This past weekend, Megan and I went to a teacher's conference in the lovely, island nation of Bahrain. Our first incling that it was going to be a joyous trip for us is when we say Seattle's Best in the airport. Let me tell you, it's a far cry from the Damascus airport where men sit and smoke under the no smoking signs, where everything is post-communist gray, and people have no idea that lining up does not involve shoving yourself infront of the person in front of you! One of my greatest moments was when we arrived in Bahrain, I went to get some money exchanged. One of the Syrian men who'd shoved in front of us at the ticket counter in Syria walked right past me in line and up to the counter. The man at the counter told him to go to the back of the line. He had to repeat himself several time because the man had no idea what he was talking about!! Victory.
The other highlights of Bahrian...Pizza Hut, Chili's, Toys R Us, shopping malls, and English. When we weren't in the conference, we definitely went overboard. We just don't have those things here in Syria, so it was like a day at Disneyland for us. Besides those attractions, I am not sure what Bahrain has to offer (unless you're looking for a second or third wife).
Our first hotel turned out to be a bit dodgey. The first night we had rock-hard beds, so we asked to be moved. They put us in a nice, big room with OK beds, so we thought we could overlook the somewhat suspisios Filiino women hanging out with the Arab men in the lobby. Well, about midnight I woke up to Ricky Martin turned techno blaring from below me. Turns out our nice room was directly above the night club. About that time we hear "Giggle, giggle, giggle, ah, Muhammed where you going?" in the hallway. I just about lost it. We packed our stuff and moved to another room where we got a few hours of sleep without Ricky or the hookers. The next day we decided to suck it up and pay more money for the Crown Plaza. For what we paid there, you know I took every shampoo and shower cap I could get my hands on!!
With our shopping bags full of Splenda and butter spray, we headed home. I wouldn't say we were exactally thrilled to see the Damascusian airport, but it was good to be hback where we know people will smoke in all undesignated areas, where lines consist of pushing a prodding, and where Chili's is just a way to describe the weather. Home.
I did, however, learn to say, "I was here first" in Arabic!!
