So today is exactly ONE MONTH since we landed in the Kingdom of Bahrain and it's finally sinking in; I'm here for the next two years. In a sense, it feels like we've been here forever; but that's only when I stop and think about how much I miss my family and friends. I feel like I haven't seen them in soooo long and even though, and thank God we have Skype and I can talk to them daily, there is nothing like sitting face to face and sharing a cup of coffee while we chat or the feel of a hug as we part ways. On the other hand, there is still so much to see and learn and that's when I realize we've only been here a month!
So what have I seen? What have I learned? Is it what I thought it would be? Well....let me begin by saying that I've been pleasantly surprised - and in some ways a little disappointed. I thought that I would have culture shock; that I would be wearing the most modest clothes that I could find and brought with me. I thought I would have to endure many hungry days because I don't really like ethnic food. Since I've been here, the most different thing I've had is Chai Milk (chai tea with lots of cream and sugar). Instead of worrying about what I'm going to eat, I worry more about everything that I am eating! Everyone speaks English and as for the clothes....well let's just say the Arab women really love to dress up! I feel right at home!
When we first arrived, we stayed at the Dragon Hotel; a resort on Amwaj Island where many Saudis come to vacation. Consequently, they came with their entire families and were very carefree. Because public displays of affection are frowned upon, it was very endearing to see how loving the women AND the men were with their children. I do believe that the love of a parent; like the love of our Heavenly Father, is universal! We all love our children the same and one cannot help but hug and love on our kids. I also found them to be very much like Hispanics in many ways. 1) They travel in large family groups! They may not be piling out of ONE truck but they do travel in numbers. 2) They love to party!! And the party starts late and ends early the next morning. Watching the women sitting around in their black abayas and berkas, being so carefree and laughing up a storm brought a smile to my face; I realized how much like me and my YaYas they are, when we would sit around laughing for hours! 3) They love their bling! Many of the women only wore their head covering with the trendiest of clothes along with their designer sunglasses and purse. Even those who wore the entire Berka never seemed to be without their Gucci bag! And they wear makeup, being sure to accentuate their eyes because they have beautiful, big brown eyes! I have to tell you that I could easily blend in with them more than I can with some of the Brits and Americans I've met. I'm really surprised at how skimpy some of them dress, considering the area where we are.
Another interesting fact is that they LOVE their BIG, FANCY cars!!! If you love cars, this is your playground!!! Lamborghini's, Maserati's, Porches, Mercedes, and big SUVs! Gas guzzlers are certainly not a problem - gas is like .70 cents a gallon!! And hot rods - well they're the best for drag racing! If you like Nascar, you would love driving in Bahrain. If you're not bumping and grinding the cars around you, you're not driving correctly in Bahrain! I have never, ever, ever seen worse drivers! Mexico drivers have nothing on them!! You need a parking space? You make one. And if you can't squeeze your way onto a sidewalk, then you just park behind a car; they will either jump the curb to get out or simply back into your car and push it out of the way when they want to leave. You didn't pass parallel parking on your driving test? No worries - you park whatever direction you want to park in. It really is a free-for-all here and makes for a very anxious experience!
We've been very blessed to have access to the Navy Base here. That is where Dave works and we have almost all military privileges on base; except medical and housing. I really think this is why things have not been very hard on us so far; we go there to shop for groceries and they have all American brands; they have a great restaurant that serves great American meals, along with a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc... We can go to the NEX (Navy Exchange) for clothes, shoes, etc... And everyone is American so I really feel like I'm in the US. It's almost like being on a college campus, and yes, that means a lot of walking from one place to the next. But they have a Vet for Bella and they have a Chapel where we go to Mass. The Catholic Church in Bahrain is in a place that is not secure and it is off limits to us at different times on different days. That doesn't mean I'll never be able to go - it is my mission to get there! But thankfully, we can go to Mass on base. The Priest is awesome! He is from Chicago; in his 50s and very dynamic. He gives great homilies where he goes into a lot of explanation about how things were in the OT and also about Church history and tradition and teaching. The Chapel is small but I would guess there are around 100+ people on Friday mornings. Yes, Friday! Friday is the Holy Day here in Bahrain and "when in Rome...." so we celebrate Mass on Friday mornings with the Sunday readings. They do have another service on Sundays at noon but since that is a work day for everyone, there are less people there that day. It's more like daily mass attendance and you don't see families with children then because they are all in school. Daily mass is held at noon in the Chaplain's office and I have yet to go, since I don't have a car, but hopefully that will change soon. Then again, I don't really want to drive here! I'm not assertive enough yet! I have Lectored a few times but I have to admit that I love seeing the soldiers up there even more. It's usually MEN who serve and that is awesome to see! I also feel that serving in Mass must mean so much to them since they are not always on base or in a place where they can attend mass and do so. They don't have Lector or EM schedules because they can deploy or have their schedules changed at any time! So although I have offered to serve whenever they need me, I'm happy to sit in the pew and allow others to serve.
