a better view of the tree of life...

This is what the tree looks like from further out. :)

The Tree of Life

Well, here it is, the Tree of Life. I finally got to see it. This tree is in the middle of nowhere and the drive to get there is great! The Tree of Life is older than dirt and no one knows how it has survived in the middle of nowhere with no real water source to speak of. Needless to say, it’s a pretty cool tree. When we got there it was great to see the view of desert and of course the big tree. Me, being the tree hugger that I am, had to hug the Tree of Life—literally. Then Sarah hopped onto the branch I was sitting on and more photo opportunities were taken advantage of….

driving around...

Today was a day of driving around Bahrain and taking pictures as we went along. We stopped at the Tree of Life (see post labeled as such) and took loads of pictures. Sarah's got most of them still. I'll be posting more later, but this picture is a shot of the Riffa clock tower, by far one of the most interesting roundabouts in Bahrain--and there's a tree right in the middle of the shot. Hopefully, Sarah's pics turn out better than mine.

look look an update!

yes, it's an update, with Persian rugs. Took Sarah out to a couple of the shops in town and she got a good look at some very expensive floor warmers/decorations from Iran. You can't get these in the States. They really are works of art. The bottom one is made of silk and oh my did it feel worth the asking price - Each of these pieces was the sort of thing you wouldn't want to touch unless you had just washed and dried your feet (so sayth Sarah--I agree).

Introducing Ariel...

This is Ariel. My car. She is a brand new 2007 Ford Focus. She's got power everything and a fun little remote on the key that does the locks. I still think I've got a toy. A big expensive and totally worth it toy, but a toy none the less.

Sarah's been doing a great job as my co-pilot and enjoying the ride along the way. :) I'm having a great time with her here.

self reflections...

Sarah got to Bahrain last night around 9:40 and I was thrilled that she made it in one piece and very excited to be here. The whole drive back to my flat we were talking about the way things are here and I noticed a few things about how I was talking. I didn't feel like a local (I'm an ex-pat, I'll never be a local), but I also didn't have the 'deer in headlights' look on my face like I'm sure I did when I first got here in August. I feel like I've learned a lot about Bahrain by just living here. There are still things that throw me off but for the most part I've taken it all in stride. However, I have to admit that going back to the States is going to be difficult. I'm used to things here. I like having no snow in January. Sarah mentioned that is was really warm. I was actually a little chilly and in a sweatshirt. She was warm in her light jacket.

I think this week will be an interesting show of how much I've learned and adapted to Bahrain with my sister around.

Dinner in the dark...

So, I went to the local curry spot tonight with one of the Elem. teachers, ran into two other teachers and had a good meal, near the end of dinner, the resturant went completely dark. It was fun like when you were young and a storm would knock out the power but you were safe from any real dangers or problems for at least a few hours. It was something like that for us. The theory was that there was too much curry in the air and something tripped the fuse. I just thought it was fun. It seemed like Curry Country was the only place without power so light from other buildings came in and made the experience pretty fun.

Bahraini drivers

Break brought a whole new definition of bad drivers. Being in the co-pilot seat never really brought a view of how bad Bahraini drivers can be. Once I started driving myself everywhere, I started to realize that drivers here suck. The roads are NOT equipped for rain (drainage here is – roads and empty lots flood and within the week the water has evaporated). The drivers are NOT equipped for rain. Rain here is like snow in Muncie—no one knows how to drive in it for the first couple of days, and they aren’t so great at the whole driving thing after words while the roads are still wet, flooded, and muddy.

a break from blogging...

As many of my friends and family have noted, I am very irregular with my blog posts. I’ve even had some go so far as to e-mail or IM me telling me to update. Well, generally if I haven’t updated it means that I don’t really know what to write about because I haven’t done anything terribly blog-worthy. I’m not dead. I haven’t run into any terrorists (except for the occasional student).

Recently, I moved to a new flat. The holidays were spent with friends who stayed in Bahrain. Good things happened. Bad things happened.

I’ve never been really homesick until this past week. I’ve had instances of missing home but who hasn’t. I was at my flat, I was bored, and nothing I was doing was helping. I was hanging out with friends and all so I had company, but I just wasn’t feeling right. I’m doing better now, but for those who wondered if I dropped off the face of the earth. That’s what happened. I didn’t drop off the face of the earth, I just wanted a taste of home and had a hard time finding it.

more Flat pics-- thank you Byron

Byron took these. I have him to thank for this. First off my washer/dryer. Yep, it's a cute little combo that takes forever (almost 3 hours), trips the fuse, and has the load copasity of a walnut, well maybe only about half the size of a US washer.

Second, my water closet. just big enough for a toilet, shower head, and sink. yeah. it's my size-- for those who know me, yeah I'm a twig and yeah the bathroom is small.