I'm pretty excited. I get to go back home next week. I figured that I'll take a break from the blog, I'm sure I could talk about all the cool things I do in the US, and maybe I'll do a recap thing, but for the time being, I'll try to describe what I did this last weekend. Well, I'm writing it early, but I'm pretty sure my Friday will be fairly boring, mostly cleaning and laundry. But this weekend:
A quick trip to Bahrain. (Again). So yeah, I guess I like going to Bahrain, it's nice. There's a sense of normalcy that you see when you go there. People dress as they like, rather than what they're supposed to. It mostly refers to women of course, and habayas. Guys wear whatever. I was told at some point that I was supposed to wear only long pants. As I look around, everyone's wearing shorts. Maybe it's a "if you're Saudi, then you can wear shorts" I haven't looked as all the expats to see if they wear shorts. I'll keep you updated. The news made a big deal of what was supposed to happen in Bahrain, with the formula one races. I was expecting to see a super crazy amount of traffic and people no matter where we went. Lucky for me, I was wrong, and also, I came into Bahrain Wednesday night, not the Thursday. Saudi takes off days on Thursday and Fridays. Bahrain takes off Friday and saturday. That means that if you go to the mall, it's all Saudi's wlaking around. And of couse anyone who doesn't ahve work, or who are on vacation in Bahrain. But I digress. I met up with a friend for dinner. Pretty cool person. I'll have to be careful with what I write on the blog because she might be reading it, and'll get mad at me if I write anything bad. So I'll focus on the meal. I don't eat Filipino food often, so I asked her to show me a Filipino food place. It's called Swan Lake. Don't quite know why it's called that. It's not named after the movie. More of a tropical theme. TV's everywhere with Filipino movies on. Kind of distracting, well unless you don't know what they're saying on the TV. Then you either zone it out, or ignore it, while watching how many other people are watching TV. Looked like a soap opera of sorts. Lots of slow zoom out shots, and people staring off into the distance thinking about something. I wonder if they're thinking like their character on the show, or whether they're thinking about what they're about to do for the rest of the day. But, once the TV went to commercial, I got both my friend's attention, and the staff. Prior to this, I decided to make the great idea of asking her "What's the craziest dish on the menu?" I was thinking like a sauce of sorts, not an entire entree. Well, the entree is called Dinuguan. And it has it's own entry in wikipedia. Yum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinuguan
Well it tasted exactly like it described. I've had blood before, sounds weird. Don't judge. So the flavor was not new. The texture, was quite a bit different. A bit runny, but it's a stew I suppose. I kept on wondering what other parts were put into the stew, and wondered how well cleaned they were before they were put in. I think there was liver or intestine in there. And with intestine, man, you better clean it out well, or well, it taste like crap. Yup, worst joke ever.
So I had some of that, it was ok, I had enough to make my friend laugh the entire time, everytime I ate some. But of course, I had to man up, and say, ooh, yum, this is good, etc... I was happy with just a taste, but I was directed to eat more. More than 3 bites. Uhg, and I didn't get dessert for being a good kid, and eating more than half of my meal. At least I made someone laugh and smile, good enough for me. The pork adobo was pretty good too. I can make something very similar at home, but I don't use vinegar in it. The tang is interesting for the food. Well, i got what I asked for, a very interesting dish, that I may not want to eat in the future. 24 hours from eating the food, I spent most of the day using the bathroom. There's too many entries about what I do in the bathroom, but I had to use both types of toilets, and one of them was in a car junkshop. At least it had kleenex. The mall did not.
