Fun facts (or not so fun facts) about Bahrain

Since my last few blogs have centered around the subjects of moving and my new job, I thought I would expound a bit on interesting things about Bahrain that seem to affect me on a daily basis. So here we go...

1. There are people from everywhere in the world here. So far, I have met people from: India, Hungary, Australia, Canada, UK, Philippines, Ethiopia, South Africa, Mongolia, Pakistan, Egypt, Niger, and Lebanon.

2. Lovers of Flan rejoice, because there is an abundance of Flan here (caramel-y custard dessert for those going "wuh?") If you have an aversion to the delightful squishiness of this desert...stay home!

3. Traffic is horrible! There is absolutely no concept of "right of way" here, you know, little road yields to the big road...nope...everyone here drives as if they are completely exempt from stop signs and traffic lights.

4. Ok, so here is one that REALLY bothers me. All the bathrooms here feature either a bidet or a hose attached to the wall to be used for washing...you know what. This is fine I guess, the problem is that many public restrooms have only these hoses and NO toilet paper! I have yet to figure out the logic behind this because most of the time when I walk into a public bathroom stall, there is water all over the floor and the seat...how is this effective or sanitary when everyone is using the same hose and there is nothing to dry off with?!!!

5. Bahraini's are not huge fans of dogs because Islam declares them unclean. However some Bahraini people own big dogs that they keep outside as guard dogs. When I take Maple for walks outside, I either get looks of fear (even though she weighs ten pounds and has legs that are less than 3 inches long) or curiosity (not many dachshunds in the Middle East).

6. Some people here think it is a good idea to serve ketchup with pizza.

7. Word flubs:
Aaron and I are often referred to as "boss" by waiters and waitresses.
Shopping cart= trolley
To go box= take away box
A lot (as in "can I have a lot of ice in my coke?") = Too much (as in "can I have too much ice in my coke?").

8. At the grocery store, the most expensive, top of the line make-up is Maybelline. They even have a sales associate to help you with the Maybelline products.

9. Our hotel frequently likes to beautify the place with the smell of rose water...trust me...not a pretty smell. In fact, most of the smells that people here like are not to my liking (perfumes and such....blek).

10. The call to prayer does go off five times a day. In fact, there is a Mosque speaker directly across from my classroom window that startles me silly every time it goes off because it is so LOUD.

11. You can't drink the water from the sink here.

12. People have no problem punishing their kids in public here. I saw a dad smack his kid in the face at the mall the other day.

13. Going to the mall is a weird experience because they have shop after shop after shop that boasts the latest western fashions...same hoochy stuff they sell in America. The weird part is that everyone at the mall is dressed either in an abaya (women) or a white robe (men). But they are there at the mall to buy the trendy clothes. My question is...when do they wear them? I never see them wearing anything else but their black or white attire.

14. They are swine flu paranoyed here and have postponed school AGAIN until Oct. 4. So although I have been employed at my school for a month now, I have only taught for two weeks!

More interesting things to come later. It is 9:30am now and I actually need to get going because I have lots of stuff I need to do before moving into our house on Monday!!