Dec 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! (imagine Christmas picture inserted here) Yesterday Alison and I celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple. It was sad not to be with our family, but it did leave us free to start a tradition or two that we might not have if we were at home. Here are a few that we will probably continue.
  • Peach French toast for breakfast. Alison makes this wonderful dish that consists of sugar, peaches, french bread and then the french toast mix (egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon). It was quite scrumptious.
  • Duck for Christmas dinner! I'm not sure I've had duck before, but it was excellent. Quite succulent. We also had garlic roasted potatoes, this cheese/cream cheese/sour cream spinach and broccoli dish. Lastly, home made cranberry sauce.
  • Giving gifts (duh). I got some starbursts, some malt beverages and some dark chocolate. Alison got some great gifts as well! Some really Christmas albums with really bad cover versions of bad Christmas songs and a french coffee press.
Some things I would rather NOT continue:
  • Me doing my Christmas shopping at 11am on Christmas day (I think this was the main reason that the Christmas albums were so bad).
  • Me not doing my Christmas shopping before Christmas day.
Why, might you ask, did you wait so long to do your Christmas shopping!? I have good reason. Alison and I took a holiday in Malaysia. We saw a lot of cool things, gawked at some jungle animals and had an all around good time. As usual, you can see some of the pictures at my picasa site. Enjoy!

Dec 8, 2008

Winter Vacation

Winter vacation has started and its a chilling 60 degrees Fahrenheit with cold winds whipping across Bahrain. So Alison and I have decided to escape the frigid weather and warm up in Malaysia. It should be pretty fun. We'll be able to spend a few days in one of the worlds oldest rain forests and then we'll spend a few days seeing the sites of Malaysia's capitol, Kuala Lumpar. We'll be back in Bahrain just in time for Christmas.


Below is a cartoon that I think will tickle the economist in all of us.



Dec 4, 2008

National Day and Thanksgiving

Today at school, our last day before break, the school had national day celebrations activities, and students could wear red and white (national colors) or wear national clothes (thobes and habiyas). So Alison and I decided to go to school in Bahraini clothes. I wore a thobe and gutra, while Alison wore a habiya. We were quite the talk of the school, I think.

You can see some more National Day pictures here, at my picasa album.

I learned that I was not wearing traditional Bahraini clothes - at least not dress. More like bedouin clothes with an Emrati style gutra (head piece). But I learned all about the Bahraini style of clothing.

Not only this, but thanksgiving was last week! Alison cooked two turkeys for 14 people and 2 babies. It was quite the feast. A few other people brought food, silverware and drinks. A few people from church came as well as some of our neighbors. It was quite a good time.

Of course, you can see some more Thanksgiving pictures here, at my picasa album.

Nov 18, 2008

Bahrain in the (US) News

Michael Jackson is in the news. Again. He's being sued by one of the members of Bahrain's royal family.

See the CNN version, or if you like (which I do), the local perspective in the Gulf Daily News.

But why would I even care to share this with you? I am certainly not an MJ fan.

A lesson in cross-cultural relationships.

In the article, Shaikh Abdulla Khalifa (current king's son) is suing MJ over 7 million dollars. MJ claims that it was a gift and Shaikh Khalifa is claiming that it was an invenstment for MJ to begin a recording company (a project started a few years ago but never took off).

So what happened?

Most likely, Shaikh Abdulla said he was givng him a "gift". But anyone who has lived in the Arab world knows that this isn't just a free gift. Many times, if a gift is given, there is something expected in return - maybe a service or a possible future MJ, it seems, wasn't making sure that he understood not only what Shaikh Khalifa said but also what Skaikh Khalifa meant.

It's also possible that our friend MJ decided what he wanted to hear.

So anyway, that's your cultural lesson for the day.

Nov 13, 2008

Million?

A friend sent me a link to the Obama administration's "transition team" website. On this website, you can ask for an application for a job within the administration.

