New Car!

We have a new to us car at last! Avis was killing us with that rental- a gutless Nissan Sunny at $450 / month. Now we are driving an...SUV! (Sorry Ecology Club, I apologize. But I recycled it?) It is a 2005 Ford Escape. It is soooo nice. Gas is cheaper than milk here- it costs about $10 to fill up the tank. Roger said its the only time he's bought a car without a thought of gas mileage. It is nice to have a V6 in the stop and get up and go traffic here, to be higher up on round abouts and to have those safety features I have always taken for granted protecting my kids! And we found it at a good price. I feel like we are so blessed.
The first rule of buying a car here is to buy from another expat. This is because rumor has it Bahraini natives aren't very good at regular maintenance. As you can see from the Arabic on the back of the car, we broke this rule. But this car was a trade in and had had all of its regular maintenance done at the dealership. So that's okay. We asked at the dealership what the Arabic meant. Two salesmen had a 5 minute discussion and then said "It means 'service'." I decided that much debate needs a second opinion. My neighbor knows a little Arabic and said it means basically "when we drive we are in God's hands", but recommended we get a better translation from the Arabic teacher next door. That sentiment works for me- especially driving here- we might leave it up.
And get this...a tape deck! There is a cassette store here that sells new in package Boyz II Men and Linkin Park as well as Arabic and Indian music. Awesome. Totally getting a tape. 

Giving thanks...

Right now I'm giving thanks for great friends. Saturday we had the first of three Thanksgivings! We have two more to attend- one on Thursday and one on Friday. People here are so nice. Of course I'll miss our families and their great dinners- but you couldn't ask for a better experience away from home.

Kids in Bahrain

What is really nice about living here in Bahrain is that everyone loves kids. Edward has been picked up and held by more strangers than I can count. He has had his picture taken with over 15 total strangers- several at the wildlife park where my blonde haired blue eyed boy was as exotic as all the animals! He has already taken lots of candy from delighted strangers in the malls. One time I was in the store and he was pitching the biggest fit. I didn't get any glares or dirty looks- instead an older couple came over and started making faces at him and gave him a treat- which instantly turned things around. How nice is that! And whenever I've struggled to juggle stroller and toddler, someone is always holding the door, offering to help out. People are so very kind here. I found out baby boys are especially valued- sorry girls- but it isn't very pronounced or obvious. Large families are also smiled on here. Children are a blessing from God.
It seemed like the Dutch and Germans also really liked kids- we got a lot of kind smiles and assistance there as well with our kids- special lines at the Van Gough museum for less waiting and easier stroller access and help on the buses and no charge for the kids.
So nice. I was just thinking I wished the USA was more that way- but if anyone tried to take photos of my kids, pick them up or give them candy I would be calling the police! So what is it? A culture thing? More weirdos per capita there? Am I just not as mistrustful here? Hmmm...
International teachers tend to have no kids or one or two kids max, because schools don't want to pay for a lot of dependants to come over every year, housing, tuition, etc.- plus it would just be difficult with a big family. The Department of Defense teachers are a little less that way it seems. We are actually really lucky to have this job with me being not a teacher- I am a third dependant.

haircut

I forgot to post this a while ago- it was Edward's first big boy haircut. They had these neat cars he could sit in- so it was painless for all. I miss his long baby comb-over, but he finally had enough other hair- it had to go.

sites of Riffa

Up top is the abaya store in downtown Riffa, but who knows what is with all the Xs! And this Family Train 200 Fils and More Store is like a dollar store. What a great find! It is full of all of the cheapest (price and quality!) goods imaginable. Perfect for Christmas stockings. Wind up fishing game and modeling clay for Ev, plastic cars for Edward, kitchen accessories for me and plastic army men for Roger.

We did buy a fake tree- a small one- for $25- just taller than Ev- and are planning some ornament crafting sessions. We have two ceramic Delft birds I bought in Holland, but Edward is 2 and those might wait. We also have a bunch of small wooden shoes I think can go up, three Jasmis wooden animal keychains that will look cute, and a camel and Arabic couple ornaments I bought at the local craft fair. A string of lights, a little origami magic, and we'll be golden!

Bahrain Museum

We went to the Bahrain Museum the other day. Highlights were the artifacts from the Barbar temple we just visited like a bronze bull's head, the some seals, coins, jewelry and pottery and the burial mounds. All over the island there are these big heaps of rock that are ancient graves- totally unique to Bahrain. They went on for a few thousand years- evolving and changing with the different influences. I guess the adult male would start building their mound years before their death. This explanation isn't going to do it justice, but they would build an inner circle of large rocks where their body would be buried and a large outer ring of big rocks. Dirt and smaller rocks were then piled over it. If their children died before they did they would be buried inside the outer ring- sometimes stuffing the curled up body into a piece of pottery. They would curl up the body of the adult on its right side in a rock chamber in the center. The later burials have the body on its back- thanks to Greek(?) influence and the latest mounds even had the likeness of the person carved on a tablet. The top picture is an open mound- I have to take pictures of the ones all over the island. I guess they've really been looted over the centuries but they are right there- next to houses and fast food restaurants.

It was really neat, but a little strange. Like the information on some of the artifacts wasn't clear or complete. What exactly? When and where? If you want it in order- remember to go right to left! Also it seemed like for being one of the earliest civilizations, they were short on stuff. Was it all looted, sold, taken, destroyed? Probably yes. I get the feeling that some of the religious fundamentalists don't really value ancient historical artifacts because they are a lot of un-Islamic images. I guess there was a debate about whether to protect the mounds or pave over them for housing in 2005. Also- the country's conversion to Islam was very vague and there was almost no recent history- like the last 300 years- when the country changed hands so often. Just some turn of the century culture stuff. The natural history exhibit was under renovation- we'll have to go back. What I love is that it was just $6 for our whole family to go- kids are free! So we can visit often.

Tree of Life

This is Bahrain's Tree of Life, named because it is a huge pretty tree alone in the middle of the desert with no obvious water source. Of course it is spray painted, carved and crowded during the Eid holiday but I thought it was still neat. It is located in the middle of Mad Max land with junkyards and oil wells and military sites.