We've made it through our first week and a half in Bahrain!

We have had a busy week and a half. The past couple days we have been house hunting and have found a lot of options that works be great for our family. Now we basically just need to make a decision so we'll see what we end up doing. We found two flats that we really like, one near the military base that has housekeeping included and another that is near the beach (about a 20 or so min drive to the base depending on traffic) that is very spacious and in a cleaner part of the island. Now we just have to decide, and it's such a hard decision!! The beach is definitely calling my name, lol. Very, very loudly! ;)

The girls are transitioning well. They adjusted to the time difference in just about four days so that's been nice. We are all still a bit jet lagged but are catching up on sleep slowly but surely. 

We went to an orientation on base and that helped us get acquainted with the culture and customs and things. This area of the world is really funny, I expected everything to be different but it's surprising how westernized it is. You drive down the road and you see a Chili's restaurant​ or a KFC. Baskin Robbins is big around here. It's interesting to see so many familiar sites. There is a place next to the Navy Base called American Alley and it has pizza places, a Starbucks, Ihop, Burger King and other similar restaurants. They have McDonalds and in certain areas you can have it delivered to your house for free. 

The grocery stores are called hypermarkets and there are smaller stores with a more limited selection called cold stores, they're almost like a convenience store in the states minus the fuel pumps. Lots of the grocery stores deliver food to you for free which is super nice! A little cold store next to the hotel we are at delivered food to us tonight, and within about an hour of us calling and placing an order. It is super convenient!

People here are dressed in what we would call business casual in America. There are plenty of men dressed in the traditional long, white robes and red and white or just white head covering and women dressed in the black burqa (the head to toe black covering that covers everything but the wearer's eyes) and hijab (covering that only covers the hair and neck leaving the face exposed) but most of them are from Saudi Arabia. (Side note: There is a causeway that attaches Bahrain to Saudi and since Saudi has such strict laws people often come here to let loose a little. They aren't allowed to drink in Saudi and women can't drive so they come here to party on the weekends. Dubai is like the Vegas of the Middle East and Bahrain is like Reno, lol.)  Even with the burqas you will see their Nike tennis shoes underneath so it's really interesting to see such a mix of the Arab and western cultures. Women that wear a hijab are often dressed in business casual style clothing as well. The guidelines for the military personnel and their families are no spaghetti straps, shorts must be two inches longer than fingertips, no midriffs showing, no markings showing that you are American (like an American flag on your shirt or other military related insignias) even though most Bahrainis can tell you are American and usually assume that you are military because of the large presence of the US military here in Bahrain, no flip flops for men and also no ear piercings for men. Shorts for men are generally frowned upon. 

We went to a base orientation and the base here in Bahrain is really a pretty big deal for the region. It is the only full base in the region, as in the only one that is a permanent station for members of the military and it is home to the United States 5th Fleet and the Navy Central Command. We see lots of military personnel from other countries on the base, a few of which are: Japan, Italy, France and Britain but there are also many others. The base is like a little piece of home, there are American restaurants in the Freedom Souq (a souq in this part of the world is like a marketplace, the equivalent of a bazzar in other countries but the Freedom Souq is just a regular building with a food court and other shops where you can buy things from local artisans and also the same items that we can find back in the States) . Also in Freedom Souq there is a NEX (Navy Exchange), a gym, a Navy Federal Credit Union, a money exchange (since the currency here is the Bahrain Dinar or BD), and many other shops. There is also a Child Development Center, a library, medical and dental clinic, park and Navy Gateway Inn and Suites hotel on base in addition to all the things that are there for the military. Tyler hasn't really started his duties yet, they ease the service members into it a little bit by having a week long indoctrination or orientation about the base and Bahrain in general and then a little bit of leave to do your house hunting and getting everything squared away for moving into your "permanent" residence here in Bahrain. 

There is a little bit of civil unrest here in Bahrain. Mainly between the locals and the government over perceived injustices. There is a Google map with red zones that show where we should not go and the base also sends out alerts when there has been a protest that has required police response letting us know that we should avoid those areas. Sometimes the protests go as far as lighting tire fires and moltov cocktails but we are advised to just steer clear. These disputes are between the locals and their government and have nothing to do with the military presence or Americans but we could always become collateral damage if we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Don't worry though, we are always careful and will not venture out after dark (which is when most of the unrest happens since it is so stinkin' hot during the day) or into the areas where we have been advised not to go. Bahrain is overall a very safe place to be, but like any country- even the US for that matter- there are places and neighborhoods that are better to be avoided.

