A Trip to Bah'rain

This week is Eid al-Adha, the holiday when Muslims around the world flock to Mecca for the Hajj so we (again!) have the whole week off of school.  The celebration of Eid al-Adha also includes sacrificing goats, and Jack has made friends with a goat tied to a post at the end of our compound.  Hopefully he won't notice tomorrow when it disappears.

On Wednesday afternoon, the last day we worked, Rob and Jack both got their exit/re-entry visas (I had mine already) so we decided to leave the country!  T.G.W.G.S. and his family invited us to join them on a trip to the Kingdom of Bah'rain.

"Bah'rain" means "two seas" which is fitting since it is an island country.  We only needed to drive across the King Fahd Causeway which runs from Al-Khobar to Bahrain.  Along the causeway are five tollbooth-like stopping points where we had to pay a small fee and get our passports and visas stamped.  On the way back, there is a customs checkpoint as well, but we'll get to that later.

Bah'rain is not really that different than Saudi, as it is still a Middle Eastern Muslim monarchy.  The draw is that it is not nearly as strict as Saudi.  People drive over mainly to have a beer and eat pork, which are both haram, not allowed for Muslims.  To get pork in Bah'rain, you have to go into the "Non-Muslim Section" of the grocery store or restaurant.  The shopping is also better in some ways.  For example, there are no fitting rooms for women in Saudi, so women like to go to Bah'rain to shop for clothes.  Also, there are Christmas items and a certain things that are hard to find here, like swim diapers.

My main goal for shopping was to buy a Christmas tree and sneak it back across the causeway. We took the label off the box and put it, along with Christmas wrapping paper and nutmeg, underneath our luggage and other purchases.  The border guard asked, "Do you have any whiskey or meat?"  We said no, and he sent us on our way.  Now this daughter of a Wisconsin Christmas tree farmer has a beautiful fake contraband tree in the living room!  Jack helped Rob put it together and is really proud of it.

Life in Saudi Arabia is not difficult by any means.  It is just sometimes inconvenient, as life in any country other than the one you grew up in would be.  Our visit to Bah'rain was relaxing.  We could walk to restaurants from our hotel, and there was even a Caribou Coffee (a MN company).

Jack and Rob in Bah'rain

A lot of the restaurants have bicycle delivery.

There were a lot of interesting skyscrapers along the road.

A view of the King Fahd Causeway

All in all, it was a very nice trip.  We will return to Bah'rain in a month to pick my parents up from the airport there!

Tonight I leave for a school trip to Berlin for seven days.  I will be chaperoning the Model UN club as they go to a conference there.  I'm excited to go, but it will be hard to be away from Rob and Jack.  I'm sure they will have a great time fixing things and jumping, Jack's two favorite activities.  Here is a sample of what they did last time I left the house...