Just for fun, I thought I'd fill it out and see what it said. Here is a sample question.
What is the largest budget you have ever had to preside over?
a) 0-2 million
b) 2-20 million
c) 20-100 million
Million? As in dollars? Or maybe... nope don't even have a million anything I've presided over. Except minutes of my own life. I've got about 13.5 million of those under my belt.

Let's try $300 or so when I was an assistant resident director at nwc.

When asked what position I thought I would be most qualified for, I said that I could help out with their Middle East foreign policy.

I mean, Sarah Palin said she had foreign policy experience because she lived near a foreign country.

Any one want to be a reference for me?

Nov 5, 2008

Why Obama Will Be a Good Thing

I rarely do this, but I am going to publicly reveal who I would have voted for. I would have voted for McCain (though I was leaning towards Obama for a very long time - up until the end [not related to McBama discussions, though. Sorry Lillibridge]). So, though I was ultimately a McCain supporter, I'd like to offer a few reasons why Barack Obama's election will be a good thing.

1) Obama has an element of class that Bush has never had. This is not a reflection on his (or Bush's) character, per se, but it does matter. People will approach him differently, and this will make an immense difference in how he handles foreign policy AND how foreign government officials see him. Living over seas the last few years has made me more sensitive to this aspect of the Presidency. Though I don't think the president should bend over backwards for every whim of world leader opinion, approaching their opinions at least with a measure of respect for their objectives and goals is something Bush hasn't done well. I also believe that Obama won't make sweeping changes to foreign policy goals and objectives anyway. Tactical differences maybe, but the same ultimate goals. (which is, obviously, destroying Iran... ).

2) Having a half-African American in the White house will have a positive effect on race relations. While race relations in the US are not at the low point of the 50's, 60's and 70's, this barrier has not been fully overcome. Having an African American man in the position will do two things, I believe. a) continue to 'normalize' perceptions of non-whites for whites who still have racial bias b) give a new perception to African American men and boys as to what is possible and what they are capable of. Personal perception is such a strong determinant and so often our self-perception is determined by what people around us - who are like us - have become or say they are able to become.

3) Obama brings to the Presidency an awareness of the poor that is rare for people in power. To be honest, some of his economic policies worry me. Some of his statements about "spreading the wealth" don't make me excited. However, he still needs to be reelected. So do the people who will vote (or not vote) for any legislation he puts forth. So what good is this? He will be a force pulling the opposite way of those who do not have any concern for the poor. If his policies are too radical, they will be pulled to the right - which is how the government is set up. And if the policies and legislation are too far right, I believe he will be a good check on that, as well.

As I said, I do have concerns about Obama's economic policy, and he is relatively untested, as the republican pundits like to point out. But to say that our country will be ruined by his being elected is alarmist and fails to recognize a) the separation of powers in the US constitution and b) the actual responsibilities of the President.

I'm done.

Oh, and according to the cnn projections, I almost nailed (see end of post) the electoral college vote numbers (only virginia was wrong) and I nailed McCain's percentage of popular vote: 46%.

Nov 1, 2008

What if Bahrain participated in the US Election?

According to the British business magazine The Economist, most people around the world would vote for Barack Obama. Even more interesting, in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf in particularly, there is not less than a 95% support percentage for Obama (with the exception of Iraq, interestingly enough). For many people, John McCain = Bush's 3rd term.

In class at the beginning of the year, I asked students who they would vote for. Almost all responded with Obama. Of course, their votes are not counted, and neither are the votes of others around the world. But I think it worthwhile to try and understand why this is true.

1) Bush's policies in the beginning were very confrontational and 'lone ranger' (Even Fareed Zakaria, liberal leaning editor of Newsweek see's bush as changing his attitude later in his tenure as president). Whether or not waiting for everyone to agree with him was the right decision, the result of this attitude was a feeling of alienation of many people. There is a sense that Bush will do whatever he wants to without regard to how it will affect the rest of the world. Bush's confrontational attitude has made more enemies than he needed to make. Many people view Obama as someone who would be less confrontational and more willing to work with other countries.

2) Middle East: It is interesting to note that so many people here are so in favor of Obama when the cultures are so conservative by American standards. Most people would line up with the republican party on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, taxes, immigration and most other issues.

