Last night, I heard a knocking in/on my a/c. It was disheartening (I thought it was broken) until I realized it was the pitter-patter of rain drops! This morning while at school, it started to come down fairly hard. A good solid rain. With thunder and lightining, which is fantastic.
You can imagine that rain is a fairly uncommon thing in Bahrain. I mean, we live in the desert for goodness sake! Having a rain storm here is the Midwest equivalent of having a huge snow storm. Its a lot of fun to see all the snow, and there's a good chance that school may be canceled. No, really. School has been canceled before due to the chaos the rain causes on the roads. I may have blogged about this before, but here are some observations/thoughts from today's rain storm.
1. Road Chaos. People drive really really slowly. Traffic will back up for miles. And when you finally get to the hold up, you often find that its just a puddle. I used to think that people were afraid of getting their cars wet. However, I have a new hypothesis. There are a lot of potholes in the roads, and with puddles, you can't see the potholes. It could be quite damaging to some cars if they were to hit some of the potholes. Therefore, they go around the puddles. Slowly. Which backs up traffic. Not only that, but people are a lot less used to driving in the rain, so people go slower out of safety. Its like being in the south when an inch of snow brings a city to a halt.
2. The kids go crazy. It was a pretty solid down poor this morning before classes started. The kids would run out into the court yard and get rained on then run back to cover. Screaming and screeching from students. It was a delight. Until they got to class and I had to attempt to calm them down and teach about solving word problems. But seriously, who wants to solve word problems with there's RAIN outside! They all come in making jokes about how they didn't need to take a shower this morning or about how its going to flood the entire city (which might happen, actually - the sewer systems aren't built for heavy rains)
3. New meanings to scripture. Coming from the Midwest where rain is abundant, its hard to imagine how refreshing rain can be. But when rain only comes 3 or 4 times a year, its extremely refreshing. Any place that there is standing water, there is life. there's a place near our house where trucks get treated water, and it often spills out as they leave the compound. This has created a pond of sorts near the entrance. All around it are green grasses and plants.
So when Jesus says that he has living water, it is extremely stark imagery. Where there is water, there is life. There is refreshment. When David says in Psalm 23 that "he takes me to lie beside still waters..." its not just solitude or time for contemplation (though that may happen), he's talking about something much deeper. Fundamental. Its not just relaxing. Its LIFE. Without it there is death. And not just any death - a slow, prolonged death of dying from thirst.
I've probably blogged about rain before, and I'll probably blog about it again. Its always fun to get rain. If I ever get a decent picture, I'll post it on here.
Nov 7, 2010
Nov 5, 2010
Work Project: Al Raja's New Website
Some of you know that I'm working for Al Raja School again. I've been fortunate enough to be able to teach some classes and spend part of my time on administrative oriented projects. The most recently completed project is a website. Here's the front page:
Now, I know my way around a computer and the internet as much as your average 20-something. And maybe a little bit better than average. But I'm certainly not a programmer. Or a graphic designer, for that matter (I really do rely on Alison to determine outfits that look good). So I must emphasize that this is no programing or designing feat I've accomplished. So how did I do it?
I used Weebly - a Content Management System, or CMS. CMS could also be called "website making for people who don't have any idea how to program." And Weebly is the king of CMS's. Seriously, if you can't figure out Weebly, then you have no business being on a computer at all. And since its created so even my 95 year old grandfather could create a site, its got lots of templates.
Weebly is also great because it automatically integrates our domain name with Google Apps. Through Google Apps, we now have access to many of Google's products through our own domain name. For instance, my new school email is webmaster@alrajabahrain.org. And not just email. Docs, calendar, chat, sites, and basically anything else that comes with a Google account. Including Google Analytics.
Analytics is fantastic. By inserting a small piece of code in the Al Raja Website, Analytics tracks all the users who come and generates about 50 different reports on visitors to the site. A lot of it isn't useful to the school because we are a non-profit institution and we don't make sales on our website. But some of it is useful. And regardless, I love seeing graphs and charts. And it automatically generates all sorts of graphs and charts depending on what you want.
I've said it before, but I love Google. Some people think they're taking over the world, and maybe they are. But I'm ok with that. I'm ok with that.
Anyway, that's my latest project. If there are more projects interesting enough to blog about, I'll do so.
Now, I know my way around a computer and the internet as much as your average 20-something. And maybe a little bit better than average. But I'm certainly not a programmer. Or a graphic designer, for that matter (I really do rely on Alison to determine outfits that look good). So I must emphasize that this is no programing or designing feat I've accomplished. So how did I do it?
