TIME TOGETHER

Miss Becky and Mr. J at a Ballgame

Dearest Friends,

One of the biggest differences between our life in Indonesia and our life in Bahrain was the amount of time we had together.  John now had one and a half days off each week, and it was amazing what a difference that made!  We could take care of errands and chores on Thursday afternoons, or I could take John to work and keep the car if I needed to grocery shop, which left all day Friday to do fun stuff together, such as exploring the ruins of an old Portugese fort, or attending the major social event of the week -- B&R baseball games.

The Tighty Whities VS The Bare-Chested Cut-Offs

The other big change was in how each individual day flowed.  Bahrain operated on the siesta system.  Shops were open for about four hours each morning, closed from noon until three or four in the afternoon, then would open up for another four hours or so each evening.  Once we finally got our car back from it's first long stay at the repair shop, John began coming home for lunch each day (but not a siesta), and at some point we started making that our main meal of the day.  When he got home in the evening we'd have a quick, light supper, and then we could head to town if we wished.

The Main Street Leading Into the Souk

We loved exploring the hundreds of little shops, and all the winding side-streets, down in the souk.  One street would sell nothing but gold and jewelry, another was for copper and brass antiques, and a third might have all the fabric stalls.  We'd wander around in search of an ironing board, or some kitchen canisters, or a garden hose, or an area rug for the living room, and it was almost like being on a treasure hunt!  The trick was to find your way out again.  Thank goodness John has a much better sense of direction than I do.

A Side-Street in the Souk

I guess we  eventually stumbled across some blocks to set our bed frame on, for about three weeks after moving in, I wrote that I had spent most of the day draining all the water from our mattress, "fixing up the waterbed", then refilling the mattress again.  So glad we hadn't been sleeping on the floor that entire time!