We aren't in Kansas anymore...

Well, we are going on Day 5 or 6 of being in Saudi....I can't really remember the day we came over....it seems like a lot longer than it is.  It's the same in Bahrain though...it feels like we have been there 7 years and not 7 months.

Things are good here in Saudi.  It is really pretty and I really like the compound.  If you don't leave the compound you might really think that you were somewhere in the Caribbean.  Our villa is right on the beach and we are right next to the recreation center.  The rec center has a two lane bowling alley, a jacuzzi, sauna, workout room, restaurant, beauty salon, library, etc.  It is very nice.  The other CPChem wives are what make the compound livable.  They are so kind and welcoming.  They really are like their own family here...that is one of the things we miss about not living on a compound in Bahrain. 



The front of our villa




The Rec Center




View from our back patio..the beach




view from back yard




The back of our villa

 We got to go to bible study in another villa yesterday.  There were quite a few couples there and the lesson was very interesting and thought provoking.  After the study we all ate and had fellowship...it was soooo needed!  It was nice to have something like that.  Shannon Richter cooked the meat and it was fabulous!  The meat was excellent as was the conversation.  Again, that is something we don't get a lot of in Bahrain...the small home group family fellowship....I do get to fellowship with other awesome women on Sundays in Bahrain when we do our Beth Moore bible study.  I miss them....

Yesterday after "church" we got a driver to take us to Khobar/Dahran to go to the mall and LuLu.  The mall was massive but poorly designed...it goes in a straight line instead of a circle that loops back around....very strange.  It is very tricky to get all your shopping done in between prayer time...the stores close during prayer times.  Yesterday the call to prayer in the afternoon/evening was at 5:50p and 7:20p...the trick is to be in a coffee shop or restaurant when it sounds so that you can still eat and drink and relax while you wait...we are not that experienced yet.  It is a little inconvenient, but not fatal.  The biggest inconvenience that I think it causes is with the poor driver.  Because we weren't experts at planning around the prayer times we were a little late getting out.  Then we raced over to LuLu to try and find a mattress pad for poor John...he cannot even bend over and put on his shoes as the bed here in the villa is horrible.  Of course we got stuck in traffic on our way there.  There were young men riding on the roofs of their cars wearing Saudi flags, little kids hanging out the windows, honking, cars stopped and celebrating in the streets, etc.  We had no idea what was going on...I am starting to think it is us...we bring demonstrations and celebrations wherever we go!  The driver didn't know what was up either.  Turns out the king decided to give the people a gazillion more dollars and raises and declared a holiday today.  I guess that is what they were celebrating!  I would be dancing in the streets too if I got another raise...that's two in a month that the king has given the people.  He is trying to prevent the kind of situation here in Saudi like we are having in Bahrain.  Anyways, LuLu was a nightmare!  There were TONS of people everywhere.  We went in and basically came right out!

The company held a meeting yesterday afternoon to give the Bahrain families and update on the situation and our possible return to Bahrain.  Basically we still don't know when we will get to go home.  The company obviously wants it to be safe to live there before they let us go home.  The girls school is supposed to start virtual schooling this Sunday with the plan that the school will re-open on Sunday, March 27th.  Pray that this is the case.  My girls and I really miss Bahrain.  We like it here, but it is like living in a hotel as none of our things are here besides the clothing we brought.  We left all of our belongings and our friends behind.  Please pray that the civil unrest dies down so that all parties can sit down at the "bargaining table" and begin to dialogue...because no matter how much the government suppresses and oppresses the opposition there is still going to be that undercurrent of resentment and divide.  The issues must still be dealt with and reforms must still be made.  Pray that God's plan (and He DOES have a plan) is carried out and those Christians that are still in country or will be soon would be used for God's glory.

This morning I ran out to town...just here in Jubail...with a driver to try and find John a mattress pad and some other things he had on the list for me to get....It was a mad dash to finish before the 11:50a prayer.  The poor driver had to deal with my scatterbrain!  He was a really nice guy from Sri Lanka...he has been in Saudi for 3 years.  He took me to Saco (kind of a hardware store), to the bookstore (to get a new iPhone USB cord because I left the 50 we already have in Bahrain), and to the grocery store.  While leaving the grocery store I was talking to John on the phone and when he found out how much the mattress pad cost he made me take it back...so the poor driver had to take me BACK to the hardware store...UFF!  It only took about an hour and a half, but it felt like a crazy mad dash!

I'm off to watch a movie and eat pizza with some of the wives....now this is the life.....:)

Evacuees...

Our beautiful view from our new livingroom...