And while we are on the subject of religion - let me just say that I admire the devotion of most of the Arabs here. Because we live in Amwaj, which houses most Expatriates (British, Americans, and other westerners) there is no Mosque here. That means you don't hear the call for prayer over the loud speakers five times a day. However, because all businesses must be owned by Bahrainians, if you are in a store or restaurant, you will hear the call over their PA systems. It sounds like a chant; like a beautiful song. We were having dinner one night in a restaurant where all the wait staff was Asian and all of a sudden this loud person started singing. They don't usually have MUZAK or anything like that so I started looking around to see who it was; where were they? Then our friend told us it was the call for prayer. The workers don't have to do anything if they are not Muslim but nonetheless, they have to play it in case there are Muslims in the building. There is a store called LuLus Hypermarket - their version of Walmart - only bigger because they have a Food Court and upstairs, they have a Prayer Chapel in case you are there and want to go pray when the call comes in.
Some people get annoyed at the calls and one said to me; "The problem here is that everything is about religion. Everything is about God - God first and then family and everything else!" I just stared at him and said; "But that's the same for us as Christians; that's exactly the way it should be; God first; family second and then everything else." *Blank stare - birds chirping* I admire anyone who gets up in the middle of the night to pray; who stops several times in the day; no matter where they are or what they are doing; to take a moment to focus and give worship to God. So my goal is to also stop whenever I hear the call for prayer and say my own little prayer to God - if only we could all be so fortunate to have those little reminders each day???
So what have I seen? What have I learned? Is it what I thought it would be? Well....let me begin by saying that I've been pleasantly surprised - and in some ways a little disappointed. I thought that I would have culture shock; that I would be wearing the most modest clothes that I could find and brought with me. I thought I would have to endure many hungry days because I don't really like ethnic food. Since I've been here, the most different thing I've had is Chai Milk (chai tea with lots of cream and sugar). Instead of worrying about what I'm going to eat, I worry more about everything that I am eating! Everyone speaks English and as for the clothes....well let's just say the Arab women really love to dress up! I feel right at home!
When we first arrived, we stayed at the Dragon Hotel; a resort on Amwaj Island where many Saudis come to vacation. Consequently, they came with their entire families and were very carefree. Because public displays of affection are frowned upon, it was very endearing to see how loving the women AND the men were with their children. I do believe that the love of a parent; like the love of our Heavenly Father, is universal! We all love our children the same and one cannot help but hug and love on our kids. I also found them to be very much like Hispanics in many ways. 1) They travel in large family groups! They may not be piling out of ONE truck but they do travel in numbers. 2) They love to party!! And the party starts late and ends early the next morning. Watching the women sitting around in their black abayas and berkas, being so carefree and laughing up a storm brought a smile to my face; I realized how much like me and my YaYas they are, when we would sit around laughing for hours! 3) They love their bling! Many of the women only wore their head covering with the trendiest of clothes along with their designer sunglasses and purse. Even those who wore the entire Berka never seemed to be without their Gucci bag! And they wear makeup, being sure to accentuate their eyes because they have beautiful, big brown eyes! I have to tell you that I could easily blend in with them more than I can with some of the Brits and Americans I've met. I'm really surprised at how skimpy some of them dress, considering the area where we are.
