Bahrain

February 22, 2018

Allow Me To Introduce: The Kingdom of Bahrain

Wafiq is from Bahrain. His family moved to Dubai while he was going to college, but he was born & raised in the tiny little island, Bahrain. That’s how I wound up learning about the country & ultimately visiting.  I rarely write about Bahrain for a lot of reasons, the shiny things are in Dubai – all the glitz, glam & tall buildings, which is where I spent most of my time. Also, because Wafiq grew up in Bahrain, we don’t tend to do very much when we visit. We stick close to his house & his friends houses and… there’s a lot of people that don’t want to share anything online so I can’t write or photo with them unless it’s curated. ha!  More on that another time.

Bahrain is still my favorite.  Each time we go I notch something new off my belt.  It’s a small island country in the middle of the Middle East, with approx 1.2M people.  The vibe is very much island.   One of the reasons Wafiq knows English so well is because he went to an English speaking school with the same exact curriculum that I had when I went to school, in America.  There’s an American Military Base on Bahrain, so Wafiq went to school with a lot of little Katie’s.  {aka: American’s.}  Which is also why Wafiq tends to get along with American’s that served in the Military – they know where Bahrain is & they know what type of dude Wafiq is.

Besides the history & political parts of this country, I love the feeling I get from being there.  Every time I would visit from Dubai I instantly felt relaxed stepping off the plane.  Bahrain is very CHILL.  Like an Arabic island vibey country, intriguing right?

I will admit, I don’t think all Bahraini’s feel the same way – because it’s a small country, almost like a small town, locals feel like they know everyone & people depend on gossip.

BUT for visitors, I can tell you, this place is the shit!  And more affordable than the shiny neighbor Dubai.  If you want to get culture, laid back, easy living, personal feeling – Bahrain is the place.  For example, we went to the Al Fateh Grand Mosque in Bahrain our last time visiting, because it’s the #1 thing to do on trip advisor.  We happened to go on Christmas Eve which I found pretty interesting – my entire life Christmas Eve has been the coordination of a Church Service & this year it was a tour of a Mosque.  Silly how things work out.  Anyway, the tour guide could not have been more informative & RELATABLE.   He was our age. & as soon as Wafiq & I realized he was incredibly easy to talk to we started grilling him on every single religious question we could think of.  I mean everything, even if I sounded dumb, I went for it.  I love exploring religions & learning what other people believe.  It’s crazy how much you can learn when you’re not afraid, and you ask questions.  Rather than preach or intimidate, our tour guide answered questions honestly & fearlessly.

So far on my visits to Bahrain this is the vibe I get.  Easy, relaxed, people.  When you go to the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, you don’t feel the exact same way you do in the Grand Mosque of Bahrain.  As glamorous as the Abu Dhabi one is – there’s tons of people, large tour groups, and a formal education.  I’m not trying to knock the Abu Dhabi Mosque as it’s one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I’ve ever seen, rather show the perks of both 🙂

Unlike Dubai, you’ll see Bahraini locals everywhere when you visit.  They’re available to be seen!  Emirati’s are so few, that you don’t interact with them very often or even see them everywhere.

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January 15, 2018

DUBAI! Top 5 Pieces to Pack.

There are 3 questions I get asked all the time: how I was treated as a woman in the middle east, did I feel safe AND “did you have to cover up the whole time”.

I hope I’ve done a good job clarifying, go to this post to see my answers to all 3 of those questions if you haven’t already.  (We went to the public beach on this trip & there were girls in thong bikinis & topless tanning, so I think people are comfortable doing whatever they please.)

For me, I wanted to fit in.  I wanted to act like I’ve been there before & I know what the fuck I’m doing.  There’s something powerful in that.  Also, for any destination, isn’t it fun to fit in?  Wear what they wear.  I think it makes you appear well traveled, like you know what you’re doing in you life.  So that was my goal this trip.  I stuck to coverage.  When I was living there, I pushed this boundary w my cut off shorts & dresses all the time, because I was bored of being covered & it was HOT AF.  Being that I was just visiting, I had a different approach this time.

The theme:  BLACK BLACK BLACK.  If this is the color of your wardrobe, you’re in luck!  I like bright colors, florals, sparkles, drama – so I had to go shopping.  An abaya & burka are black, so that’s the colors you’ll see a lot of when you’re out.  I asked someone why black?  Why not beautiful colors + design on the abaya?  I was told the original purpose of the abaya was to avoid attention.  Bright florals & colors will do the opposite, drawing attention to the people wearing them.  So black is the theme!

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January 11, 2018

Two Years Later – Visiting Dubai!

