You say tomato . . . I say 'Cherry or Roma'?

As an initial observation of Bahrain, most everyone speaks English. Because not everyone speaks Arabic. There's the Middle Eastern contingent that speaks the native tongue. But then there's the imported people; Phillipinos, Indians, etc. People speak Hindu, Nepalese, Tagalog, and a variety of other dialects. That makes it kind of hard to speak to someone in their 'native language'. So English is the go-to mode of communication and whaddaya know, that's my first language. Pretty convenient for me, no?

I have also noticed that since English is widely understood, many more commercials & advertisements are in English. And because of this, there are definitely not as many mistakes on signs or billboards. But some still slip through. Like this one I found in the paper.

Is 'discomfortable' a word? I don't think so. (I checked merriam webster) Thomas, you're wrong! There were many phrases to keep me entertained in Egypt. Like putting 'saloon' instead of 'salon'. I wonder what they put in their hair coloring treatment? I think the biggest difference is that they use British English expressions, so some things sound 'almost right'.


'To Let'; forgive me, every time I see this, the juvenile 13 year old boy in me wants to put an ' i ' right between those two words. 'For Rent' would seem more natural to me, but that's just me. There is also another sign around here that I *have* to get a picture of. It precedes all the speed bumps. It says, "Humps Ahead". Just wait, I'll get it.

Precedence in Rebus

If they can put one of these . . .



in every one of my . . .


Is it that hard to put one here?

That may just have to be a question for the eternities . . . .

YouTube Tuesday: Show-show time

Ah, the show-show. (phonetically it's pronounced: shao-shao) Eliza dubbed it the 'show-show' at about 18 months of age & that's pretty much our family's pet name for taking a shower. I re-found this commercial recently; ah, I would stop my DVR'd shows just to watch this one & laugh.



My favorite part? When he turns the temperature up to 106F and SINGS!!!!! This next vid is one that you will just have to take it for what it is. I'm not writing another dirty little secret post . . . I find it *tee-hee* funny, but also not that surprising. I mean, it makes sense. But then again, when I was in Spain, a billboard of a smiling baby's head between two buxom (naked) breasts advertising the benefits of breastfeeding made sense to them, too. I'm for saving water (and breastfeeding); but I don't know if I need a commercial on T.V. reminding me that it's important.



Remember, Xixi no banho!! Hahaha, I am sooo immature.

Right or Left?

There's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment. I found Manazel all by myself today. (Manazel is a department home store. You can find anything you want there. An. y. thing.) When a city has streets that wrap around each other like spaghetti and are all one way, you usually have to learn how to get to a store twice. #1) How to get there #2) How to get home.

The first time I went, a friend of mine drove & I tried to pay close attention. But we got there right before sunset & came home in the dark, so really, I had a very loose idea of how to return. I had been toying with the idea for the last two weeks and finally decided yesterday was THE day. I was very confident of which exit I had to take, but after that . . .

*dialogue in my head*

Isa Park Exit . . . then right . . . ooookay, which way at the light? . . . the right lane feels right . . . haha, right . . . . (two more round-abouts) . . . have I gone too far? yeah, I think so. (there are a bunch of industrial factories looming at the next intersection) . . . flip a u-turn before that cement truck barrels into my lane . . turn, turn, turn! . . . *whew* let's try this street, it looks populated . . . (coming to a T-intersection) right or left? Hmmm, I think I'll turn around . . . Hey! I see the sign over there!

So after tooling around for about 40 minutes, I found my destination, Manazel!! I went in and basked in accessible bliss. I found one isle that will be my downfall. It has containers in every shape; ones for drawers, the fridge, bathroom, cupboards. And for every function: soup cans, sugar packets, toothbrushes, make-up vanities. *insert Arnold voice* I'll be back.

As I was browsing the kitchen gadget section (btw, there were these cute little measuring spoons labeled 'dash', 'tad', 'pinch' etc.) I had a sudden feeling of dread wash over me. How do I get home?

*in my head again while maintaining a composed exterior*

How do I get home? How in the #@#* am I going to get home? . . . breath in . . . breathe out . . . You can't get lost forever, Lydia . . . this whole city is only about, what, 10 miles by 6 miles? . . . all else fails, the sun still sets in the west here, right? . . . Of course, Lydia . . .

