Nerd Herding

In the United States, I always fall in with groups of nerds that love music, literature, art, gaming or some combination thereof.

For the past two evenings I have had discussions about character building in Dungeons and Dragons vs. world of darkness, dispelled the myth that tons of women game in the United States, and geeked out over some metal.

::blinks::
I...I am in Bahrain.

Which leads me to a list of the most unexpected things I have found in Bahrain so far:
-Gamers: I know they exist all over the world in theory, not in practice
-Metal: Did you know that Dream Theater and Mastadon were huge all over the world, and not just in Scandinavia?
-Stray Cats: Bahrain is too cool for stray dogs, they have hundreds of stray kitties
-Chili's: Yes, Chili's has been exported to Bahrain, and for a long time the Crown Prince was there every couple of days. I am fairly sure the franchise does better in Bahrain than in Missouri.

There is so much I want to convey about Bahrain; the smells, thoughts, feelings, people, and land. There is an album of mental images that I want to distill into a worthy representation of this dynamic place. I sit down to write and hit a wall each time I try to write deeply and thoughtfully. I write but the thoughts and associations I've garnered are too complex and nuanced for my words. So I delete it...backspace frenzy.

It is with this disclaimer that I write. I write because I have to do so. When the travel is over all I have is the residual lines and photos of this blog. I have come to terms with the fact that some of it will just be pretty pictures and superficial musings. I am ok with that now, but I also hope to provide some type of thoughtful observation and reflection.



With that out of the way, I must speak about the souq or market in Manama. Any place I travel, I find that markets, marcados, malls, groceries---they all speak volumes about a particular culture. The Manama souk feels like the juncture between old and new.


The smell of local spices seemed to dare the white plastic dolls and American wrestling t-shirts to exude the same level of cultural permanence as coriander has for the past thousand years. For some reason, it was the white baby doll that stuck with me. It was an uncomfortable reminder of cultural imperialism that was interestingly juxtaposed by this doll. The incoming president of the organization, Diesel, explained that she is based on a popular cartoon. She dresses conservatively and speaks in traditional Arabic. Very cool in a lot of ways, but also a reminder of the cultural swing towards conservatism in Islamic culture.



People in the US may be very surprised to find that fewer than 30 years ago, women were dressing like most westerners; skirts, form fitting blouses, and many with no head covering. Only recently do you see so many women veiled as this relic of antiquity is revived. At the same time, there is something beautiful about the modesty of the culture (though indicative of a trend towards conservatism that I disagree with)
Oh so much more to say, and even more to listen to....

The old town

The old part of Manama is beautiful. Pictures do more than my words can.

A note on dry heat, plastic, and more of my days...

I was told to expect dry heat here. Liars I say! I understand the humidity is only at 50% but my body sure feels humid when it is 80 degrees at night in the DESERT. Here I am sweating like a white girl in the Middle East....and for the record Arid Clinical Protection offers very little in the way of protection. At the same time, every building and vehicle is air conditioned. Heck, our room tends to be around 68 degrees at all times---making the entire country a bizarre game of freeze out, burn out.

Speaking of our accommodations, we are staying in a very nice flat with a pool, gym, and sauna. One of my favorite things is the trashcan; the sticker on the top reads, "Cosmoplast" Clearly trying to make the connection for us that the trashcan is both cosmopolitan and plastic. Plastic it is, cosmopolitan....um...

Yesterday we went to the city center. City Center is the largest mall I have ever seen. We think of malls as this wholly American cultural phenomena, and it is interesting to see it exported and made....bigger and better...and almost....more American. The most famous guy in all of Bahrain works there. Here is a video of him at work...

After we picked up power adapters and such, we went to the Bahrain fort. It is on the North Coast of the island.



The Fort has been around since 2000 BC and with each conquering empire, a new fort was generally built on top. While there I also got to see a guy riding a donkey with another donkey following. Pretty Awesome.

So far...so little time to write

Today official orientation begins. The other interns and I have been going non-stop the past few days---seeing delightful things and befriending each other. Like most of the other interns, ended up traveling a few more hours than expected. It's cool--I take a sick satisfaction in watching people freak out over delays that they can do nothing about. The delay also meant that I got to fly over Kuwait at night.


After AIESEC picked me up at the airport, we immediately went to schwarma alley For about a dollar, I had a gyro-ish/al pastor-ish delight. From there, we dropped in at Med Cafe, a local Shisha bar. "We can't drink, so we smoke ourselves to death." In less than an hour, I met most of the local members of aiesec, as they smoked their shisha and watched the Champions
Cup.


More on days 2&3 later.

One more full day...

Jordan told me he was pretty thrilled that I wasn't going to Thailand. He also mentioned I should keep my book bag safety pinned. My mother said that she didn't want to come get me from an Iranian prison. Ed reminded me not to bring my pig roast t-shirt, and told me I should probably keep my mouth shut. Brian said I need to see Dubai. Faisal told me not to go to Pakistan, and another couple of folks told me to put my faith and hope in Jesus.

All very good words of wisdom that I plan to more or less follow.

In other news, my single greatest triumph thus far has been while packing. I am the suitcase maven. For three months I will be living out of a single carry on suitcase filled with hopes, dreams, three logs of tightly rolled clothing, and perhaps some liquor that I smuggle into the country.

Oh wait...and don't forget...

Three days till I leave. Just learned I will also be traveling throughout the Middle East during Ramadan; looking forward to the culture lesson but I am also a little scared. During this time, I am fairly sure it would be extremely offensive for me to eat or even drink water in public (I will be sweating like a white girl in the Middle East) Fasting or sawm is intended to promote self control...but probably works to keep some of the tourists out for one month a year.

For Muslims, this month is holy because it was the time in which the Qur'an was first revealed by the prophet Muhammad. Apparently the gates of hell are closed while the gates of heaven are open. I figure that can't hurt my chances of safe travel--I will take all the help I can get.

In the mean time I have been anxiously searching for a power adapter, sandals, business cards, and some sanity. I wish my laundry would do itself...and that I had a few more dollars in my bank account before I left. But being poor in a foreign country has got to be more interesting than being rich.

For now, I am doing super American things. Shopping, going to see a baseball game, and eating lots of BBQ. Woo!

A week and a handful of days

"Good Morning Elizabeth,

On behalf of AIESEC Bahrain and the Salaam Program, we would like to congratulate you on being selected for our Green Sustainability Project!"

It should have read, "Good Morning Elizabeth, you have about a week and a half to get a plane ticket and prepare yourself for 100 days in the Middle East, so hurry the fuck up. " I feel like there is so much I need to be doing right now, but I can't figure out what that is. Plane ticket, job situation, cell phone, that is all done....but now what?

I can't think clearly. I am sure going to miss 'im.