I guess as most of you know by now we have been evacuated to Saudi Arabia by our company....*sigh*  It is absolutely beautiful here on the compound...it really does look like a beach resort somewhere in the Carribbean.  I am so thankful that our company cares enough to get us out of a dangerous situation.  And I am thankful that their compound is so gorgeous!  I need to thank whoever it was that arranged for us to get a villa at the last minute because John lives in a small two bedroom apartment...and we would have been just fine there, but we are so thankful that they were nice enough to get us a villa. 

It only took us a couple of months to fall in love with Bahrain.  We love the culture, the people, our friends, and even the food.  I have made some great friends and so have the girls.  Janie has the nicest friends and I am going to miss them coming over and hanging out and talking.  We are teaching them about SARCASM (as we are experts) and they are teaching us Arabic and their culture (by observation of course) and how to speak clearly without using too many words, etc..  I feel for them and their families because they are watching their country be torn apart...we have Saudi Arabia to evacuate to but their home is in Bahrain.

No one really knows what will happen in Bahrain...and there are no big news stories in the States about our civil unrest...and rightly so seeing as how Japan has been devastated by natural disasters and a nuclear meltdown.  I only have to look at those news stories to know that life could be soooo much worse. 

As best as I can see one of three things can happen.  Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, etc. have sent in their troops and it will either scare the opposition in to backing down and starting dialogue...hopefully with as little bloodshed as possible, OR....it will cause Iran to get more involved and they will try and intervene on the oppositions behalf...as has already been threatened.  If this happens, I suspect the U.S. (who has the Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain) and other E.U. countries will have to get involved as the GCC (Gulf Coast Countries) are our allies.  The last option would be that a civil war between the two sects in Bahrain will happen.  This will be the worst because I fear it will go on the longest and be the bloodiest.  I don't think you'll see big protests like you saw in the beginning of all this.  I think it will be street warfare like we started to see this week.  Gangs of thugs from both sides patroling neighborhoods and terrorizing the country.  Hopefully with the military support of the GCC the last two options won't happen. 

I ask that while you are praying for Japan and their people....just throw a little prayer in there for Bahrain and their people.  This is a sad situation for them and its more than just about it being an inconvenience or the fact that all this unrest causes the gas prices to rise in the U.S.  It is a volatile situation that affects the world in very serious ways.  So please pray.  Pray for peace in the Middle East...but especially Bahrain. 

The girls are in the middle of the second semester of the school year.  It would really stink to have to start at another school this year.  In Jubail, the school only goes up to the 10th grade so Janie would either have to home school, virtual school, or go to an International School in Dahran.  I do not want her driving over an hour to school one way on the Saudi roadways every day....I can't stand the idea that not only would she be over an hour away from me, but I cannot drive myself to get her if something were to happen as women aren't allowed to drive in Saudi.  I am praying that the unrest in Bahrain will be solved quickly so that we can get back to our lives and we won't have to make any of those decisions.  Janie actually has quite a few friends in Saudi, unfortunately they are all on the ARAMCO compound which is about an hour away.  Quite a few of the dorm kids that go to The Bahrain School are from that compound.  Hopefully she will get to go and visit some if we are here for an extended amount of time.

My family is crazy worried and this evacuation really isn't that big of a deal.  We are safe and secure....I am sure that they are baffled as to why we can't wait to go back to Bahrain.  And I know they are wondering why we haven't just flown home instead of evacuating to Saudi.  All I can say is that is that the thought of being that far away from John is excruciating to me.  I know we can do it...and we have before....but I unless there isn't another option then we want to be close to him.  I am a better person and parent when he is around.  I am a bit too lenient with the girls and he is my voice of reason...he is the balance to my check.  HA!  John loves his job...and his job is here...  I will say that the thought of going home and being near Alison again is inviting...but she has her own life and she is in college and growing up.  I miss her every day and I choke up even writing that line, but I feel like God moved us to Bahrain for a reason.  And until he makes it painfully clear that it's time to move back home....we will stay.

The compound here is incredible...there are lots of CPChem families living here....most of them have younger children.  The ladies that live here are so nice and welcoming.  I hope to get together with some of them as soon as my pity party is over....LOL! I think this is a great place to have a vacation, but I can't wait to get back to our old life...all of us in one house together with little to do tends to make for a grumpy set of women....poor John...pray for him.

A Skewed Self-Serving American Perspective of Bahrain

I have been talking to a lot of my friends lately about the whole Bahrain situation with the Shia and the Sunni.  I have even been chastising myself for taking sides...but as I sit and think about it further I realize that it isn't so much about Sunni vs. Shia in the mind of Americans, but more of the haves and the have nots.  I have been looking at the Bahraini situation with American filters....a westernized point of view.  How else CAN I look at it?  I have spent 42 years seeing things in a "western" way because I am "western." 