Another interesting fact is that they LOVE their BIG, FANCY cars!!! If you love cars, this is your playground!!! Lamborghini's, Maserati's, Porches, Mercedes, and big SUVs! Gas guzzlers are certainly not a problem - gas is like .70 cents a gallon!! And hot rods - well they're the best for drag racing! If you like Nascar, you would love driving in Bahrain. If you're not bumping and grinding the cars around you, you're not driving correctly in Bahrain! I have never, ever, ever seen worse drivers! Mexico drivers have nothing on them!! You need a parking space? You make one. And if you can't squeeze your way onto a sidewalk, then you just park behind a car; they will either jump the curb to get out or simply back into your car and push it out of the way when they want to leave. You didn't pass parallel parking on your driving test? No worries - you park whatever direction you want to park in. It really is a free-for-all here and makes for a very anxious experience!
We've been very blessed to have access to the Navy Base here. That is where Dave works and we have almost all military privileges on base; except medical and housing. I really think this is why things have not been very hard on us so far; we go there to shop for groceries and they have all American brands; they have a great restaurant that serves great American meals, along with a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc... We can go to the NEX (Navy Exchange) for clothes, shoes, etc... And everyone is American so I really feel like I'm in the US. It's almost like being on a college campus, and yes, that means a lot of walking from one place to the next. But they have a Vet for Bella and they have a Chapel where we go to Mass. The Catholic Church in Bahrain is in a place that is not secure and it is off limits to us at different times on different days. That doesn't mean I'll never be able to go - it is my mission to get there! But thankfully, we can go to Mass on base. The Priest is awesome! He is from Chicago; in his 50s and very dynamic. He gives great homilies where he goes into a lot of explanation about how things were in the OT and also about Church history and tradition and teaching. The Chapel is small but I would guess there are around 100+ people on Friday mornings. Yes, Friday! Friday is the Holy Day here in Bahrain and "when in Rome...." so we celebrate Mass on Friday mornings with the Sunday readings. They do have another service on Sundays at noon but since that is a work day for everyone, there are less people there that day. It's more like daily mass attendance and you don't see families with children then because they are all in school. Daily mass is held at noon in the Chaplain's office and I have yet to go, since I don't have a car, but hopefully that will change soon. Then again, I don't really want to drive here! I'm not assertive enough yet! I have Lectored a few times but I have to admit that I love seeing the soldiers up there even more. It's usually MEN who serve and that is awesome to see! I also feel that serving in Mass must mean so much to them since they are not always on base or in a place where they can attend mass and do so. They don't have Lector or EM schedules because they can deploy or have their schedules changed at any time! So although I have offered to serve whenever they need me, I'm happy to sit in the pew and allow others to serve.
And while we are on the subject of religion - let me just say that I admire the devotion of most of the Arabs here. Because we live in Amwaj, which houses most Expatriates (British, Americans, and other westerners) there is no Mosque here. That means you don't hear the call for prayer over the loud speakers five times a day. However, because all businesses must be owned by Bahrainians, if you are in a store or restaurant, you will hear the call over their PA systems. It sounds like a chant; like a beautiful song. We were having dinner one night in a restaurant where all the wait staff was Asian and all of a sudden this loud person started singing. They don't usually have MUZAK or anything like that so I started looking around to see who it was; where were they? Then our friend told us it was the call for prayer. The workers don't have to do anything if they are not Muslim but nonetheless, they have to play it in case there are Muslims in the building. There is a store called LuLus Hypermarket - their version of Walmart - only bigger because they have a Food Court and upstairs, they have a Prayer Chapel in case you are there and want to go pray when the call comes in.
Some people get annoyed at the calls and one said to me; "The problem here is that everything is about religion. Everything is about God - God first and then family and everything else!" I just stared at him and said; "But that's the same for us as Christians; that's exactly the way it should be; God first; family second and then everything else." *Blank stare - birds chirping* I admire anyone who gets up in the middle of the night to pray; who stops several times in the day; no matter where they are or what they are doing; to take a moment to focus and give worship to God. So my goal is to also stop whenever I hear the call for prayer and say my own little prayer to God - if only we could all be so fortunate to have those little reminders each day???
Wow. That's a lot of info! I love how you said "yes" to religion without saying the word "Catholic." The priest sounds terrific and the Mass, along with the uncertainty of what tomorrow may bring, is very striking.
ReplyDeleteI hope Dave is well.
Much Love,
YSIC ~ Grace