal with 5-days a week at work. They will definitely keep me complaining for a while. It's still hot, don't get me wrong. It's just not miserable all day long anymore.

Since it's "cooled off" Scott, Benny, & I find ourselves doing a lot more stuff outdoors. We took Benny on base for the Oktoberfest event. He ate half my bratwurst and enjoyed all the attention he received. It's been a while since we've hung out on base and since he's been the center of attention. Needless to say, he enjoyed every minute of it. Scott started running with Benny again. All Scott has to do is approach the little bench by the front door and Benny knows it's running time. He gets so excited, he runs around the living room grabbing and spitting toys out of his mouth.

Today we took Benny to the beach to run around. He was a maniac, as usual. People around here always stare at him. I'd like to think that they are thinking to themselves, "Oh look at that really good looking dog." But, I think they're actually saying, "I've never seen such a fat dog here in Bahrain." Compared to the stray dogs around here, he is a beast! Plus he always has this wild look of excitement on his face. Anyhow, it was nice to spend time outside. It was a really nice afternoon.

Scott and I ventured out to the souq. The souq is an indoor/outdoor shopping area. You can pretty much find anything there. As you're walking around, you're constantly harassed by different store workers. That stuff bugs me, but I know that's how things are done here. We dealt with it in Italy & Greece & I've dealt with it in Egypt plenty of times. Still, it bugs me. I just like to shop at my pace and leisure without anyone attached to my back. I made a very nice purchase for Scott. Our wedding anniversary is the 20th of October. I know he'll like it, because he had pointed it out to me. I can't wait to see what he gets me. I'm constantly pointing things out to him, so he should have no trouble at all. I can't believe we'll be celebrating our 3rd anniversary this week. Boy have we done a lot in 3-years!

After the souq we went to our favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It's a middle eastern grill. It's definitely a dive, which is probably why it's so good. We are never disappointed there. It's packed with locals and Americans. We've always been lucky to get a table, but then again we do everything earlier than most over here. We're asleep just as the rest of the population is starting their evening. My students tell me daily that they went to sleep at 1 or 2am. I just don't get it! It's funny because most days I'll get the same excuse from different students as to why they didn't do their homework. They'll tell me they needed help but their mom couldn't help them because she was asleep. That's nice. She stays up till all hours of the early morning and then sleeps all afternoon. Must be nice! Good thing all these women have one or more maids and nannies to help out!

Year One.....Done!

We've officially passed the one year mark here in Bahrain. It was a momentous occasion for us. We celebrated by eating at Coco's, the first restaurant we ate at on our second day here. What's funny is that our landlord owns the restaurant. We love this place! Lucky for us, we get to eat there for free now. Just one of the perks we get from our landlord. I guess it makes up for all the days we are without water and/or electricity.

We have not yet heard where we are going next. Scott says we can hear anytime starting now through January. So, I'm just planning to hear closer to January, otherwise I'd go crazy. I remember waiting to hear where we were going while living in Memphis. It was supposed to be Washington D.C. Then, a new detailer came in and changed everything on us. Scott was given the option of Iraq or Afghanistan for a year. Luckily, this position in Bahrain came up. Scott was originally coming here alone for a year, then they allowed me to come with Scott and changed it to a two year assignment. Was it the right decision? We think so. We've been together rather than apart and we've been able to get a lot of fun travels in. It was such a stressful time last time. I am doing my best to not think bad thoughts this time around. My fingers are crossed that we are going back to southern California. We shall see.

Scott is doing well. He worked until 8pm or later all week including Friday (which is a day off for us here). He gets Sunday (a work day here) off for Columbus Day. I have to work. I'm always so jealous when he gets the day off and I'm working. He deserves the time off though. This has been a demanding job.

Benny is his usual self. We're taking him to the local vet today. His skin has been dry and flaky for the last few weeks. We think it's from the chlorine in the pool. Hopefully she'll figure it out. He will be on cloud 9. He absolutely loves going to the vet. They can do anything to him and he wags his tail. I think he just loves that he's getting extra attention. I'm bracing myself for when she tells us he's too fat. She brought it up 4-months ago and I'm sure she'll bring it up again. Now that the weather is cooling down to the low 100's - high 90's, we'll start running and walking him more. We just couldn't do it before. As the months move on we'll be back to our routine of running and walking him several times a day.