When you break the whole situation down the major problem they are dealing with in this country really isn't so different from the problems in America.   What people here AND in America fail to realize is that while OUR CURRENT government is doing little to help lower our own unemployment problems, the King has implemented policies to alleviate the issue.

Unemployment, especially among the young, is a long-term economic problem Bahrain struggles to address. In 2009, to help lower unemployment among Bahraini nationals, Bahrain reduced sponsorship for expatriate workers, increasing the costs of employing foreign labor. The global financial crisis caused funding for many non-oil projects to dry up and resulted in slower economic growth for Bahrain. Other challenges facing Bahrain include the slow growth of government debt as a result of a large subsidy program, the financing of large government projects, and debt restructuring, such as the bailout of state-owned Gulf Air.

What is causing the "global financial crisis" referred to above?  It would be easy to blame the housing bubble....blame Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac....but what about the non-U.S. economies that are experiencing the same housing crisis?  How does one explain that?  We could easily blame the greedy rich people on Wall Street and our politicians, and I am sure that they bear their fair share of blame, but it doesn't explain the problem in it's entirety.  Both of those answers would and could be accepted by the country...they give us someone to blame...we need someone to blame in our society.

Three of the six members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission created by the last Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis explain that it is not so easy to explain.  It wasn't just one thing or one entity that was at fault, but the product of 10 factors.  Only when these factors are taken together can they offer a sufficient explanation of what happened. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576104500524998280.html

Statistics put Bahrains umemployment rate at 3.7% and Americas unemployment rate at 8.9%.  Hmmmmm....interesting statistics, no? 

So what do the protestors want?  I have been reading and reading different sources to see what they want.  In the beginning I believe the voice of the opposition had relevant concerns and wanted specific reforms to be made....now as I peruse the different media sources all I can find is that they want the King and his cabinet to resign (some of the more benign protesters) and/or they want "death to the King" (the extremists). 

In the beginning they wanted jobs, higher paying jobs, better housing, an end to sectarian discrimination, etc.  They wanted the government to provide these things.  That is where my "taking sides" kicked in...as far as I can tell.  It isn't about Shia and Sunni to me...it is about wanting to be taken care of by the government.  So looking at it through my strictly westernized eyes I get angry...just like I do when I am in America and people want something for nothing.  I guess that's just human nature, no?  I just makes me mad.  I/we have worked hard for everything we have.  We have been broke and on the verge of losing everything before, but I never once asked the government for assistance.  I didn't even get assistance from the government to pay my college tuition (because of that, it took me more than 17 years to finish).  We just worked harder...and when I didn't have a job and needed money I went and looked for a job....I took jobs that were "beneath" me in skill, wages, humility...you name it.  I needed to pay my bills and feed my children.  Did I enjoy cleaning someone elses toilets?  NO.  Did I like being the smartest one in the room but treated as though I was the dumbest?  NO.  But I did what I did to survive and make a better life for my family.

My "taking sides" in this situation has nothing to do with sectarianism...I am not prejudiced against the Shia nor am I pro-Sunni.  I am a Christian and I pray for both sides to come to a saving knowledge of Christ.  My taking sides has more to do with situational prejudices.  I often feel that if I can do it then anyone can...and I have found out the hard way that that is not the case.  THAT is the issue I forget.  I don't come from a situation where the government provides EVERY need so that is my prejudical problem them I intend on working on.  Showing grace and mercy to those that I have no empathy for because I cannot relate to them.  I will be praying for God to show me ways to pray for the country of Bahrain and for the Bahraini people. 

This situation in Bahrain reminds me of our own civil rights movement.  There is always a class of people in a society that is thought to be "less than" and here in Bahrain it appears to be the Shia.  I am not sure I will every really understand the differences and issues between the two sects, but that is because I am looking through my westernized eyes.  I come from a relatively young country that once had its roots in faith, but has now become so far removed from that we cannot comprehend a country that has roots in its faith dating back thousands of years.  I cannot look through those eyes as I don't have those eyes.  I can try to read and understand as much as possible, but I feel I will ultimately fall short.

Mostly I have come to realize that my stance is purely self-serving.  I like my life here.  I like my friends here.  I like living in Bahrain and the longer this civil unrest goes on the more likely our family will get sent home at some point.  I know it is selfish, but I want the two sides to work something out so that we can continue to live here in Bahrain.