May 28, 2012

It is now less than a month before I fly home to the United States. I am bursting with excitement to be able to shop in nice stores and eat in nice restaurants. Although we do have malls in Saudi, women are not allowed to try cloths on. You have to purchase them and try them on at home and then return them if they dont fit. Women are not allowed to work here. Anne Marie and I went to the mall yesterday. She bought a diary and I treated her to McDonalds. The religious police (Matawa sorry dont know how to spell it) we in the mall in full force to make sure all of the expat women were covering their hair. What a pain in the but. Mine kept slipping off my head so I was trying to carry packages and hold my scarf on my head. We just went to the bus early and ate our McDonalds. This summer is going to fly by. I wish that I could leave early June. I am wondering how I am going to adjust to the "fast life" once I get home. I will be driving here, driving there, visiting family and friends, going to doctors etc etc etc. After being in Saudi for six month in solitude, staying home day in day out alone with the dogs and cat and kids, I am not going to know how to act around other people lol. I have enjoyed my down time actually, but I am ready for a break. I am looking forward to Matts wedding and spending time with Lance in Houston. The kids are excited to get to see the grandparents and AJ, so I will try to spend as much time as possible surrounded by family and friends. I am not looking forward to a 17 hour flight in economy. I was spoiling flying business class over hear. I will be praying for a comfortable flight and for time to pass quickly. I cant sleep sitting up. We will make one last trip to Bahrain before we come home. Bahrain is a couple of hours drive from Jubail (not including time spent sitting in line at the border). But it is worth the drive. Bahrain does have some small demonstrations on a daily basis, but they are relatively small and off the main roads. They just throw tires in the roads and set them on fire and spray graffiti all over the buildings. The demonstrations are not against westerners, but against the Bahrain government which is Sunni controlled and the majority of the people in Bahrain are Shiite Muslims. We always stay at the Gulf Hotel. The kids love to swim at the pool, and they have a poolside swim up bar, so Bill and I can enjoy some adult time while the kids are having fun swimming. They have 5 great restaurants at the hotel, with the Italian and Thai being our favorites. For breakfast, we drive across the street and eat at Rics Kountry Kitchen. It's an American restaurant with ribs, bacon and home cooked southern food. Since pork is illegal in Saudi, we always go and get out bacon fix. We also make the City Center mall a ritual. It is three or four stories and very nice. I like Bahrain alot. The dogs have arrived and after two weeks, they are in love with the cat. I am so glad they are all getting along. Please say a prayer for Savannah, as she will be spayed soon and I am worried about the vet care she will receive. These animals have been a lot of company for me, I love them dearly. It cost us a small fortune to ship them over hear, but they are part of the family and will go where we go as we travel the world these next few years. Well, sorry I am rambling, I will go for now. I just haven't blogged in a long time and thought I would put some things down on paper.  Love, Cindy