That little reality check was quite the buzz kill, so I gathered my purchases & hightailed it out to the car. After 15 minutes of wrong turns, I found my way back to the overpass to get on the freeway. *whew* Then I realized, hmmm, what do i do once I get on the freeway? See, the freeway works like a normal freeway; one side for eastbound, the other for westbound. Except once you get off, there usually isn't a convenient way to re-enter the freeway. Except for the Isa Park exit, which I'm on. Well, let's just see where it takes me.

Getting back on is a breeze, I'm sailing along and then a big sign over the freeway informs me that I must choose "Manama West" or "Saudi Arabia". I know that I don't want to go to Manama West, but Saudi Arabia won't take me home either. I keep on the Saudi route, just looking for more clues on how to get home. I mean, it's pretty hard (for us) to get a visa to Saudi, they wouldn't let me plow right on through to Riyadh. Right? A familiar exit, Janabiya, appears and I snag it. I had been here before!! Yay!!

Long story short, I did take the correct exit to get home, but did not do anything right after that. What should have taken me just 15 minutes stretched into an hour and a half odyssey. But I saw new places and am more familiar with my new country.

Sitting in Traffic

Let me just preface the word 'traffic' by saying it is nothing compared to Cairo.

While I was coming home from grocery shopping, I thought I'd try out the camera on my phone. That tall pointy building? It's the Bahrain World Trade Center. And actually, it's two buildings connected by some supports & wind turbines.

This is further up the road when I was sitting at a light. A little more area context.

This was at another stoplight. It says it's a mall, I haven't been there yet. But both towers look alike; the sloping side & rounded top. All I can say is that they have unique building styles here. The next thing I want to get a picture of is the waterpark in the mall. Well, it's half in/half out & it looks freakin' awesome! Meaning, I'll probably try it out before the kids do!

First day of preschool

There just aren't words for this picture. The title says it all. *sniff* Those are bittersweet tears. My baby is growing up & going to school 5 half days a week. But also, my mornings are free 5 days a week. Wa-hoo!

Vision

I thought I had a lot more "vision" when I started this. My Bookmarks tab has been filling up & I was sure I had so many ideas that I would burst if I didn't see it all together. Turns out, I need to create.

~ I want to make buntings. Badly. One for every holiday & turn of the season. And one made entirely of the pictured fabric. Cloud 9 fabric: Beyond the Sea.

~ I need to decorate. I want all my wall decor so I can create what has been bouncing around in my head for far too long.

~ I have all the fabric & supplies for this advent calendar. In a crate. Far, far away from me.

~ I need to paint. I have a bajillion ideas for every room. All over color, murals, mosaics. Ooh, mosaic murals! I'm thinking a cherry tree in Mairyn's room, Cloud 9 inspired everything in Eliza's room and abstract shapes in Grant & Jacqui's room. The list goes on & on. This desire is obtainable because they have paint shops with cans of paint just waiting to hop into my car & spread themselves on my walls!

~ Terrariums. I want to fill my windowsill with terrariums. Or find an iron corner shelf and have a little collection of various sized little worlds encased in glass. This desire may be possible. I hunted down a place called "The Garden Nursery", adjacent to the Barbar Temple excavation, that looks promising. Though I haven't looked at the prices yet. I'm not paying 10BD ($26.60) for a little bougainvillea start. Or some other hardy native plant that won't die on me. I haven't ever been that good at keeping plants alive. I've either forgotten to water, over-watered, or they've been pulled out by the roots due to unsupervised rugrats.

~ The biggest desire of all? The one that I surely cannot create here. The Wonder Wall. To build an exposed wall & studs slathered in wonderful white paint. The easiest to decorate because pictures can just be propped up in their cubby, then switched around due to holidays or whim. If I didn't have concrete walls.

There. Now that I've vented I will get back to my real life. The Supermarket Shuffle is the dance I do today. Geant for all things produce, dairy, pasta & staples. NEX for any luxury items; like Raisin Bran Crunch, good sliced turkey from the deli, Doritos or microwave popcorn.

*Post Edit*
Question:
Does anyone actually use the hotlinks I include? Sometimes I'm not sure if something needs more explaining. And explaining it would lead to a tangent, then I forget where I was going with that or how I found myself on that wiki page for '10 Most Useful Poisons in the early 19th century'.

Another question:
If you've been shy about leaving comments, don't be. I would love to hear feedback & start conversations. I'm just here by my lonesome, starting a new life in the sandbox. Give me some love!

(I guess that wasn't a question. Oh well. I have to go shopping.)