Cultural Lesson - there is an element of Brotherhood that is present in the middle east that goes beyond political affiliations and alliances. To put it one way - one Arab's shame is all Arabs' shame. Though they may not have liked Saddam Hussein, many Arabs did not like the fact that 'one of their own' was defeated so quickly. They do not like the fact that another group has come in and done 'whatever they please.'

Bush has, therefore, 'dishonored' the region. 'Honor' is a central concept to self-perception and one of the deepest elements of identity in this part of the world. When one is 'dishonored', everything possible must be done to regain the lost 'honor'. This is a somewhat alien concept in the west, but it is absolutely necessary in understanding people who are from this region.

With this in mind, many Arabs seem to believe that Barack Obama will be more honoring to them and will partner with them in achieving common foreign policy goals.

3) Two more, less substantive reasons that many people in the Middle East support Barack Obama. a) With a Name like Barack Hussein Obama, many people assume that he is Muslim, though Obama has been adamant about his Christian faith. b) He is black, and therefore assumed to have a very different perspective on life. I think many people think he comes 'from the hood.'

So there you have it. Bahrain has thrown its support in for Barack Obama. We'll see in just a few days what will come in the US.

My prediction: Barack Obama. Popular Vote: 49%-46% Electoral College vote: 349-189.

Oct 28, 2008

The land of... palms? traffic lights?

I surprised my students the other day. They walked into class and I assigned them a one minute speech on their passion in life.

Due immediately.

One student, who wants to be a civil engineer, came up with this quote on the fly. It has summed what I sometimes feel like is much of my life in Bahrain:

"Bahrain used to be called the 'land of a million palm trees'. Now it is called the 'land of a million traffic lights.' "






























May God bless him on his quest.

Oct 13, 2008

My Own Financial Crisis

Forget Wall Street. Forget the Asian markets and the European Markets. I've got my own financial crisis to settle out!! (Where is the government when I need a bailout...)

1) My car needed brand spanking new tires. I talked them down to a 20% discount, but it was still $270. (however, it came at a good time as I went off-roading the next day).

2) My laptop broke. More accurately, it fell off the overhead projector in class. Even more accurately, it fell off when I tripped over the cord - in front of my 10A class. Looks of horror as they feared my wrath would be spewed in their direction. Feel my pain when you see the picture of a broken lcd screen below. Its what my screen looked like.



Alison's computer had broken so we sent it back to the states to get fixed a few weeks ago (it was still under warranty). Shipping was less expensive than having it fixed here. Amazing. This means we were computerless. How much we suffered!

$700 for a new laptop.

3) Oh yeah, remember that world financial crisis? Well Alison and I made a few investments this summer. Long term investments for when we retire someday (yeah, thinking ahead). Guess how much we've lost?

30%. See? Here. And here. Oh, and here, too.

I have been a firm believer in the business cycle. "Every 10 years", I say, "something like this happens! The markets will bounce back, and people will be happy until the next crash. Then fears of 'the end' will engross us again."

Hopefully my trust has not been misplaced. Of course, won't be making any more investments until the market bottoms out. Or Robin, our friend who has been helpful in assisting Alison and I figure out our investments, advises us.

I get dizzy thinking about all of this.

Oct 7, 2008

My Friend the Comedian!


Ever heard of "Axis of Evil"? No, not George Bush's "Axis of Evil", though the remark sparked this comedy group. Made up of Arab Americans, they make light of their experience in America, the Middle East and pretty much every where else. However, that's not the biggest news.

My friend Baraa entered a stand-up comedy contest and was one of 5 opening acts performed by Bahrainis! I was able to go to the first show and watch him perform his material, which was just great. He had never been on stage before, but he did it like a pro. It was really cool to see him up there making over a thousand people laugh.

Congratulations on a great performance Baraa!!

Sep 7, 2008

Wedding Photos

Weddings are grand. I've finally posted photos on my online Picasa album. There were 365 photos total, and there are still photo's that others took. I tried to pick the best ones out. Hope you enjoy.

