Bahrain - Day 3

Today was our last day in Bahrain. It's weird, because it feels like time has absolutely flown by, but at the same time, I find it hard to believe that we have only been here for three days. I suppose that's because we have done so much since day 1. Anywhoo, this was our crazy agenda for today. 

6:45 – 7:45	Breakfast
8:05	Depart from hotel
8:30 – 10:00	Visit to Ibn Khuldoon National School
10:30 – 12:00	Visit the new science center
12:30-3:00	Bapco club lunch and site tour
3:30-5:30	Bahrain Airport
6:10	Depart to Qatar - Qatar Airways 0161

Call me crazy, but I was stoked to go visit a school today. The school we visited was a K-12 school, and housed only about 2000 students. When we arrived, the 9th graders were lined up outside in the courtyard. A handful of seniors were apologizing to the students for the senior prank they played last week. The principal was requiring them to apologize to every class level in the school. I'm not exactly sure what they did - I tried to ask some of the kids but all I got was "they vandalize" and a few "they disturbing class" responses. Amateurs. 

Kidding...  


Our group split into middle school and high school tour groups, and went on our way. We made a few cameos in some classrooms, and had the opportunity to talk to a few teachers as well. Overall, it was a great visit. The school was quaint, but had an abundance of resources. Here are a few pictures I snapped on the tour.

Obviously I had to give the principal some WBI Timberwolf paraphernalia.

Our next stop brought out the child in me (nerd alert), as well as in several of my fellow group members. Prior to its opening, our group received the privilege of visiting the Bahrain Science Center. The Center is aimed to open this coming school year, and hopes to compliment the science and technology curricula, encouraging teachers to bring in their classes for some inquiry based learning. According to the director of the center, " The role of the Bahrain Science Centre is to promote awareness of the importance of science and technology, complement the school curriculum, stimulate curiosity and innovation, and create a forum for public debate on science and technology issues." Sounds pretty professional. And of course, we all acted like respectable, professional adults while we were there. Proof:

See? Totally professional. This science center was truly amazing, and one that I wish I could bring my students to. Hopefully the U.S. will get it together and develop something like this before I retire. Inquiry-based. Hands-on. Fun. Aligned with the TEKS. Is that too much to ask? 


Our final destination today was the site of Bapco, or the Bahrain Petroleum Company. They are one of the sponsor's of the TEACH fellowship program, and provided several of our accommodations during our stay in Bahrain. We sat down to a beautifully catered lunch, and then the head of the company briefed us on the history before giving us a tour of the plant. I'll give you the sparknotes version - Bapco was established in 1930, after a red line agreement led to an oil exploration concession agreement. In 1932, the first discovery of oil in Bahrain was made. Bapco officially opened its refinery in 1936, and has been Bahrain's leading producer of oil and gas ever since. They provide for 89% of the country's oil and gas contribution. 

We weren't permitted to take any pictures during the tour, unfortunately. Though it was no comparison to GPIC, it was incredible nonetheless. We depart for Qatar tonight. I'm sad to say goodbye to Bahrin, but I'm looking forward to seeing what Doha is all about. 

Bahrain - Day 2

"Rest? You rest on the plane!" 


Day 2 in Bahrain had a hefty agenda in store for the crew. See below.

6:45 – 7:45	Breakfast
8:00	Depart from hotel
8:30 – 10:00	U.S. Embassy Briefing
10:30 – 1:30	GPIC Management Briefing in Sitra – Lunch provided
2:00 –  5:00	Tamkeen, EDB, and Bahrain Polytechnic presentations
5:30 – 7:00	Gould Souk
7:15	Depart to hotel

 No cameras allowed at the Embassy - total bummer, but no surprise. Here's one I snapped from the streets, though. 

United States Embassy

After multiple security passes, metal detectors, pat downs, and passport reviews, we were in the Embassy ready for our briefing.  The Junior Economic and Commercial Relations Officer - Cesar - greeted us once we were through security. He talked to us a bit about the history of the building and a bit about himself (laid off journalist for USA today, been working for the govt. for 6 years now).  Our group was absolutely thrilled to find out that the ambassador was present, and willing to sit down with us for a bit to chat. After shaking the hand of the U.S. Ambassador of Bahrain (sorry, I had to), we sat down and listened to all he had to say. He was originally the Vice president of International Defense in Washington D.C., and from there moved on to be the Ambassador in Yemen for 3 years. I know I may be boring you, but this guy was awesome. He reminded me of a really chill college professor (think Keith Markman PSY101, fellow Bobcats). I could bore you with some of the tidbits, fun facts, and statistics that I noted during the discussion, but I'll spare you and save that for my reflection paper.

