Turkey and Bahrain

   Before I start, here is the pic of the "view" from my bedroom.

 

 As you may or may not know, I spent my last visa run in Bahrain.  I want to go on record as saying I LOVE Bahrain, and not just because I didn't have to wear an abaya.  I booked a high end hotel, Diva Hotel, Manama, Bahrain.  It was a recommendation from one of the other teachers.  The two reasons I was looking forward to staying there were the free airport shuttle and the breakfast included.  Ok, that and the huge soaking tub!  I arrived at 11:00 pm and was picked up by the shuttle driver carrying a sign with my name.  So far, I was very impressed.  And then, I arrived at the hotel.  They had received my request for a queen bed, but they only had a room with 2 twins, which they would gladly push together to form a king.  When I got into the room, I realized that their "twin" was larger then the single I have in my room so I told them not to bother.

     What I didn't realize, until they had left, was the fact that they had unplugged the bedside lamp between the beds so if I wanted to read, I had to take the bed closer to the window.  Not my choice, but it would do.  The room was huge, the bathroom very nice, the tub HUGE, and I had a mini-fridge and a water kettle.  They had real ceramic mugs of a reasonable size.  I immediately went across the street and found a cafe that was closing and convinced them to sell me a cup of milk.  Coffee....check :-)

     With coffee secured, I could think only of taking a shower and going to bed.  I was terribly disappointed with the amenities. There was no hand soap next to the sink so I used the blue shower gel (?)  It did not smell good or bad, but I was not impressed.  I stepped into the rainfall shower and the upset melted away...until I was finished and it hit me that I had exactly one washcloth, one hand towel, and a bath mat.  I stepped out of the shower, dripping wet, and put the bath mat on the floor while I dried myself with the hand towel.  (very heavy sigh)  I made a note to ask for towels and another mental note that I could not work out in the morning if I didn't have any towels to shower afterwards.

     The bed wasn't very comfortable, the pillows were hard as rocks, but the sheets appeared clean so I cranked the AC and crawled under the covers.  I had a very hard time getting to sleep so my plans to wake up at 8:00 to go work out, yeah, that didn't work out.  Instead, I simply made coffee and went to breakfast.  I had been told I had a view of the sea, and nope, that didn't happen either.  I had made myself a reasonable cup of coffee in my room so the crap they served in the dining room was ok, but not great.  My made to order omelet was fabulous and the view made up for the bad coffee.

     Having given up on the idea of working out, I asked at the desk and was told that the best place to shop, that was not an overpriced tourist mall, was Manama Souk.  A souk is an outdoor mall type place.  In my area I visit Taiba Souk.  So, I grabbed a cab and headed out.  The place was HUGE, but most of the stalls were closed as it was Friday in a Muslim country.  There were, however, enough stalls open to make for a tremendous shopping experience.

BEST MOCHA EVER!

     I spent the afternoon shopping and did not return until 4:00 pm.  I had not remembered to get something to eat...I had shopping to do!, so I was wiped, hungry, and in no mood to work out.  So, I relaxed a bit and headed down to the bar.  There is a Japanese restaurant in the lobby of the hotel and it looked promising.  I perused the drink menu and was tempted to order.  Too bad I don't like Jaeger.

     I was given a free drink by the bar manager, apparently, because it is a Muslim country, most women in the place don't drink but the expats do, so they are always short of women in the bars.  I was broke before I left and no less broke when I returned from shopping, so I left a tip and headed across the street for a burger.  Amazing burger!  

When I finished I stepped into the grocery store in the "mall" and purchased candy canes and stolen...life just got better!

     I decided to try and find the pool for an early morning swim before I left.  The view from the roof was amazing, but the pool was empty!

    I forgot to buy bath salts or something to soak with, (remember the shitty quality bath stuffs?), but I had purchased lavender oil so it was all good.  OMFG it was WONDERFUL to soak in a real tub.  It was only 8:30, but I was ready for bed. 

     All in all, it was a nice trip, crappy hotel stay, and great shopping.  I will do this again next month and this time, I booked a different hotel.  The one thing I love the most was that Bahrain is far more green then Saudi.

     Now for the turkey part.  I was able to find a turkey, although it may have been a large chicken, the taste was not as turkey as I would think, and I thawed it in my fridge.

     I was able to find yeast and so I made a batch of granny rolls.  Unfortunately, baking is not the time to eyeball and I don't have a set of Western measuring cups or measuring spoons.  They turned out ok, but there was not enough sugar, and too much flour.  Oh well, they were edible.  I had invited only one person for dinner, and she no-showed.  I was fine with eating alone and by the time that dinner was ready, the latest X-files movie was playing so I settled in for dinner and a movie.  Yeah, great plan.  

     The woman next door had knocked earlier to ask me a question and I offered her a granny roll.  She saw what was cooking but I had not invited her to join me as she was hanging out with the one person in the dorms I really don't like, whose cat comes to see me all the time and is pissed because I won't let him in my bath or bedroom.  The other gal from upstairs, who has helped me out, but that I am not a real fan of either, had also knocked earlier and she turned down my offer of a granny roll.          Well, no sooner had I finished eating, she knocked again and said she would like a granny roll now...oh yeah, and did I make anything that was vegetarian that she could eat as well?  WTF!  Being the gracious host I am, I said that the stuffing, green bean casserole and mashed sweet potatoes were veggie only, but she had to bring her own eating utensils and plates.  She ran upstairs and brought her stuff back and allowed me to serve her.  My next door neighbor suddenly stopped back and plate in hand, helped herself as well, after thanking me for cooking a Thanksgiving supper.  I did NOT get to watch my movie and they basically sat talking to each other, eating, and ignoring me, while I set about putting away the leftovers.