So after dinner, we headed out to the bars, I guess there really isn't too much to do in the city late at night, but to go to a club or a bar, coffee too I suppose. But we went to the bar, live band, good times, specifically one with Filipino singers. I'm always amazed by how well they can sing. I know for sure I can't sing that well. The coolest part to me is that when they sing, there is zero accent in the song, only when they talk, can you tell that there is an accent. I suppose it's all about emulating the sound, and you don't have to have an accent when you're trying to repeat someone's tone. Great covers of some songs, Bon Jovi transcends all cultures. Good beer, I had never tried San Miguel beer before. It's pretty nice, a bit sweeter than I thought it would be. I had to do my best to keep up with my friend, she was going to drink me under the table. I tried the best I could, but I can only do so well, my tolerance is only so good, since I can't drink very often, probably a good thing. It was a good time for sure. Well, until we had to find a way back home to drop her off. I'm not very good at giving directions if I don't know where I'm going. But apparently burgerland is famous enough that people know how to get there. So after a couple of U turns, (on the clock of course) we were able to drop her off. She's a trooper, she had to work 4 hours afterwards. I would not have been able to wake up. Well, my ride had crashed for the night, so I had to wait for him to pick me up, we agreed that I'd hang out in the Chili's parking lot near the mall until he could get there. Surprisingly, I felt safer in the Chili's parking lot in Bahrain, more than in the US. I guess it's the thought that you could mug me, but if you did, you'd get your hand cut off, or capital punishment'd, no question. Plus, I think everyone assumed I worked at the Chili's, so I wouldn't have any money anyway. So, we head back to the hotel, and it's a cheap one. 30 BD a night, a decent one is about twice the price, so I'm not expecting much.
It's a one bedroom, but the guy is nice enough to let me crash on the bed, and he on the couch. The room itself is big, which is becoming a normal thing over here. Lots of space, but nothing works very well. This time, it was the water system all together unfortunately. Shower trickled for about 5 minutes and then stopped. And the toilet didn't flush. I was lucky regarding the timing, I was post soap and shampoo. The toilet, well, I feel bad for the guy who has to clean the room. The TV worked fine, and there was a speaker system in the room. Weird.
So my ride was cool, and he showed me where he lived, and some of the cool places to go in his hood. He's a pretty big car enthusiast, and you could tell that there were a lot of people that were also big into that. The sound of loud mufflers were everywhere in the air. He's got a 260z, with a giant turbo, and a few other modifications. It's pretty mean. He and his friends have a business where they retrofit cars and tune cars for others. It's more built on power than looks, so there some respect there.
We finally made the trip back hope, well at least to Jubail, for me to find more touristy stuff. Everyone assumed I was filipino, so hopefully that meant I got a better price for everything. It didn't seem that way though, but with a friend we were able to negotiate down a few prices. I was content with my purchases. On the drive back, we were listening to my friend's mix cd's, and they are definitely old school. Surprisingly, and I'm not quite sure why, but people listen to a great deal of pop and R&B here. So, I'll put a date on myself, and don't blame me, I have a sister that made me sing along with it. The line up for singing included:
"My heart will go on - Celine Dion"
"Changes - Tupac"
"Quit Playing Games with my Heart - Backstreet Boys"
"Bailamos - Enrique Iglesias"
Some song by Mariah Carey, some Bone Thugs and Harmony, and even some Beatles song.
Very old school. I found it odd that although the view on women over here is quite one-sided. Unfortunately, that is very universal, all the native folks here believe that women have their place, kitchen, sex, and kids. But then again, when you talk to them, it's all about finding true love, and connecting with someone on a personal level, and all that. Quite a oxymoron in a lot of different ways. Maybe it's the clash of old school culture versus new. It's very interesting to see how a lot of these guys stand out versus your normal person. No social qualms about talking to women, very straight forward and to the point, and this ignorance that would make me cringe, but maybe refreshing to others. There's a large number of articles out there about how men in the US are getting soft, and too emotional, and all that. Compared to the people I see over here, I can definitely say yes. Not to say that you should be a jerk, or an ass to people, but stop worrying about what other people think about you. Just be honest, and up front, and if people don't like that, then, well, their loss. That's my new philosophy for the next couple months, I'll let you know how that goes. Dress nice, be yourself, and don't be afraid of what other people think of you. Alright, I go back this week to the US, so for all my friends that read this blog, I'm coming back, hope I get to see you all, and it'll be fun.
