EATING ALL THE FOODS!

Once again, nothing has really been going on around here. School was pretty normal now that QQA is gone and the hubbub surrounding that has died down. This past weekend was a three day weekend due to a religious holiday. For the most part, I just got to hang out and enjoy doing nothing-which is something I hadn’t been able to do yet. There was one day when I got to sleep until 1pm and it was awesome…then again, I spent most nights staying up watching movies or talking with people until 2 or 3am. There was also a lot of indulging that happened. With food. Many times my friends would be ordering food so I ordered with them. But it was good and I needed a complete cutoff from school.

On Friday morning we went to brunch at a place called Saffrons. They have some really good Arabic and Bahraini breakfasts that are pretty cheap and feed three or four people. Between 9 of us, we ordered 4 breakfasts and I don’t think anyone completely finished off the food. I still have no idea what we ate even though it’s the second time I’ve had it but I think it’s really good. I also ordered orange juice with my meal and it was really good because it is freshly squeezed on the spot. We thought about walking around for a while because the restaurant was in the middle of the Manama Souq. However, it was midday and therefore very hot and humid so we just left. Most people came back to the apartments and took naps or started working. I had to nap because I was so full and stayed up late. Later on some people went to the Souq but I just stayed behind to get ahead at work.

On Sunday after school I went to a coffee shop with some friends and ended up working for quite a few hours. Like 5.5 hours. Oops. It’s not that I put off anything or didn’t do anything I needed to do over the weekend I just had so much thrown on me all of a sudden that I had to sit for so long. I wish we got paid for work outside of school. I’m pretty sure all teachers would love that. And we’d all be millionaires by the end of our lives.

Anyways last night it was Caroline’s birthday-she was one of the teachers here when I first got to Bahrain and showed us around the first week. We went to Senor Pacos again, the same place we went to the first week of school. It was really fun because I drove so I could slightly remember the trip but not nearly enough to know where to go without help because we went there right when we got here. I had lots of food and listened to lots of music and got to hang out with people that I don’t usually hang out with. My car ended up leaving at 9:30pm to go back home because we still had school today but I know a few people stayed for longer and some even went to sing karaoke afterwards. I got home and I was already falling asleep on my couch.

This coming weekend is another long weekend. We have a half day of school on Thursday and professional development to fill in until the end of the day and then we have Sunday and Monday off. For this quick break I decided to go to Dubai again with one of the same girls from the last trip, Taylor, along with two newbies-Mohamed and Brendan. I had a voucher to use with FlyDubai that expires in a year so I was able to pay for all of us but 18BD so I feel like that was a good deal. We are planning to go to Atlantis Waterpark again but this time, Taylor and I will spend about two hours in another area where we will meet and get to interact with a sea lion. Meanwhile the two boys will stay in the big area that we’ve already been to. So this time I will narrow down my choices as to which ones to do and make sure to go on my favorite rides but I think I can do it in about half a day. While the boys are going to the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalil, Taylor and I will go to SkiDubai in the Mall of the Emirates and will ski for a couple hours. Taylor has never skied before so she will need to take a lesson with a ski instructor for an hour and I will just pay to ski for two hours. This is assuming I can pass their basic skills test, but I’m certain I’ll be fine because I’m in the Middle East where hardly anyone has seen snow before. Plus I’ve skied a couple times in Iowa and spent a week skiing around Lake Tahoe this past Christmas with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. (Thanks again for bringing me along with you and teaching me how to actually ski Ted, Teresa, and Teddy-you guys had to be very patient and I appreciate it J) We are also all planning on going on a desert safari. It’ll be similar to what we did in Abu Dhabi with a few differences-ATVing is included in the price and the dune bashing is supposed to be longer. Maybe I’ll try the sandboarding again if I have the energy. And I’ll for sure ride a camel there.

I was talking with some fellow teachers and I’ve realized that I haven’t said many nice things about the school since I’ve been here. Despite the resources that I do not have, like any other teaching job, it is the kids that I enjoy. I love getting to work with them day in and day out and they are what makes me come to work every day. Granted, there are days when we struggle and when we don’t want to deal with each other but we come to class again two days later and it’s all a new beginning. I do love this job and the kids make me love it.