Here's one to wet your appetite:


http://picasaweb.google.com/joshualperkins/Wedding

Sep 5, 2008

I can say this because I live in Bahrain

I like politics, and I enjoy following everything that's going on. Blah blah blah don't know who I'm voting for blah blah blah no good choices blah blah blah.

Anyway, I came across statements by both McCain and Obama regarding energy and gas prices. Both talk about wanting to lower gas prices (through different methods), but they also want to encourage alternative energy sources.

But here's the reality - HIGH GAS PRICES ARE GREAT.

Its all economics. The higher the price for a good, the more likely people are to find something else cheaper to replace that good. For instance, if I like McDonalds, but they raise their prices to $10 for a meal, I will find a replacement. Burger King. Price has gone up, and I have an incentive to spend less money - for relatively the same benefit - elsewhere.

If gas prices go up, people will want to spend less and less on gas. Demand for eco-friendly cars and other eco-friendly energy solutions will rise, asssuming that the rise in demand doesn't make these products more expensive than paying for gas. Companies, motivated by profit (not - as much as we would love it to be true - motivated by good stewardship or good will), will produce products that bring them the most profit. In this case, eco-friendly vehicles (hybrids, electric cars, etc). Thus, the environment is saved.

So I say - BRING ON THE HIGH GAS PRICES.

But I can say that because I live in Bahrain. I pay less than a dollar a gallon - government subsidized gas.

My car gets 13 miles to the gallon and I don't even bat an eye.

Aug 16, 2008

Good Bye America, Hello Bahrain!

In less than 4 hours, I will be at the airport with my beautiful wife (see picture below to be amazed at her beauty) waiting to fly from Houston to DC to Kuwait to Bahrain. See you on the flip side!

Aug 13, 2008

Reflections on One Week of Marriage and Other Thoughts.

Today is our 10 day anniversary!

Also, my wife1 hogs the bed. She wakes up in the middle night telling me to scoot over because she doesn’t have enough room. This may be true. I guess I shouldn’t be blaming my wife. Rather, I should be blaming that pesky pillow that she puts on the other side of her who selfishly takes up 1/3 of the bed, leaving me about half a butt-cheeks worth of room and my leg hanging off the side. Curse those pillows (you need to say “curse those pillows” with the same voice as Christian Bale’s ‘batman’).

Ok, so as my wife sits next to me as I type this and gives the standard “I’m laughing but embarrassed” laugh that I have seen in so many other wives, I am less thinking about that absurd pillow and more about the fact that I have consistently referred to my wife as “my wife.” It’s such a weird thing.

We are currently sitting in the Detroit airport and the lady at the check-in desk asked for volunteers to change flights – new flight along with a voucher for another flight.

I went up to check out the options, and the lady said they only needed one more volunteer. Of course, I told her I didn’t want to travel without “my wife.” There it was again. I seem to be using it a lot. Don’t get me wrong. I really love saying it. There’s a certain finality to saying “my wife” that I enjoy. Not a “doomed” finality, but rather a certain sense of solidity and commitment, and a certain maturity to it that “girlfriend” or even “fiancé” doesn’t quite attain.

My wife, though, does other things than just use pillows as cuddling tools at night (I’m not as soft as a pillow, but I’m working on it. Cheese dinner, anyone?)

As we sit in the airport, she’s currently reading “Sacred Marriage”, a book given to us as a wedding gift. The tagline is “What if marriage is designed to make us holy rather than make us happy.” I’m excited to read it.

While she was reading that, I had my own reading material. I had cracked open C.S. Lewis’ “Pilgrims Regress.”2 Apparently it’s one of the first books, though I’ve liked it. It’s an unabashed allegory, and the main character “John” leaves home to explore outside his homeland. The first man he comes to is Mr. Enlightenment. Mr. Enlightenment tells John that there is no Landlord (allegorical character for God) and that the Landlord is a creation of the Stewards (priests). Mr. Enlightenment goes onto say that all the scientific revelations have proved that there is no Landlord and that anthropologists have determined that all these stories of various rulers are traceable to legends that are perfectly explainable.