We've gone to church which is on Fridays here and that had been a cool experience. It's a decent sized branch, in relief society on Friday there were twenty sisters in attendance. Everyone is really friendly and it's been a good experience. It's such a melting pot, lots of people from the Philippines, the branch president is from South Africa and of course lots of Americans either with the Military or the Embassy. We like it so far and are excited to get involved and be given callings and get to know everyone better. 

One other thing, today is the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The Muslims fast all day and have a special feast to break their fast at sundown called the Iftar. It is unlawful to eat or drink in public during Ramadan so that's going to make life interesting and a little challenging for the next month. We'll see how things go ;) From what we hear from others who have been on the island for a while, it's almost like the day turns into night and the night into day. Businesses shut down during the day because they are only allowed to work a certain amount of hours during the day and lots of people sleep through the day since nothing is open and they aren't allowed to eat. Then sundown and they have their big feast and have big celebrations most of the night, one last meal before sunrise and then do it all again that day. We are supposed to do some extra things to show respect for the holy month, such as: no public displays of affection, no flip flops- shoes must have a strap over your heel, dress extra modestly, keep music volume low in your car, and of course the no eating or drinking (even water!) in public during daylight hours (only adults, with the kids we just try to be discreet and respectful) and your car counts as a public place. We were out house hunting today and it was a little difficult, Tyler and I didn't eat lunch because we were out all day and there were no restaurants open and even if there were we wouldn't have been able to eat in public. It was a miracle that we were able to stay mostly hydrated! For the kids we just brought a lot of snacks with us and parked in a  mostly deserted parking lot area at the back of a neighborhood and let them eat their food and drink their water while we were mostly hidden from anyones view. 

A few interesting things that we have discovered in our first little while on the island:

1. In housing, almost everything is negotiable. They will paint the rooms any color you want if you request it. Lots of the places are furnished and they let you choose the furniture in lots of cases. They will add furniture/amenities or take them away if you request. We even heard of one family who found a villa they really liked but really wanted a private pool so the landlord put one in for them! It took a month or so but things like that are common around here! We saw a villa we really liked that didn't have a dishwasher and the landlord said he could put one in if that was a dealbreaker! Also, price is negotiable, which is crazy to me! Also, one amenity that comes with a lot of residences is housekeeping which is awesome.

2. You don't tip for small services like deliveries, it's considered rude. 

3. There is very little carpet, almost all floors are tile. Probably because it gets so hot!

4. Speaking of hot, sometimes in the summer the temp gets up to 140* F! And the summer is humid, it's not a dry heat in the summer. And you think it's hot where you live! ;)

5. Driving here is a little crazy, blinkers and most stop signs are optional. People honk A LOT! Some times there are situations where people try to turn a one lane turn lane in to three lanes because everyone wants to get where they are going and fast. You can see how that would quickly cause a lot of problems. Other than that though, it's not too bad :) we hear that driving in Bahrain isn't nearly as crazy as some other countries. It's almost just like driving in the craziness which is California but on steriods, no offense you Cali peeps ;) (I quickly became a California driver while living there so I can't talk too much!)

6. In a lot of the houses, each bedroom has it's own attached bathroom. A lot of the three bedroom places we looked at had up to four bathrooms, one for each room and one guest bathroom. That's a lot of bathrooms to clean!

7. Dishwashers are not standard practice like they are in the States. About half the places we looked at the past few days did not have a dishwasher. 

8. Phone numbers here are eight digits, weird!

9. Most bathrooms, even some public ones, have a beday. And don't ask for a restroom or bathroom because people here won't know what you mean, you have to ask where the toilet is. 

10. And last but not least: People in Bahrain are very into technology and very tech savvy. Many realtors we have worked with sent us a pin to show us how to get to the apartment we wanted to look at. Also, cell phone shops are a dime a dozen. We went to one of the malls in Manama, Bahrain and I expected to see some clothing stores and places to eat like in the malls in the States but it was mainly just cell phone retail, repair, and accessory shops. There are other malls with clothes and things (one even has an H&M which I'm super excited about!) but this particular one only had cell phone shops and like one small place with food. 

Anyway, that was a lot of words but this is an interesting place to live and I thought I should share some of what we have been experiencing over here so far :) 

Here are some pictures of what the hypermarket LuLu looks like on the inside. It's cool to see the Arabic and English right next to each other, I have to admit I was expecting a lot less English but here most people speak at lease a little English. Note the advertising in one of the pics, very westernized and much like something you would see in the US. Also note the brands of the items, many are things that are very common in the US as well. I was surprised by this. The packaging has all the information in Arabic and English.  Also a picture of one of the mosques close to the hotel we are staying at.