United States Ambassador of Bahrain

"Does anybody know what GPIC is?" Glad I wasn't the only one asking that question after we left the embassy and were en route to destination dos. Gulf Petrochemical Industry Co, for those of you who are also in the dark. Fifty percent of the product created at this industry in Bahrain is sold in the United States. Also, GPIC is the most environmentally friendly chemical industry in the world. I'm not going to lie to you, I thought this visit was going to be a total snoozefest. I was so wrong. Our group was treated like royalty. The president of the company sat us down, and his close staff joined us. The first thing he said after shaking each of our hands (had to, sue me), "The main difference between American people and British people is that American people are typically nice. Any British people here? Good." From that point on, I knew we were going to get along. Abdulrahman Jawahery, aka 'Prez' as our group referred to him, briefed us on the history of the company, gave us a tour of the work space, and sent us on a bus tour to see the premises. I kid you not, it was an oasis. Oasis and Petrochemical company don't seem to go together - right? Well Prez made it work. Orchids, botanical gardens, vegetable gardens, resort-like fountains, a bird sanctuary, a fish farm... all alongside a chemical plant. Weird? Yep. Surreal. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures while on the chemical plant's premise (which is where the fountains, gardens, fish farm, etc. were), but I snuck a few of the bird sanctuary which was on the other side of the premise just outside their country club. Yes, they have a country club for their employees. Anyways, here are a few I stole from google images of the GPIC plant:

President of the company

Fish farms

Not only did Prez treat us to lunch at his incredible country club...

Prior to the food coma

Bird sanctuary outside the club

Courtyard outside the club

Beautiful lunch

Cheesecake balls. Swear. 

...but he inSISTED on treating us to dinner as well. Matthew (our leader of the group) was a bit hesitant, saying we shouldn't stay out late because we need to rest. Prez told him to respect his elders. A beck and a call to some of his staff, and we had an exclusive room set up at a 5 star restaurant with a private DJ and photographer, open bar, belly dancers, and a 5 course meal for each and every one of us. He extended the invitation to all of his staff members as well. Needless to say, we had one hell of a night. I'll show you some of the highlights, but let me close out on the rest of the day. It will only take a second.

We were running rather late due to the GPIC fabulous-ness, so we were behind schedule (a solid hour... whoopsie).  At any rate, the 3 presentations we sat through were long and mind-numbing, and I can speak for the group when I say it was difficult to stay awake. My notes consist of chicken scratch and doodles. Sorry, I blame it on the food coma. 

We were supposed to head to the Gold Souk afterwards, but the group voted on heading back to the hotel early to take a quick nap in anticipation for the night's festivities. "Rest? You rest on the plane! You in Bahrain now!" -Prez

 Here are some of the highlights, as promised. Enjoy.  

Probably not the best way to start the night, but when in Bahrain...

Giant shrimp? Baby lobster? Delicious.

Karaoke happened

So did hookah

Day 3 coming manana. Hope you're enjoying my blog - do you even need to ask if I'm having a good time out here? 

Bahrain - Day 1

Left my apartment at 1:30pm on June 7th and arrived in Bahrain at 12:15am on June 9th (another year older - oofta!). Houston, Texas. Frankfurt, Germany. Doha, Qatar. Manama, Bahrain. 2.5 days, (what seemed like) 25 screaming infants, and 4 airports later, we were at customs in Bahrain. Helluva trip, but we finally made it. The hotel was beautiful, but we all crashed knowing we had along day ahead of us.

Our first day in Bahrain was anything but boring. We visited several places, met some people, and drank water by the gallons (or should I say liters?) in the 109 degree heat.  That didn’t stop us from having a fantastic time, though. We started our morning with an incredible breakfast spread. I felt very spoiled! Once the group was ready to rock and roll, we headed to the Bahrain National Museum.

The whole crew in our hotel lobby prior to departure.

I could have gotten lost in that museum for hours (and not just because I’m directionally challenged), however, our time was limited unfortunately. I feel like I took a lot of new very interesting information away from the tour though; some of the most interesting things that I enjoyed learning about were the lifestyles and cultural traditions that the Bahrain people celebrate – everything from the birth of a baby, to school-life, to pre-wedding and wedding ceremonies.  It is so eye-opening and refreshing to see a different ritual practiced during an occasion that we as Americans are so used to being as vanilla.

After the Bahrain National Museum visit came to a close, we had several “mini-museums” – if you will –to see. This allowed us to walk along the streets of Manama which was a neat experience. We got to see the business and daily lives of some of the local people in the area. Our destinations were monumental used-to-be homes. The homes had been transitioned into museum sites and libraries. They were beautiful and relaxing. We got to see and read about everything from Bahrain newspapers, to Pearls.

The next stop on our busy day took us to an all too familiar (and quite dangerous) territory for yours truly – yes, the mall. We had some free time to shop around and grab a bite to eat. Luckily, not enough time to do any serious damage to the bank account. We left the mall and headed to our next destination: Qal’at al-Bahrai (Fort of Bahrain).  I was bummed that we didn’t get to spend much time at this archeological site – but the heat was pretty intense at this point in the day. I wish I would have gotten to learn more about it. What we saw, though – awesome.

Our final destination was the Al Areen Parks and Wildlife. This was a really fun way to end the day. It was neat to see the variety of animals that live in the desert terrain. I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t love going to the zoo? 

I don’t know how today can be surpassed – it was top notch! A wonderful day spent in a beautiful city with great people. I am so blessed. Pretty remarkable way to ring in the big 2-5! 

Surprise cake from the amazing hotel staff.