I used Weebly - a Content Management System, or CMS. CMS could also be called "website making for people who don't have any idea how to program." And Weebly is the king of CMS's. Seriously, if you can't figure out Weebly, then you have no business being on a computer at all. And since its created so even my 95 year old grandfather could create a site, its got lots of templates.
Weebly is also great because it automatically integrates our domain name with Google Apps. Through Google Apps, we now have access to many of Google's products through our own domain name. For instance, my new school email is webmaster@alrajabahrain.org. And not just email. Docs, calendar, chat, sites, and basically anything else that comes with a Google account. Including Google Analytics.
Analytics is fantastic. By inserting a small piece of code in the Al Raja Website, Analytics tracks all the users who come and generates about 50 different reports on visitors to the site. A lot of it isn't useful to the school because we are a non-profit institution and we don't make sales on our website. But some of it is useful. And regardless, I love seeing graphs and charts. And it automatically generates all sorts of graphs and charts depending on what you want.
I've said it before, but I love Google. Some people think they're taking over the world, and maybe they are. But I'm ok with that. I'm ok with that.
Anyway, that's my latest project. If there are more projects interesting enough to blog about, I'll do so.
Nov 3, 2010
Random Updates
There's not been a whole lot of interesting things happening around here, but its been a while since I've blogged, so I thought I'd put some updates on here of random things:
1. Elections happened in Bahrain a couple weekends ago. Unfortunately, we spent the weekend in Dubai and so I wasn't here to see everything. But not a problem, there will be more elections. So what were the results? Well, the main opposition party - Wafaq - won all of the seats they contested (18 seats) which leaves them the largest bloc in the 40 seat parliament. To be honest, I haven't worked out what the other parties are.
Interested in reading more about Bahrain's elections? Here is a link to a search on Google News for stories on the election in Bahrain.
Another interesting fact: non-Bahraini's can vote if they own land. More specifically, they can vote in the municipal elections (equivalent of a mayor or city council). It makes sense, since those are the positions that will make policies that affect them.
2. How could there be an update without talking about Eva? Answer: there couldn't. If you saw Eva this summer, you saw her scoot-scooting around. She's gotten even better at crawling and is now pretty quick. Quick enough to get into the things she knows she's not supposed to before we see her. We've removed anything that she can hurt herself with, but she can still get to bookshelves and dvds and the TV. Its apparent that she knows what "no, eva" means. Its even more apparent that she is quite capable of disobeying mom and dad. So we are all learning - Alison and I are learning about disciplining a child in love, and Eva is learning to obey mommy and daddy. Albeit slower than we would prefer.
And yes, that's right. I talked about Eva without actually showing a picture of her.
3. Education. I don't know if I've ever said this on here, but Alison is going to finish her Masters in Education starting in January! She has already figured out her schedule for the next year and a half, and she will soon be steeped in articles and books and writing papers. The good news about all this is that I get to participate in the festivities. Whatever articles she gets, I will also get to read. Its hard to say who's more excited about all this - her or me. This means we are officially nerds.
That's all for now. In the future, look forward to some posts on Eid, Thanksgiving and possibly a slew of book reviews.
1. Elections happened in Bahrain a couple weekends ago. Unfortunately, we spent the weekend in Dubai and so I wasn't here to see everything. But not a problem, there will be more elections. So what were the results? Well, the main opposition party - Wafaq - won all of the seats they contested (18 seats) which leaves them the largest bloc in the 40 seat parliament. To be honest, I haven't worked out what the other parties are.
Interested in reading more about Bahrain's elections? Here is a link to a search on Google News for stories on the election in Bahrain.
Another interesting fact: non-Bahraini's can vote if they own land. More specifically, they can vote in the municipal elections (equivalent of a mayor or city council). It makes sense, since those are the positions that will make policies that affect them.
2. How could there be an update without talking about Eva? Answer: there couldn't. If you saw Eva this summer, you saw her scoot-scooting around. She's gotten even better at crawling and is now pretty quick. Quick enough to get into the things she knows she's not supposed to before we see her. We've removed anything that she can hurt herself with, but she can still get to bookshelves and dvds and the TV. Its apparent that she knows what "no, eva" means. Its even more apparent that she is quite capable of disobeying mom and dad. So we are all learning - Alison and I are learning about disciplining a child in love, and Eva is learning to obey mommy and daddy. Albeit slower than we would prefer.
And yes, that's right. I talked about Eva without actually showing a picture of her.
