Bahrain is the Las Vegas/New Orleans of the Middle East
(without the gambling and witch craft of course). Pork, alcohol, and Uber are the
biggest differences between Bahrain and Kuwait. It has a party atmosphere and
every restaurant has a bar and karaoke stage. The country is an island that
sits in the Arabian Gulf. The capital city, Manama, is absolutely
beautiful with modern architecture and tons of greenery (something we don’t
have in Kuwait).
Brunch is a big deal here, so we thought we’d take
advantage of it. I really hate the idea of brunch because I’m basically
dying of starvation by the time it starts, but when in Bahrain. We spent 3.5
hours at the Crowne Plaza eating our weight in pork, seafood, steak, and
desserts. At one point I had hash browns, roasted potatoes, and mashed potatoes
on my plate…because why not?! Then we ventured to the City Center Mall where
Christmas was in full swing. Stores had their decked Christmas trees out and
Christmas songs blaring over the speakers. We really thought we would get away
from Christmas music this year. Joke is on us apparently. The malls here are
HUGE, so you mostly just wander around and hope that you make it back to where
you started. We stumbled upon a movie theater and we both nearly screamed when
we saw they were playing Madea. We purchased tickets and picked out our seats.
Talk about a foreign concept! You get to look at a digital screen with all of
the seats and select the row and seat numbers that you want. To our surprise,
the movie was FULL…not an open seat in the room! We got there early (I’m one of
those annoying people who wants to be there for all the previews), got some
popcorn and found our seats. We watched people flood in from all ages and
ethnicities to watch what at home would be considered a “black movie.” The
movie was in English with Arabic and French subtitles. I forgot to get a picture
of what the subtitles looked like with ebonics..."Hellur, Happy Hallerween." Haha!
We found a little slice of home in Bahrain. We had dinner
at Señor Paco’s, a Mexican restaurant that gave me life because who doesn’t
love tortilla chips, fajitas, and Tejano music. AJ was a happy camper too with
a pitcher of margarita that was split with friends. The next night we found Big
Texas BBQ. Another fun atmosphere where AJ got his fill of ribs and brisket and
I got my fill of country music. Comfort food gets all the heart eyes!
We also had the opportunity to
visit the The Al Fateh Grand Mosque, and I am so glad that we did. Upon arrival, I
was sent into a back room to put on an abaya (full-length robe/dress) and hijab
(head covering). We were given a tour guide, took our shoes off, and entered
the mosque. The timing was perfect because we were able to see one of the
prayer calls in action. The experience gave me chills. Non-Muslims are allowed
to watch the prayer from the balcony, and there was a stillness amongst all of
the visitors as we watched men pour into the giant, ornate prayer room and get
on their knees. The tour guide rejoined our group shortly after the prayer was
over, and he walked us through certain areas giving us detailed information
about the mosque and the religion. I think now would be a good time to mention that
AJ and I believe in Jesus, we are Christians. Walking through that mosque in an
attempt to better understand a culture doesn’t make us any less Christian. In
fact, we walked away that day feeling like convicted Christians because I can’t
remember the last time I got on my knees to pray. We were absolutely shocked to
hear the tour guide mention Adam and Eve, Abraham, Mary and Joseph, Elijah, Noah,
and recite verses from the Bible. He made comparisons between Islam and
Christianity as though they were equal, without belittling the other. What a
concept. Do I agree 100% with what they believe in? No. Did I leave with way
more tolerance and understanding? Yes. And isn’t that kind of the whole point? We
definitely walked out changed. I’m so thankful for the opportunities that we
have here. Big hearts and open minds...get on board people.
The flight home actually sold out in between the time
AJ’s ticket was purchased by the school and when we bought my ticket. The only
solution was for me to sit in business class. How terrible, huh?! It just so
happened that a friend also had to do the same thing, so we sent our men to the
back of the plane and luxuriated in business class for the 47 minute flight.
Signs of poor people being out of their element…take lots of pictures because
it may never happen again. Ha! We reenacted scenes from Bridesmaids while the
rest of the plane was boarding. Fun times. Let’s do it again soon, Storm! (P.S.
She is one of my teammates in 5th grade)
