Chapter One: Hello from Bahrain   

This is to update everyone on our journey so far.

We left Jax. Oct.20th for Orlando where we took our truck to be shipped.

Oct.21st we flew to Norfolk. That night at the motel, family and friends came to visit.

Oct.22nd, Bobbie, Richie, Sharon, and Brooks took us, our luggage(8 bags) and Winston (our dog) to the base. At the base, we met Nancy, Louie, their son Christopher, and Spot (their cat). Thier last name is Burgos. The plane was one and half hours late taking off. They were having trouble with the counting of passengers. That's a whole other story!        

First stop was Azors but we didn't get off because of being behind schedule. Second stop was Rota, Spain and we were able to get off and walk Winston. We were there one and half hours.          

Next stop was Naples, Italy and again we got off and took care of Winston. We were there nearly two hours. This is when we heard that we might not get to Bahrain because of Arabic threats.   

 Sigonella, Sicily was next and we, Winston, the Burgos, Spot, and about one hundred service men and women (a few ) got off . Later we were told to pick up our luggage. We stayed at the airport all day and that afternoon all of us were loaded (with animals and luggage) on buses and taken to a hotel. It was a four star one with great food. It's now Oct.24th.      

Oct.25th, we meet in the lobby at 3:45 am to go to the base airport with hopes of leaving. We are there for 15 hours, waiting. We had to go to a briefing on "terrorism". There are four levels of security with the military, they are Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. We find out we are in Delta which is the highest. It seems since the Cole was blown up, there is another threat, this time of a American military plane being shot down. (  Before I forget , I want to tell how great all the service men and women were to us, They called us "the families" and would help load and unload our luggage each time  we had to leave the base or hotel.) Now we are loaded on buses and sent to two hotels.      

Oct.26th, Dan and Louie go to the base airport to get tickets for us to fly on a commercial plane to Bahrain. Nancy, Chris, and I stay at the hotel with our pets. We hear that the hundred and some service people will be going on different planes at different times.      

Oct 27, we leave the hotel at 3:15am for the airport in Cantania, Italy. We go to Rome, Amsterdam, and finally to Bahrain. We arrive at 9:20 pm and find out that all our luggage and our pets are still in Amsterdam. They come the next night at 10:30. I'm starting to really regret this move.      

Our first week in Bahrain we have to be on base nearly every day for ID's, Visas, exc.. My first night in Bahrain I wake up at 4:30 to piped prayer from a mosque. This happens five times daily and they have  mosque like we have churches except more of them. We stay at the "Majestic" hotel until we found a nicer one  "The Elite" and moved on Nov. 1st.      

Pam, a friend from Florida has now taken me to all the malls. There are now three and they are building two more. She has shown me all the other shops that she can since we are still in "Delta" and can't go to some areas of town. We are not allowed to eat out in restaurants during this time and have to order all our food to our room, or eat on base.      

Nov.4th, we have now gone from "Delta" to "Charlie". This means eating out in restaurants and going shopping at the "Souq" to shop for gold items. Things here are getting better!      

Nov.16th, we rent a car and I drive all over this Island learning where places are for myself.      

Dec.21st, we move in a house after nearly two months of looking and waiting for our furniture to arrive. The weather was in the 90's when we arrived and now in the 70's. We've met lots of friends here and have gone to quite a few parties. I go to the base quite a bit. They have a ship's store(food and stuff), video store, USO (lots of items to buy), post office, bank, bowling alley, two restaurants, recreation center, beauty shop, barber shop. dry cleaners, and so on. And by the way  Dan works on the base too.

This country is made up mostly of Bahraini's, but have people from England, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and all the other Arab countries. The Indians are their slaves or at least they work hard for slave wages. All the Arab men have mustaches and most of them wear these white robe like outfits and head coverings, they're called thobes. The majority of Arab women wear these black robes and head coverings.  Some even wear black veils. Their outfits are called abiahas. The Americans nick named them BMO's, "black moving objects".      

The drivers here are worse than Jax....they cut you off, give no signals, and speed. If we, as Americans are in an accident with a Bahraini it will automatically be our fault. They have "Humps" not speed bumps. The traffic lights go green-yellow, green, yellow-red,  red, and so on.       

The Arabs say "INSHALA" a lot here, it means "God willing". This gets them off from being late, not doing something, or whatever. It's all up to God, he's their excuse.      

Living conditions are villas, compounds, or apartments. A villa is a single house with a stone wall around it. Compounds (what we live in) are usually three to six houses surrounded by a stone wall with a gate and an Indian guard who is an all-around handy man. He has a one room building that he lives in.      

The Saudis (Saudi Arabians) come over on weekends to party and let their women drive since they can do neither over there. This is another reason driving is so bad here.  

We have grocery stores here with a lot of American and English food. The malls are mostly English, but we do have a small Penneys which is really expensive. We have several Dairy Queens, one new Burger King, one Hardees, two Mac Donalds and one more being built. We have some Kentucky Fried Chickens, Pizza Huts, Dominos, Ponderosa, and  Chilis. They are building one Red Lobster, two Outbacks, and one Applebees. They say will open this summer.      

The rainy season is Nov., and in 99 it rained one day. This Nov. and first week of Dec. it had rained about ten days.

They don't have pets like we do. I hear a rooster crow every morning and hear goat sounds during the day, what does that tell you?   

The royal family are called shaikhs and they have a lot of them. So far, in our paper I have counted eleven of them. They seem to like their pictures taken. You see them in the paper every day and on billboards.      

We made it through Ramandan. This is their religious time of year. This year it was from Nov.26 to Dec.26. It's a different time every year, something about the moon determining the dates . They fast from sun up to sun down and then they party. During their time of fasting we can't eat, smoke, drink(even water), or chew in public. There is a 20 dinar fine if caught. A dinar is about $2.70 our money, so the fine is around 54 dollars.  

I'm actually not afraid to be here. We are treated well. At first, because of our trip I did feel a little uneasy, but after being here that's changed.  I am seeing and learning things that I never could have if I hadn't come here. It's a great experience. I just wish I could see my family  (mainly Angie and Kim) and my friends more often. I wish I could bring everyone here with me.     

I will tell more as I learn it and try to email everyone when I can but there is just one of me and (thank God) a lot of you.    

Signing off from Bahrain,  

Sylvia        (Jan.5th)