3. Education. I don't know if I've ever said this on here, but Alison is going to finish her Masters in Education starting in January! She has already figured out her schedule for the next year and a half, and she will soon be steeped in articles and books and writing papers. The good news about all this is that I get to participate in the festivities. Whatever articles she gets, I will also get to read. Its hard to say who's more excited about all this - her or me. This means we are officially nerds.
That's all for now. In the future, look forward to some posts on Eid, Thanksgiving and possibly a slew of book reviews.
Oct 14, 2010
Land Reclamation - Bahrain Edition
The coast lines move here. I don't mean the waves. As in the country is getting bigger (but not just in terms of population). I mean the actual, physical country is getting bigger. As in its square mileage is increasing. Usually a country has to take land from someone else to do that, but here its done differently.
Land reclamation.
You may have heard about Dubai, an instant city in the United Arab Emirates. Its known for its extravagance and high spending (and now for the crash in its property market). One of the things its know for are the man-made islands that they have built from scratch off the coast. See below.
This is land reclamation. Taking sand and rock (of which Saudi Arabia has plenty to spare), dumping it just off the beaches and in effect extending the land. I've known that Bahrain does this, and I know that they have done it for a long time. People who have been here for a long time will sometimes say things like "the beach used to come to this road."
However, I was on google maps looking at Bahrain (of which google has extensively mapped) and I saw what the picture below. This is a map of the northeast portion of the main island. Its the main city center. You can see in the top and right parts of the picture what look like roads on the ocean. Maybe bridges or canals (like Venice). However, I can tell you for a fact that those are not canals. Instead, I think that the map is showing where the coastline USED to be. Now it would be just beyond the furthest roads - and growing.
If you look closely, near the top center is an area called Ras Rumman. Just south (near a grey area) is where Al Raja School (where I currently work) is located. Our principal used to come through Bahrain when he was young, and he said that the beach was a short walk from Al Raja. No longer. It takes a little bit of walking to get there.
You can imagine how much Bahrain has changed over the last 50 years. I often wonder what people who are in their 50's or older think about how Bahrain has changed so radically. A couple of months ago, I was sent pictures of Bahrain from the 50's and 60's. Maybe I'll post those pictures along with what the current area looks like!
Just for fun, you can click here to go to Bahrain in Google maps. If you can find "Tubli", that's where Alison and I live.
Land reclamation.
You may have heard about Dubai, an instant city in the United Arab Emirates. Its known for its extravagance and high spending (and now for the crash in its property market). One of the things its know for are the man-made islands that they have built from scratch off the coast. See below.
This is land reclamation. Taking sand and rock (of which Saudi Arabia has plenty to spare), dumping it just off the beaches and in effect extending the land. I've known that Bahrain does this, and I know that they have done it for a long time. People who have been here for a long time will sometimes say things like "the beach used to come to this road."
However, I was on google maps looking at Bahrain (of which google has extensively mapped) and I saw what the picture below. This is a map of the northeast portion of the main island. Its the main city center. You can see in the top and right parts of the picture what look like roads on the ocean. Maybe bridges or canals (like Venice). However, I can tell you for a fact that those are not canals. Instead, I think that the map is showing where the coastline USED to be. Now it would be just beyond the furthest roads - and growing.
If you look closely, near the top center is an area called Ras Rumman. Just south (near a grey area) is where Al Raja School (where I currently work) is located. Our principal used to come through Bahrain when he was young, and he said that the beach was a short walk from Al Raja. No longer. It takes a little bit of walking to get there.
You can imagine how much Bahrain has changed over the last 50 years. I often wonder what people who are in their 50's or older think about how Bahrain has changed so radically. A couple of months ago, I was sent pictures of Bahrain from the 50's and 60's. Maybe I'll post those pictures along with what the current area looks like!
Just for fun, you can click here to go to Bahrain in Google maps. If you can find "Tubli", that's where Alison and I live.
For reference, the square in the top part of the island is the zoomed in area you see above.
Oct 8, 2010
Old Earth Vs. Young Earth
Few topics cause more of a rise in passion and discussion in our household than the topic of young earth or old earth. Is Genesis 1 literal? Or figurative? If its literal, how do we reconcile it with scientific data? If its figurative, by what criteria do we label it figurative (lest we start labeling the parts of scripture that are inconvenient for us as figurative).
However, "Get Fuzzy", one of our favorite comic strips, has provided a powerfully reconciliative answer. I hope you find as much meaning and closure in this as I have.
