As I mentioned in my last blog entry, Chris and I were about to get a lot of visitors. Last week, Chris's parents were in town. This Tuesday, my parents and brother arrive. The week with my in-laws went great. I know they loved seeing Charlotte and I hope they enjoyed all the "touristy" things we did with them. Since Chris and I hadn't had a chance to be "tourists" yet, we enjoyed finally being able to do so. We took them to some ruins of an old fort, a wildlife preserve, the souq (an outdoor shopping area), the Bahrain museum, and the king's Royal Camel Farm. Of course, we also went the the malls since they're quite extravagant here. Here's a few pics from the week:
Shortly after my inlaws arrived, we were invited to a luncheon. I met the lady on the far right, Lynn, a couple of weeks ago through the American Women's Association. She's British but is married to a Bahraini and has lived here for over 25 years. As a result, she acts a lot more Bahraini than she does British. Bahraini's
love to talk about their families. It is not uncommon for them to give you photo albums to look through or to go on and on about their kids. At Lynn's, we were doing a lot of listening. If you're invited over to a Bahraini's home for a meal, there will be lots of food and it's polite to get seconds and even try a little bit of everything. Lynn probably asked us five times if we wanted to get seconds! It reminded me of my Grandma Wolfe. She was all about seconds, too. I remember going over to my grandparents one Saturday to spend the day with them. My grandma served sloppy joes for lunch and I was full after one. I remember that she was so offended I only had one, and when my parents came to get me later that day, she told my dad, "I don't know what's wrong with Mandy, but she would only eat one sloppy joe!" Anyway, going over to Lynn's was definitely a "cultural experience" for all of us. :-) Also pictured is Lynn's daughter, her son-in-law, and her two grandchildren. Lynn's grandson is the same age as Charlotte.
Chris, Charlotte, and my in-laws in front of the Bahrain fort.
Mom and Dad Peltier at the Bahrain fort.
Chris, Charlotte, and my in-laws in front of the tree of life. The tree of life is literally in the middle of nowhere and is completely surrounded by desert. It has lived for thousands of years without any known source of water. It is speculated that the Garden of Eden was in Bahrain and perhaps it's phenomena like this that has created such speculation. At the museum, I learned that scientists think Bahrain was once lush and that desertification has occurred more recently.
Grandma Peltier with Charlotte at the Wildlife Preserve.
A swan at the Wildlife Preserve.
Some little duckies at the Wildlife Preserve.
Some birds drinking from the tour bus at the Wildlife Preserve. None of the bigger birds (with the exception of ostriches) at the Wildlife Preserve were caged in. That was really neat since you could get really close to the birds. I had never gotten so close to a flamingo before, and since they're one of my favorite animals, I thought that was pretty cool. But it was also nerve racking in a way. A lot of the kids were chasing the birds and their parents didn't seem to care even though there were signs saying not to.
A camel at the king's Royal Camel Farm. I've asked a few people, and no one knows for sure why the king has a camel farm. Oh well. It was cool to walk around nonetheless.
Some younger camels at the Royal Camel Farm.
Shortly after my inlaws arrived, we were invited to a luncheon. I met the lady on the far right, Lynn, a couple of weeks ago through the American Women's Association. She's British but is married to a Bahraini and has lived here for over 25 years. As a result, she acts a lot more Bahraini than she does British. Bahraini's love to talk about their families. It is not uncommon for them to give you photo albums to look through or to go on and on about their kids. At Lynn's, we were doing a lot of listening. If you're invited over to a Bahraini's home for a meal, there will be lots of food and it's polite to get seconds and even try a little bit of everything. Lynn probably asked us five times if we wanted to get seconds! It reminded me of my Grandma Wolfe. She was all about seconds, too. I remember going over to my grandparents one Saturday to spend the day with them. My grandma served sloppy joes for lunch and I was full after one. I remember that she was so offended I only had one, and when my parents came to get me later that day, she told my dad, "I don't know what's wrong with Mandy, but she would only eat one sloppy joe!" Anyway, going over to Lynn's was definitely a "cultural experience" for all of us. :-) Also pictured is Lynn's daughter, her son-in-law, and her two grandchildren. Lynn's grandson is the same age as Charlotte.
Chris, Charlotte, and my in-laws in front of the Bahrain fort.
Mom and Dad Peltier at the Bahrain fort.
Chris, Charlotte, and my in-laws in front of the tree of life. The tree of life is literally in the middle of nowhere and is completely surrounded by desert. It has lived for thousands of years without any known source of water. It is speculated that the Garden of Eden was in Bahrain and perhaps it's phenomena like this that has created such speculation. At the museum, I learned that scientists think Bahrain was once lush and that desertification has occurred more recently.
Grandma Peltier with Charlotte at the Wildlife Preserve.
A swan at the Wildlife Preserve.
Some little duckies at the Wildlife Preserve.
Some birds drinking from the tour bus at the Wildlife Preserve. None of the bigger birds (with the exception of ostriches) at the Wildlife Preserve were caged in. That was really neat since you could get really close to the birds. I had never gotten so close to a flamingo before, and since they're one of my favorite animals, I thought that was pretty cool. But it was also nerve racking in a way. A lot of the kids were chasing the birds and their parents didn't seem to care even though there were signs saying not to.
A camel at the king's Royal Camel Farm. I've asked a few people, and no one knows for sure why the king has a camel farm. Oh well. It was cool to walk around nonetheless.
Some younger camels at the Royal Camel Farm.
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