Interestingly enough, this connects to another book that I finished last night: “The Physics of Star Trek”3. I love star trek, which comes from growing up in a house where good science fiction (and sometimes bad) is held with due respect. In the book, there are two different paragraphs which I’m going to quote below.

”However, a quantum theory of strings cannot be made mathematically consistent in 4 dimensions, or 5, or even 6. It turns out that such theories can exist consistently only in 10 dimensions, or perhaps only in 26!”(pg 146)

It doesn’t matter what “a quantum theory of strings” are – I really don’t understand it. The important part is that we live in a 4 dimensional world (space/time) and we cannot imagine anything beyond that. Yet, the only way that this physics concept works is in a world of more dimensions than we understand.

And a few pages later, the author continues – though speaking on a different topic.

“If we insist on interpreting quantum mechanical phenomena in terms of classical (generally understood) concepts, we will inevitably encounter phenomena that seem paradoxical, or impossible. This is as it should be. Classical mechanics cannot account properly for quantum mechanical phenomena, and so there is no reason that classical descriptions should make sense.” (149)

The point is this: science seems to accept the fact that there are things which exist in realities beyond our own understanding. Interesting.

When I had read the 2nd paragraph, I started thinking about the connection between the two paragraphs. If science finds paradoxes and impossibilities plausible in science, cannot we also say the same thing about Christianity? There are two specific applications that I have thought of, the first generally acceptable to all believers.

1) The Trinity: How can three be one? How can Jesus be both fully man and fully God? Is it possible that, because lives in more dimensions than ours or even outside of dimensions, that all these things can be true at once? Is it realistic and good theology to accept the mystery and not need to attempt to explain? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we shouldn’t think about the character and nature of God or that questions shouldn’t be wrestled with. What I am saying is that the apparent contradiction may only be a contradiction because we live experiencing and sensing only a limited part of what is readily and creation - 4 dimensions rather than the whole of dimensions.

2) God’s sovereignty: How can we be under the sovereign power of God and yet have freedom to choose and be held accountable for our sin (see Romans 8-9)? I remember John Piper accepting both propositions as true, though they are contradictory. However, both are biblical truths. Though I accept both as true because both are stated in Scripture, the idea is supported by the physics argument that some things are currently beyond our understanding due to our own limited existence and nature.

These thoughts were confirmed by my physics-savy wife, who holds a BS in physics and a minor in Math from a prestigious physics university. In fact, she went on to say that the same argument has been made before by others.

In one breath I had been both validated and invalidated (though she meant it as an encouragement of my cogitations – she’s great for conversation). On the one hand, I thought of something that another smart person thought of. On the other hand, someone had thought of it first.

I am consoled by the fact that there is “nothing new under the sun.” So I guess no one has any original thoughts.

1. My wife: Mrs. Alison Perkins aka “the beautiful”

2. Lewis, C.S., "Pilgrims Regress." London. J. M. Dent and Sons, 1933.

3. Krauss, Laurence M., The Physics of Star Trek. New York. HarperPerennial, 1995.

Jul 30, 2008

What have I been doing!?!?!? And Almost Married

My friends, egagement is almost over. Finally. freaking Finally. Engagement has been fun, but every good thing comes to an end. Praise the Lord. However, we've done TONS of cool things this summer as an engaged couple. Here is a sprinkling of what we've been up to this summer:

-watched the tv show "Scrubs." Pretty hilarious

-read a book all about the history of the church as well as about Christianity in China

-met ALL of Alison's great friends and family all over michigan.

In fact, we are currently sitting at a coffee shop with some friends from college. "You are typing your blog while 'talking' to them?'" you might be asking. Why yes, yes I am. In fact, my best man, Ryan Lang is currently sitting next to me doing the exact same thing. Do I feel bad? A little bit.

Other things we've done:

-visited Alison's grandmothers cherry/pear/apple/plum/peach farm. We got this huge crate of cherries that we finished. Let me tell you - cherries directly from the tree are FLIPPING AMAZING.