I'm still busy trying to manage 32 wild kids alone at school. I am so exhausted at the end of each day. Some days I regret taking this job again this year. Last year was so fun. This year is mostly not so fun. We have many fun moments, but this group of kids are just wild. An exciting thing I started this year is a penpal program with my niece, Lily's, 3rd grade class in LA. My kids have already written letters to the LA students. They have received them and written back just this week. All my kids are super excited to have a friend in America. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the letters. My sister, Caroline, informed me that news of this penpal program has made the local paper. Exciting stuff!

My Big Fat Greek Vacation

One of the nice things about teaching in Bahrain, is that there are many week long Muslim holidays which translate into school closing for a week which translates into us traveling! Not a bad deal! We are slowly but surely hitting all our destinations. We recently returned from an 8-day trip to Greece. We spent 3-days in Athens and 5-days on the island of Crete. The most special part of the trip was seeing my family & introducing them all to Scott. We had a great adventure, as usual. The weather was perfect! We had highs in the low 80's and lows in the high 60's. It was like being back home in LA for a week. We hit all the main tourist spots in Athens. Although it was the middle of September, there were quite a few tourists, more than we expected to see. I would say 99% of them were German. We came across a few Americans. They are never hard to spot. They are usually loud, overweight, and wearing baseball caps. We ate like pigs the entire trip. Whatever we felt like trying, we tried. We loved every minute of that trip and feel very fortunate to be able to travel now. Our next joint trip will hopefully be to Cairo. Scotty needs to meet that side of the family as well. I hope to travel alone to Lebanon & Dubai to visit more relatives. Scott is restricted from traveling to those locations, unfortunately.

I'm starting my second month of teaching 3rd grade again this year. I have to say that I am not thrilled so far. I have 32 students and no help whatsoever. There are 19 boys and 13 girls. I think the best way to describe them is as a bunch of wild animals. I have never seen kids like this before. They are wild. I even threatened to quit. They shaped up when I made the threat. I may go through with it though. I also have a group of mothers who are driving me absolutely crazy! They hover around before and after school and just drive me nuts. I guess this is what I get since last year was a breeze. Who knew?!

We're dealing with the day to day realities of living in a borderline 3rd world country. Two weeks ago our air conditioner broke and we were miserable until it was repaired. Last week we had no water for about 10-days! That was horrible. The electricity stops when it feels like it and now our satellite dish is not working properly. Even with all these issues, we are enjoying our time here. There is one exception.....the heat. I don't want to complain too much because it has actually cooled off a bit, but we're still in the triple digits and will be for at least another month to month & a half. I've been knitting 2 scarves and hope to have them done by December/January when it cools down enough.

Locally, there are elections taking place later this month. For the first time ever they are encouraging women to run for office. We have seen candidate signs go up all over town. We can't read the signs since they are in Arabic, but you can imagine it's the usual stuff. There is also a big picture of the candidate. I wonder how the women will be recognized on these posters. How do you know who is who when all you can see are their eyes? It's easy with the men. There they are in all their glory. The women, it's another story. I often ask myself this question everyday at school. How do these kids recognize their mothers when they come to pick them up? For many of them all they see are the eyes. The black hijabs all look the same. Yet, these kids go running to the right mother each day. It amazes me!

Scott is doing well. He is working a lot and is very busy. He is riding his bike to and from work everyday now, since the weather has cooled off. We laugh because we think 110 is cool now. He's also keeping busy around this house as usual. There's always a project to keep him busy. Of course, he always has Benny boy right next to him trying to help, but usually getting in the way. Benny's up to his usual antics. He's as energetic & dramatic as ever. Nothing slows this guy down. When we picked him up from boarding after we returned from Greece, we figured he'd sleep all day since he had a week of non-stop playing & attention. No such luck! He was ready to play from the moment he stepped in the door.