The saying “time flies when you’re having fun” is terrible & true isn’t it?  I remember miserable days/years in different jobs, & man did time drag.  But, of course, when you’re having fun & enjoying all the parts of your life, time goes quick!  So, would you rather a boring yet long life or short yet exciting life? Ha!  Nothing like that awful question to wake you up on a Thursday morning.

I’m back from Dubai! Long story short, it was fun & it went fast.  Which in this case is better than the alternative.

Everyone that followed along on my Instagram Stories, thank you! That was fun to create.  If you missed it, I left a lot of the stories in my “highlights” section.  Click on my Instagram profile & right below the bio you’ll see the circle for Dubai & Bahrain with the stories while I was there.

If you’ve been reading for awhile you likely know this trip was a big step for me.  Last time I was in Dubai I left in a rush & didn’t exactly leave every relationship in it’s best place.  And that feeling strengthened even while I was back in the States, especially when Wafiq decided he was going to stay & begin the immigration process.  Needless to say my relationships weren’t in tip top shape across the pond.

Last year, I decided to skip the trip Wafiq took home for that very reason,  I wasn’t ready to walk back into my past OR the lions den.

This year I was ready.  Wafiq & I are both comfortable & confident in the choices we’ve made in the past & knowing we’re in control of the choices were going to make in the future – I felt like there was nothing to fear anymore.  No judgment or conversation or threat or whatever was going to hurt me.  And I don’t mean to paint the picture as if everyone was going to do just that, but when you’re struggling & feeling weak & not confident with yourself – it’s hard to defend decisions in front of anyone.  And we lived in that space for awhile so I had to protect myself.  But this time I was ready.

Right when we arrived, I felt like I was living in Dubai yesterday, but better.  And more comfortable.   Everyone was excited to see us.  The first days were filled with food.  Family. Friends. Kids.  And Food.  I definitely did not have a chance to pick up my phone & document anything.  But because those first days were easy, I immediately knew the rest of the trip would be too.

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December 7, 2017

We’re Going Back To Dubai!

I have some exciting news! Or at least I consider it exciting… I’m heading back to Dubai!  This time, I’m not moving there & simply going for a visit – like a normal person.

Last time I was in Dubai, I remember literally telling Wafiq “I’m never ever.  Never. Ever. Coming back to this fucking place.”  Harsh, I know.  And I told everyone that!  I hated the thought of ever going back.  Being able to say that out loud & having made it through the experience – felt amazing.  I felt stuck when I was in Dubai, by my own stubbornness, for so long that when I finally got out of it, I felt like I made it! And there was no going back. Literally.

The experience was way harder on me than I expected & by the time I had my plane ticket in hand to come back to the States, I was extremely excited for America!  But, two years later I can say I’m actually excited to go back.  Mostly because so much has changed since then.  Personally & professionally.  Also, I’m not moving there so I know I’m not stuck, merely a tourist.  And shiiiii, I lived there for almost 2 years! There are parts & memories I miss.

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February 6, 2017

Dating a Muslim Immigrant, During the Muslim Ban

Let’s start with figuring out exactly who & where Muslims are.  Muslims come in all shapes, forms, colors, backgrounds, beliefs, families, countries, parents, and lifestyles.

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April 10, 2016

The Best Sweet Treat in the World! Promise.

I didn’t think it would be possible to find yummy dates in America but I’m here to confirm it is!  You may have to do a little hunting, but the hunt is worth the catch.

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April 11, 2015

My Top Ten – BEST of Dubai

I tried to keep this list to activities rather than accomplishments

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January 3, 2015

A Horrifying 1st-Time-Cooking-A-Turkey Story

My whole life I’ve been eating these tasty turkeys with no idea the raunchiness behind the cooking! My God, this is barbaric.

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August 7, 2014

My two favorite parts of Ramadan

I’ll say the experience of being in the region during Ramadan was an interesting one. I’m grateful I was here for it and extra grateful I was able to experience the holiday with a Muslim family.

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April 10, 2014

A Small World

I have felt so proud to be from the United States and love our American dream motto, but I realized there is a small portion of this middle eastern culture that I am jealous of.

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January 21, 2014

Daily Challenge: Fast Forward

 I think fast-forwarding life, in general, would suck. I hate how fast it feels already. There’s so much I want to do.  But if I could go to one day in the future and then come back, I would choose January 7th, 2015.

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December 16, 2013

Bahrain: First Impression

This is a hard post to write, which is annoying because I have a feeling it’s the one people are waiting for.  What are my first impressions of Bahrain?  It’s hard because I can’t think of the right way to explain it so I’m having trouble figuring out how to write…

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