A quick trip to Bahrain. (Again). So yeah, I guess I like going to Bahrain, it's nice. There's a sense of normalcy that you see when you go there. People dress as they like, rather than what they're supposed to. It mostly refers to women of course, and habayas. Guys wear whatever. I was told at some point that I was supposed to wear only long pants. As I look around, everyone's wearing shorts. Maybe it's a "if you're Saudi, then you can wear shorts" I haven't looked as all the expats to see if they wear shorts. I'll keep you updated. The news made a big deal of what was supposed to happen in Bahrain, with the formula one races. I was expecting to see a super crazy amount of traffic and people no matter where we went. Lucky for me, I was wrong, and also, I came into Bahrain Wednesday night, not the Thursday. Saudi takes off days on Thursday and Fridays. Bahrain takes off Friday and saturday. That means that if you go to the mall, it's all Saudi's wlaking around. And of couse anyone who doesn't ahve work, or who are on vacation in Bahrain. But I digress. I met up with a friend for dinner. Pretty cool person. I'll have to be careful with what I write on the blog because she might be reading it, and'll get mad at me if I write anything bad. So I'll focus on the meal. I don't eat Filipino food often, so I asked her to show me a Filipino food place. It's called Swan Lake. Don't quite know why it's called that. It's not named after the movie. More of a tropical theme. TV's everywhere with Filipino movies on. Kind of distracting, well unless you don't know what they're saying on the TV. Then you either zone it out, or ignore it, while watching how many other people are watching TV. Looked like a soap opera of sorts. Lots of slow zoom out shots, and people staring off into the distance thinking about something. I wonder if they're thinking like their character on the show, or whether they're thinking about what they're about to do for the rest of the day. But, once the TV went to commercial, I got both my friend's attention, and the staff. Prior to this, I decided to make the great idea of asking her "What's the craziest dish on the menu?" I was thinking like a sauce of sorts, not an entire entree. Well, the entree is called Dinuguan. And it has it's own entry in wikipedia. Yum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinuguan
Well it tasted exactly like it described. I've had blood before, sounds weird. Don't judge. So the flavor was not new. The texture, was quite a bit different. A bit runny, but it's a stew I suppose. I kept on wondering what other parts were put into the stew, and wondered how well cleaned they were before they were put in. I think there was liver or intestine in there. And with intestine, man, you better clean it out well, or well, it taste like crap. Yup, worst joke ever.
So I had some of that, it was ok, I had enough to make my friend laugh the entire time, everytime I ate some. But of course, I had to man up, and say, ooh, yum, this is good, etc... I was happy with just a taste, but I was directed to eat more. More than 3 bites. Uhg, and I didn't get dessert for being a good kid, and eating more than half of my meal. At least I made someone laugh and smile, good enough for me. The pork adobo was pretty good too. I can make something very similar at home, but I don't use vinegar in it. The tang is interesting for the food. Well, i got what I asked for, a very interesting dish, that I may not want to eat in the future. 24 hours from eating the food, I spent most of the day using the bathroom. There's too many entries about what I do in the bathroom, but I had to use both types of toilets, and one of them was in a car junkshop. At least it had kleenex. The mall did not.
