Adjustments

Hello, My name is Becky and I am an American living in Bahrain.


Today's expat blog challenge prompt is "I will never get used to..."




About the weekends- I will never get used to them. Our work week is Sunday to Thursday, with Friday as our holy day and Saturday as our Saturday. I can't stop calling Friday Sunday. We are very religious and attend church on Fridays. We are so lucky to have that privilege here. We also try to keep Friday holy as our Sabbath- so no shopping, going out to eat, etc. We bake, take naps, do crafts, watch family movies, go to the park and visit friends on Fridays. But that means all the errands are on Saturdays. There is always a ton of running around on Saturdays, then back to school on Sunday. The weekends feel less restful because of this for some reason. Also, it doesn't match up with the weekend back in the states which makes Skype calls sometimes tricky. And it makes it difficult to have sleep overs, but this is really okay with me. They aren't part of the culture here. As it is, our daughter has play dates just about every Thursday from after school till 7 or 8 p.m. Since we lack a nanny and a driver, we get to shuttle her all around the island. She has the nicest friends and I am so glad she gets the chance to play so often. New movies come out on Thursdays, so we actually saw the Lego Movie a full day plus of when it was available in the states. (Which my daughter thought was awesome). On weekends, lots of people come from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. And they are the worst drivers! You can tell a Saudi driver before you see their license plate. The rules of the road just do not apply to them. And in Bahrain, the driving is already pretty creative, but they take the cake.




What surprises me most about this prompt is about how much I have gotten used to- and will really miss when we leave for a new adventure! The car insurance here is excellent- it goes with the car not the driver. It is a system that makes so much sense. I will miss the smell of incense at the grocery stores. I will miss the over the counter medications that you have to have a prescription for in the US- like eardrops for swimmers ear. I will miss how nice and formal everyone looks in their traditional clothing- Americans are kind of slobs to be honest. I will miss how friendly everyone is here. I will miss the gorgeous weather, the palm trees, the free or cheap cultural events, and how wonderfully child / family friendly everything is. I will miss shawarma, mixed grills and hummus. I will miss men letting me go first, because I am a lady. Most of all I will miss the people of course. But that is for another post...