-celebrated American Independence day on July 4th at a freaking packed boardwalk area. (see previous blog about my thoughts on celebrating American Independence)

-met my friend Katie half way between Alison's house and Chicago.

-started planning a wedding about 2 1/2 weeks before the wedding was actually to start. No problems (though mostly due to all the great people who've helped us out - like Alison's sister-in-law, her mother, my mother)

-met with a financial adviser who told us how we should spend our money.

-sitting with my best man - Ryan Lang - at a coffee shop, who is helping me ignore Alison's friends. Sorry to the two of you if you ever read this. I really am not as rude as I currently look.

-visited all of the churches that Alison has gone to

-went to Cedar Point theme park with Alison's brother's bachelor party. Fortunately, didn't get sick.

-played cards with my parents (in which my dad and I gloriously defeated my mom and alison)

-played scrabble with alison (in which I won)

I'm sure there's a myriad of other things, but I can't remember that now, and I feel like I should return to the conversation that I've never really been a part of.

For now, I'm just semi-enjoying my last few days of engagement.

Being married will be way better.

Jul 4, 2008

Why American Christians should not celebrate American Independence Day

I do not hate America. In fact, I am quite fond of America. Those of you who know I live overseas might think I have been brainwashed into anti-Americanism. But I really haven’t.

I am currently visiting my family in Houston and have thoroughly enjoyed orderly lines, sane traffic and insane gas prices. I have enjoyed understanding what everyone around me is saying, and the familiarity that comes from being home.

So why might I say that Christians should not celebrate Independence Day? Here are some reasons.

1) Scripture References

Paul says in Romans 13:1-2

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.

In reference to the American Revolution, are there any exceptions that we can pull? It seems not. The reasons for the American Revolution are two-fold (summarized):

A) Taxation without representation

B) Excessive use of force by the authorities governing the colonies (in some cases)

While the first gives the best environment for checks and balances of power, there is no scriptural directive saying that governments must use this organization to manage their territories. Thus, we cannot say that the government of England was overstepping any biblical commands.

The second, of course, amounts to unjust action on the part of the rulers, and oversteps biblical mandate. However, this does not give justification to armed rebellion, at least in terms of scripture, for Paul states that God has established this authority. God will hold them accountable.

Of course, one must wonder about verse three. Paul says that Rulers hold no terror for those who do no wrong. We obviously know this not to be true in all cases. Many Christians were persecuted even in his time.

One might wonder if the verse is talking to a specific group of people and is about a specific government. This might have been true if only the first half of the first sentence had been writing. However, the rest of the sentence makes it universal.

2) Case Study: The Hebrews and Pharaoh

If there is anywhere in scripture where a group of people had a right to rebel, it would have been the Hebrews, enslaved by the Egyptians, forced to build monuments to men and false gods. They were mistreated in the most grotesque ways. Its quite possible that many thought of rebelling, and a few may have attempted to lead insurrections. Yet, God never calls for the people to rise up in rebellion. Rather, he sends Moses and Aaron.

Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh in order to deliver messages from God – “Let my people go.” When Pharaoh doesn’t agree, God doesn’t say “aight, we tried once – let’s do this the old fashioned way.” No, Moses approaches Pharaoh ten times before Pharaoh finally agrees. THEN Moses gets to lead the Israelites out.

Note this – God changed Pharaoh’s heart, either softening or hardening it. If God was choosing when exactly to have the Israelites leave Egypt, if God is dictating the course of events, why did he choose to have Pharaoh’s approval be a part of his plan? It seems he wanted the Israelites to leave on the admission of God

There seems to be a theme throughout scripture of submission to authorities, whether or not those authorities are just or not.

-David was never told to rebel against Saul, though Saul was an unjust leader and pursued David mercilessly.

-Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego all refused to submit to Authority when it contradicted God’s directives, but never rebelled. Rather, they engaged in passive resistance – akin to the actions of Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela (in his later years).

-Jesus never advocated rebellion against the roman authorities. Rather, he advocated that Jews pay taxes. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

-Stephen argued his case for Christ to the Jewish authorities, but he never once fought back.

-When Peter attempts to fight the roman authorities who come to arrest Jesus, Jesus stops him and tells him not to fight back.

