Bahrain Delights

I bitch a lot about being in the desert, about my work schedule, about how I haven't received snow since bootcamp (08), about missing seasons, about missing my people, about how everything is expensive (which is true since 1USD=0.40BD), just bitching in general..  But.. in Bahrain, there are several things that I will miss when its my time to leave (not soon enough).

(google images)

#1: Delivery... 24 hours a day/night
From an American standpoint, this baffled me.  Delivery 24 hours a day, eh it must just be the pizza places.  NO.  McDonalds, KFC, pizza, almost anywhere will deliver to you 24 hours a day.  And the delivery guys are no jk about delivery.  These guys weave in and out of congested traffic, making me wonder if they value their lives in any way, but as long as my food is still warm when it arrives, who am I to be concerned, except when I'M driving around these assholes who think its ok to be a moving target...  siiiiiiigh.


#2: Freshness- Food-gasm delightful
#2a: Bread- The bread here... is beyond words.  I love a good sammich, but I can buy bread from the market downstairs and its still warm and has moisture in the bag from being so fresh.

(personal photo)

#2b: Juice- In college I learned the difference in taste between apple juice from concentrate and NOT from concentrate.  I preferred the latter.  Bahrain is my jackpot of delightful juices.  I can buy delicious juice in the market downstairs AND on base (how awesome).  But, to add to the greatness..  FRESH JUICE.. literally.  Oh you want a watermelon juice.  One second while I throw some watermelon and ice into a blender.  Oh you want fresh strawberry juice?  One second while I throw some strawberries and ice into a blender.  Same for oj, lemonade, lime, kiwi, mango, and other fruits that I'm not thinking of.  AND if you go to the souq you can get a cocktail juice drink..  Think of all those delightful fruits rolled into one cup.. mmmmmm.

#2c: Milk-  The milk here...  I'm not a super huge fan of milk in general, but it made the Lumberjack cry because it was so good.  He said it was the best milk he'd ever had, and he's a pretty big fan of milk.  It could have been coupled with the Krispy Kreme doughnut, but there were definitely tears.  And he's a man's man, so its okay I just said this on the interwebz.
#2d-z: left open for future entries

(google images)

#3: Hummus
I've had hummus before when I was in America, and I wasn't really impressed.  Until I got to Bahrain and had it from an Arabic restaurant.  ZOMG.  SO FUCKING DELICIOUS, FOODGASM IN MY MOUTH, MAKING ME NEED TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS GOOD.  I know its not just the hummus, but also what I call the "pillow bread".  It looks so soft and fluffy, like it could be used as a pillow.  But no, instead its edible, and fluffy and delicious in my mouth.  SOOOOO GOOOD.

#4: Maids
Maid service is standard for most places that military live at, since we pay an exuberant amount more than the locals would pay.  As in, I did searches for Bahrain apartments before I got here and saw posts saying 300-500BD for rent for a 1-2 room apt.  We pay depending on rank.  So I pay over 700BD for rent, minimum for military is over 600BD.  Scroll up and see how much the dollar was worth.  Yeah, thats a LOT of money.  Most maids are women.  I somehow ended up with 2 arabic men.  My coworkers boast of their dishes and laundry being done while they are away and their maid works magic.  I am not that lucky.  I have 2 arabic men, that come in, smell my apartment up with their body odor (no jk).  They clean the toilets and wipe the sinks/counters down in the bathrooms, it took 2 months to get them to clean the bathtub.  They wipe down the surfaces in the rest of the apartment (it gets pretty dusty, if you can imagine), vacuum the carpet in 2 rooms (which is always done better when I'm at the apartment when the come to clean), and mop.  Nothing about my laundry or my dishes (which they leave piled on the floor/in the sink).  Oh, and they change the light bulbs that are out, rah.

Maybe before I leave here I'll have more things to add?  Ehhhhh.  We'll see.