     The universe was listening because when I rolled out of bed late this morning, my movie was playing at about the same point it was interrupted last night.  Having done some crafting last night, it is my plan to eat leftovers and craft some more today.  Life is good.

Still wet...

     In China, the bathroom floors were always wet because I was sharing squat toilets with other members of the general public who may not have had the same aiming skills.  In Saudi, my school has Western toilets, but no tissue inside the stalls.  Instead, they use the spray nozzle, and well, their aim is not the best either.  So, once again, in long skirts and abayas, I am wrapping everything into a bundle around my waist and try not to get anything wet.  NO, I do not use the spray nozzle, they have tissue in the bathroom.  At least the spray is not that of urine.  However, the smell....OMG the bathrooms reek of urinal cakes and incense.  The smell of incense first thing in the morning when I get to school is ........ no words.
     So,   a typical day at my new job consists of a split shift schedule.  Like China, we take a break for lunch, but in Saudi, it is a four hour break and we return to teach another 4 hours.  I work from 8:00 am to noon, and then 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  With my severe acid reflux, this makes dinner a rough go if I am teaching all four classes in the evening.  We teach each session for 4 weeks and then spend 2 days grading exams.  After that, we start a new 4 week session with all new classes.  So, this means my schedule changes every 4 weeks.
     My current schedule has me working 4 hours in the morning and then 2 hours after the break.  My contract says I am not to teach more then 6 hours per day, and anything beyond that is OT.  Unfortunately, my current schedule now has me tutoring IELTS classes for the last 2 hours so I am teaching all day every day.  I have a 20 minute break to shovel food down my throat before I return to teaching.  I just can't handle eating at 8:30 pm when I get home from work because I was told not to eat for 2 hours before bed.  By the time I get home in the evening I am just wiped.  I am just about able to get to bed by 10:00 pm each night.  THIS is why I hate working at a language center.  The hours just plain suck!
     My school is far more modern then the one in China, but the computers never seem to work, the overhead projectors connected to the smart boards are for shit, and the "smart boards" just plain suck. We struggle and fight every day to scrape up enough paper and printer ink to print anything we need, like exam papers, and for the last few days we were out of tissue for the bathroom.  I am told the male school wants for nothing, but they  have no students.  Almost all of the profits for this company apparently come from the female schools, but we apparently get the dredges of everything.  The male teachers apparently work as outside contractors for businesses in town, but I could not tell you if this is true.  I am pretty damned sure that the men live in much better accommodations.
     Enough about school for now.  Let's talk about where I live.  I still choose to refer to this place as the dorms.  My biggest complaints, other than the totally sucky quality of everything in it, trust me, I am waiting for my kitchen "cabinets" to fall down or collapse, is the fact there is NO circulation, no fresh air, and NO direct sunlight!  The window in my bathroom is tinted, which is ok, but the window in my bedroom is blocked by a brick wall.

I tried to upload a pic of the brick wall outside my window...no go!

     In China, there were many dogs roaming the streets.  You saw few if any cats.  In Saudi, I have seen NO dogs and stray/feral cats run the streets.  We have a small group of cats that live around our complex and we were finally told, in no uncertain terms, to stop feeding the cats.  I still feed them, after all, what do you do with all that delicious leftover turkey skin and fat?  Now, I just feed them across the street.

     Because I will likely stay in the Middle East for another year or two, I am tempted to adopt a cat from the shelter.  They are fixed, have all their shots, and come with a pet passport so I can take them when I move....still thinking about it.

no words...

     I was going to blog about what my daily life is really like in Saudi, and what it is like to be a woman in Saudi, but on Tuesday, the US tried to one-up England's Brexit by electing F**kface Von Clownstick.  I guess there is no more issue as to where I stand when it comes to the Oompha Loompha.  I went to bed Tuesday night hoping to wake up to a new day.  I planned to open my door, make a pot of coffee, and let anyone who wanted to watch the returns come in.  The fact that my alarm stopped working so I didn't wake up until 5 minutes before I had to be outside on the bus was telling sign of the day.
     As soon as I got on the bus I noticed the tone was somber.  When I asked who was winning, they said Trump.  I told them to stop joking, it was not even funny.  They all stated that they were not joking.  My heart fell.  The fact I had had no coffee, didn't help.  In the 10 minute drive to work, the gap between them just seemed to get larger.  I was witnessing a train wreck and I could not stop it.  By the 3rd period, the American woman who runs the English department came to each classroom with an expat and called us into the hall.  She said, "I hate to tell you this, but they have officially declared Donald Trump president."  I went back into my class completely numb.
     I sat down and the tears just came.  My students all came to comfort me and as soon as I was able to speak I tried to explain to them why I was upset.  I told them that Americans had elected the Oompha Loompha and I was feeling devastated.  They kept asking me why this made me sad.  I then told them that he is a misogynist, sexist, racist, bigoted, moron who hates Muslims.  They could not wrap their heads around this.  They asked me what religion he was and I explained that the only things he worshiped were himself and the almighty dollar.  They understood that he was godless.  I repeated that he hated women and he reallllly hated Muslims...they could NOT understand this and I still can't wrap my head around this.

     As soon as I can think again, I will post something...right now....no words