Jul 3, 2008

An Epic Journey

"I can't give you a ticket."

These were the words that greeted us from the man at the airports check-in counter.

Both Alison and I were confused.

"Why not?" we asked.

"Well, the tickets you have were for yesterday," he replied.

I couldn't even believe it. We showed the man our initial itinerary that had the original dates for the current night. He looked at it, but said that it didn't matter. The actual tickets were for the day before.

Someone had changed our ticket - AND DIDN'T TELL US! We worked hard to get the ticket changed back that night and to get on a plane to Houston, but to no avail.

We went back home that night dejected and disappointed. My mom couldn't believe what had happened.

The next day, Alison and I went to the travel agency that had booked our tickets and explained their problem. Most were sympathetic, but there were some problems, and they weren't sure if they could get it switched without having to buy new tickets.

Fortunately, after about four hours, we got new tickets for that night (or really - for early the next morning).

By 1 o'clock on Sunday (or 9pm Bahrain time) Alison arrived in Houston to the joy of my mother and father - who both proceeded to smother Alison and completely forget about me. But that's a story for another time.

The point is - it was a rough ride, but we finally made it. And its nice to be home.

Jun 9, 2008

Wimps.

Philadelphia Schools Close Due to Heat.

It was 96 degrees today and it actually felt a little refreshing. Of course, we have air conditioners.

In other news:
  • I have moved into my new apartment and enjoying it
  • Today was the last day of teaching classes!
  • Only 54 days left till Alison and I get married
  • I have been reading two fascinating books: Geography of Thought and The World is Flat.
  • Al Raja's first graduation is tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to seeing the seniors off one last time (they've been finished with exams for over two weeks, but they keep coming back).
Another quote for you: "Ninth graders aren't people. They're hormones."

Truer words have rarely been spoken.

Apr 27, 2008

Quote of the Week

"Any month that is not August is an unnecessary month."

-Alison Murphy

Truer words have never been spoken.

Apr 21, 2008

Facebook: The Israel Conspiracy

I hear the most random things. Here are a few of the conspiracies that I have unmasked since I've lived in Bahrain.

1) Facebook is controlled by Israel: It makes perfect sense, says my Arab friend. I mean, Israel wants to take over the world. Facebook is a way to gather all sorts of information on people. People put all kinds of crap on Facebook - phone numbers, addresses, pictures, videos. Its all there for Israel to catalog and track. I mean, who else would want this information!? DUN Dun dun!!

2) Fluoride - the sedative for Americans: Did you know that most American cities have fluoride added to their water? Yes? Well do you know what this fluoride does!?!? I can tell you right now.

Fluoride is a way to control the population. It make men impotent and therefore keeps them from impregnating their wives and girlfriends. Of course. Otherwise we'd spread like rabbits.

Fluoride is also a way to brainwash Americans. The fluoride makes us more sensitive to the subliminal and subversive messages from our evil and world dominating government.

3) George Bush is bent on world domination: Actually, this one is a pretty understandable viewpoint. I don't claim to know Bush's or any other US government officials reasons for the current US foreign policy, but its easy to see why people around the world hate President Bush.

Apr 16, 2008

New Apartment Photos

(side note - when I started typing, all my letters were changing to a Hindi script... don't know how that happened).

ANYWAY. My mom asked if I'd post some apartment photos on here. So I am going to post one photo to wet your appetite. You'll need to go to my online photo album to see the rest of the pictures (and a few that needed to be shown to the general public).

In other apartment news, Alison and I found an apartment to live in next year! We went last Tuesday to sign the lease. Its out of Manama (out of the city) - which will be nice - and its about 20 minutes from school. Its quite a bit bigger than the apartment I have now, and its cheaper. Ironically, now that I've finally posted pictures of my apartment, I am leaving it in less than a month. I'll be a little bit better the next time.

However, another photo is in dire need of being uploaded. A few of you know that I was not able to get Alison a ring right away when we got engaged. Well expenses kept coming up, but I was finally able to buy a ring!