This week we will celebrate our one-year anniversary of living in Bahrain. I'm amazed at how quickly the time has flown, while at the same time I feel like we've been here forever. We are grateful for every day we've had together & hope year 2 will be just as memorable. With that said, we are ready to get back home! The other day I realized that I haven't heard a lawn mower in a year. That horrible noise used to be part of my normal everyday. I used to hate the sound of lawnmowers. Now it's gone. It's these little things which remind us that we're not in Kansas anymore.

Melting Cactus

Well, this picture says it all! We walked out the front door last night and noticed our cactus was bent over as if weeping. Poor thing! Even she is finding this heat and humidity unbearable. She has surrendered to the weather. I thought a cactus would be the one plant I couldn't kill over here. Hopefully she'll perk back up soon. I too feel like just collapsing and letting myself melt nearly every time I go outside. The stickiness from the humidity is a horrible feeling to have daily. We just need to get through the next 2-months and things will cool off. I am counting down the days. Our nutty dog on the other hand, seems to enjoy laying in the sun for 10-minute chunks of time throughout the day.

I'm back to being busy again.....which is a good thing. I don't do well with free time, at least not with a lot of free time. I started work two weeks ago. Teachers went back to the usual dumb meetings and in-services that do nothing but waste time that could be used more productively. Because I started in January last school year, I missed these fun first few days of work. There was a huge turnover of teachers. Of the new teachers this year, four are American, one is Lebanese and two are South African. My students started school last week. I have another adorable group of 3rd graders. The way things are run over here is just....bizarre....yes, bizarre. Parents can request their child's teacher for the upcoming school year at the end of the current school year in June. I have a class of 32 students! Of the 32 students, 32 were parent requests. I know I should take this as a compliment, but the pressure is now on! I'm a speech therapist for Pete's sake! I will give the kids 110% but I would have rather had a room of kids whose parents don't care. Should be an interesting year! I've already told my class that Scott hid a camera in the room which feeds into the principal's office. They fell for it just as quickly as last year's class. They keep pointing to random parts of the classroom claiming to have found the hidden camera. This stuff cracks me up! One of my student's just moved here with his family from San Diego. It's nice having an American kid in my class. Of course he's allergic to peanuts! There goes my daily PB&J sandwich! He also needs speech therapy for his l's and r's. He and his parents seem unaware of this fact. I asked him if he went to speech last year & he had no idea what I was talking about. Pretty typical!

I already have a favorite student. His name is, Mohammed. He is just adorable, both looking and acting. His personality is right up my alley. He is a bit "all over the place" so I have his desk right next to mine. He is constantly telling me what I should do next....or where I should put things.....or how to do things. Finally, I told him to stop being so nosey! All the kids laughed hysterically & he looked like he was going to cry. I was pretty surprised. Then, I heard one of the kids tell another kid in Arabic, that I said Mohammed picks his nose. What?! Good thing I understand Arabic. I had to do a lot of explaining. I explained what the expression meant and that it had nothing to do with him picking his nose. Of course, I then went into my lecture on nose picking & how it is completely unallowed! I told them I will call them out if I see them digging. I will do it! Humiliation seems to end this bad habit!

The base sponsored a great Labor Day BBQ yesterday. They grilled delicious steaks and served corn, beans & watermelon. They did a nice job for the families. There were pony rides, a huge jumping thing, face painting, etc... It's amazing to see how many more families have arrived this summer. There was a huge turnover starting in June, of people leaving and new people coming in. We are just amazed that we have been in Bahrain for 11-months now! We just can't believe it. I don't know where the time has gone. I feel like I have so much to do before we leave. At one point it seemed like we had all the time in the world to see & do all we wanted and now I feel the squeeze. We have really enjoyed our time here, with the exception of the heat! We should find out where we go next within the next few months! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Southern California, but you never know!

Benny boy is turning into a fatso. Scott does not run him every morning anymore because of the heat. I no longer walk him for 45-minutes in the afternoons because of the heat. So, poor guy gets one walk a day & lounges around the rest of the day. I do take him swimming every day. He is such a good and speedy swimmer now. He went from total fear of the water to jumping in as if he's been swimming forever! He's sad a lot of the time because he can't go out running & walking, but we're stuck for now. We'll be back to taking him out regularly in a couple of months. He is still a spoiled and lucky dog.