So after dinner, we headed out to the bars, I guess there really isn't too much to do in the city late at night, but to go to a club or a bar, coffee too I suppose. But we went to the bar, live band, good times, specifically one with Filipino singers. I'm always amazed by how well they can sing. I know for sure I can't sing that well. The coolest part to me is that when they sing, there is zero accent in the song, only when they talk, can you tell that there is an accent. I suppose it's all about emulating the sound, and you don't have to have an accent when you're trying to repeat someone's tone. Great covers of some songs, Bon Jovi transcends all cultures. Good beer, I had never tried San Miguel beer before. It's pretty nice, a bit sweeter than I thought it would be. I had to do my best to keep up with my friend, she was going to drink me under the table. I tried the best I could, but I can only do so well, my tolerance is only so good, since I can't drink very often, probably a good thing. It was a good time for sure. Well, until we had to find a way back home to drop her off. I'm not very good at giving directions if I don't know where I'm going. But apparently burgerland is famous enough that people know how to get there. So after a couple of U turns, (on the clock of course) we were able to drop her off. She's a trooper, she had to work 4 hours afterwards. I would not have been able to wake up. Well, my ride had crashed for the night, so I had to wait for him to pick me up, we agreed that I'd hang out in the Chili's parking lot near the mall until he could get there. Surprisingly, I felt safer in the Chili's parking lot in Bahrain, more than in the US. I guess it's the thought that you could mug me, but if you did, you'd get your hand cut off, or capital punishment'd, no question. Plus, I think everyone assumed I worked at the Chili's, so I wouldn't have any money anyway. So, we head back to the hotel, and it's a cheap one. 30 BD a night, a decent one is about twice the price, so I'm not expecting much.
It's a one bedroom, but the guy is nice enough to let me crash on the bed, and he on the couch. The room itself is big, which is becoming a normal thing over here. Lots of space, but nothing works very well. This time, it was the water system all together unfortunately. Shower trickled for about 5 minutes and then stopped. And the toilet didn't flush. I was lucky regarding the timing, I was post soap and shampoo. The toilet, well, I feel bad for the guy who has to clean the room. The TV worked fine, and there was a speaker system in the room. Weird.
So my ride was cool, and he showed me where he lived, and some of the cool places to go in his hood. He's a pretty big car enthusiast, and you could tell that there were a lot of people that were also big into that. The sound of loud mufflers were everywhere in the air. He's got a 260z, with a giant turbo, and a few other modifications. It's pretty mean. He and his friends have a business where they retrofit cars and tune cars for others. It's more built on power than looks, so there some respect there.
We finally made the trip back hope, well at least to Jubail, for me to find more touristy stuff. Everyone assumed I was filipino, so hopefully that meant I got a better price for everything. It didn't seem that way though, but with a friend we were able to negotiate down a few prices. I was content with my purchases. On the drive back, we were listening to my friend's mix cd's, and they are definitely old school. Surprisingly, and I'm not quite sure why, but people listen to a great deal of pop and R&B here. So, I'll put a date on myself, and don't blame me, I have a sister that made me sing along with it. The line up for singing included:
"My heart will go on - Celine Dion"
"Changes - Tupac"
"Quit Playing Games with my Heart - Backstreet Boys"
"Bailamos - Enrique Iglesias"
Some song by Mariah Carey, some Bone Thugs and Harmony, and even some Beatles song.
Very old school. I found it odd that although the view on women over here is quite one-sided. Unfortunately, that is very universal, all the native folks here believe that women have their place, kitchen, sex, and kids. But then again, when you talk to them, it's all about finding true love, and connecting with someone on a personal level, and all that. Quite a oxymoron in a lot of different ways. Maybe it's the clash of old school culture versus new. It's very interesting to see how a lot of these guys stand out versus your normal person. No social qualms about talking to women, very straight forward and to the point, and this ignorance that would make me cringe, but maybe refreshing to others. There's a large number of articles out there about how men in the US are getting soft, and too emotional, and all that. Compared to the people I see over here, I can definitely say yes. Not to say that you should be a jerk, or an ass to people, but stop worrying about what other people think about you. Just be honest, and up front, and if people don't like that, then, well, their loss. That's my new philosophy for the next couple months, I'll let you know how that goes. Dress nice, be yourself, and don't be afraid of what other people think of you. Alright, I go back this week to the US, so for all my friends that read this blog, I'm coming back, hope I get to see you all, and it'll be fun.
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