Below is a picture of the ring on her hand. Again, you can go to my web albums to see a few more pictures of us and some other goodies from the night I gave her the ring.

Apr 8, 2008

STOMP in Bahrain

You'd be surprised at what might cause cultural miscues. Take, for instance, my recent attendance of a concert here in Bahrain.

I went to Stomp with a flipping herd of my closest, dearest friends. If you don't know what stomp is, then you should go to your kitchen right now, lift your trashcan up, drop it, and vooala. You have yourself a broadway musical. Its like a two hour game of "does this make noise? Yes? THEN LETS KEEP MAKING IT!" Then charge people exorbitant amounts of money, because - lets face it - they can make a broom sound much better than I can.

Anyway, part of the show was seven people using brooms. These brooms were used to sweep dust off the stage in a syncopated manner - right into the audience. Ha ha. So funny.

But that's not what was so jaw - dropping. If you've ever visited an Arab function, you will have noticed that they ALL have a VIP section at the front. Its usually royal family members, members of the government or others who have weaseled their way into power.

And they got dust swept into their eyes.

People stateside pay lots of money to have someone dump junk - paint, goop, whale slobber - on them during a show. But not here. An awkward silence followed the scene. Some people didn't know whether to laugh or to hide from the possible onslaught of Bahrain special forces, who might put their own version of stomp on.

Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened. The show must go on, I guess.

Mar 16, 2008

139 Days Left

Qatar - pronounced QA-ter. Not qa-TAR, as I once did in my own ignorance. I went with six 12th graders and another woman from the school (this was back in January). Why, you may ask?

To attend the Model United Nations conference hosted by the Qatar (Doha) extension of Georgetown University. It was a great conference, and not just because of the 5 star hotel, great food, and excellent room service.

The students came prepared to represent a country in various councils, modeling the United Nations. My students were representatives in the African Union, NATO, Economic and Social Development and last, but not least, Human Rights. My students did an excellent job giving speeches, answering questions and generally showing their own intellectual prowess.

A similar conference was held at my school for Bahrain. Over 400 students participated as representatives, security, administrative aides or press. Its a fairly impressive operation.

Other than that - nothing new to talk about, really. Alison and I are slowly but steadily hammering out wedding plans. Remember kids, August 2nd is the big day.

Hopefully I'll be able to connect with a lot of people over the summer. We'll see though. Right now the plan is for Alison and I to fly to Houston and visit my parents for about a week or so. Then we'll head up to Michigander for the remainder of our lives as singles to put the finishing touches on a world class wedding.

And by world class I mean, a wedding that most of the world could afford (most of the world is poor, mind you).

If I ever come across pictures that I think you would find interesting, I'll put them up here.

Feb 2, 2008

New Car!!

After five months of being bound to a bike and my own two legs, I got a car!

1994 Suzuki Vitara 4wd manual transmission

Let me tell you. A 4wd is amazing. I am not bound by the laws of physics. Well, maybe by physics, but I'm certainly not bound by roads. In fact, I regularly park on sidewalks and have even once skipped driving on the road to driving through a dirt field to reach my intended destination. And some day, I'll even take it out to the desert to tramps around in.

But really, its just nice to be able to go grocery shopping any time I want.

Jan 23, 2008

An Announcement for the Ages

Most of the people who read this regularly probably already know this - but I feel that announcements such as this are only official if they meet the following criteria:

1) It is published on any public blogs
2) Your facebook status has been updated (this one is key)
3) Your mother knows

But here is the big announcement:

I'M ENGAGED!!

Below is a picture of my fiance, Alison Murphy, and I (I have long shaggy hair which has since been cut).

If you are not already aware, she is a teacher at Al Raja school with me. She teaches 11th grade algebra and 12th grade chemistry.

She is from Michigan and this is her first year in Bahrain. She has spent time, however, in Turkey and other trips outside the States.

We will get married August 2nd in her hometown in Battle Creek, and then return to teach at Al Raja. Which means that I will need to be on my toes looking for an apartment that is worthy of a lady such as this.

That's my story! Any questions or comments - let me know!