After a busy first weekend off of school, I lounged around the house not doing much on Palm Sunday. It was weird not going to church and waving a palm branch...especially since there are palm trees everywhere here :) The rest of the week I kept very busy however. There were two trips to the Manama Suq. One was to do more jewelry shopping and the other was to do just general shopping for tacky and local souvenirs- gifts for the people back home. Both outings were fun though and despite being haggled with every step by shopkeepers, the whole atmosphere is one I love. Takes me back to the days when I would walk through the Old City in Jerusalem.
I can also now say I have been to the beach and officially swam in the water of the Gulf. It has been a joke from the beginning how a country that is an island, has no beaches. Well they have maybe three or so and I can now say I was at one. One could say the water was cold, but as a Minnesota who has swam in cold lakes...it was nothing. Time off would not be complete without a few trips to the mall...or in my case several malls. For being a small country, Bahrain has around eight big shopping malls. Obviously some do better business than others, but I find it amusing how they are literally right next door to each other. My favorite stop is of course H&M, where some purchases have been made.
One morning I got up at 6:30 to go to the park with my friend Mariam and her four-year-old twin boys. She takes them at that time and I figured why not tag along? I could nap later. It was a park I wanted to visit and walk around though, so it was another thing I could check off my to-do list. Besides we went to get donuts afterwards at this donut place called "Hole in One." It was actually a really good donut. That same day I stopped by the Craft Centre in Salmaniya. The crafts there are handmade by local women. I found a few things to purchase. I also found time that same day to do some Indian dress/outfit shopping. My niece will look adorable, in the ensemble I picked out for her, including bangles and shoes. It will be a nice surprise for her. Another teacher from school drove me to one of the two liquor stores on the island. They are hidden, but there. Needless to say I spent a little more than I normally would on wine, but hey...now when I have those bad teaching days and need a glass of wine, I know that I will be able to have one at my flat :)
Of course I also found time to do laundry over the break and clean my flat. The necessary evils of life. One of the days I had a picnic with friends in the park. We ordered lunch (mixed grill, hummus, tabouleh etc.) from a Lebanese restaurant and enjoyed it outdoors. While the days are getting warmer, you can still enjoy the outdoors as long as you are in the shade and do not stay outside too long. It has been the low 90s and for me I have not thought it is that hot. Of course we are talking about a crazy Bergman who goes to Florida in August...the hottest month. I do not mind heat at all.
After unsuccessfully finding the camel farm the weekend before, we were successful the second time. It was a huge place with camels everywhere. Not that I have never seen a camel before, but it has certainly been many years. I still remember fondly the camel that used to graze in front of our house in Jerusalem. When you get used to that every day, after fifteen years of not seeing one on a regular basis, seems extremely weird. I went with friends to Al-Areen Wildlife Park again. I did not mind because I had so much fun there the first time. Some of the animals that had been asleep or hiding before, were now visible.
It was definitely a busy break and flew by, like I knew it would. It was back to school on Monday and back to a routine. No more sleeping in and staying up late. There is no school next Sunday as it is Labour Day. It will be nice having a long weekend, but it's a shame that it is not later on in the school year. That is the last day off until school ends around June 27th. Talk about the long haul...
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