if my children will EVER feel about Bahrain like this guy feels about Bowston…
in 10, 20, 50, 100 years? Or is that thinking even haram?
An Arab man's attempt at bridging the cultural gap and trying to make a difference. Failing a lot. Succeeding once in a while.
if my children will EVER feel about Bahrain like this guy feels about Bowston…
in 10, 20, 50, 100 years? Or is that thinking even haram?
Comments
I wonder…
Lemme try and match that..
Here’s what I will miss: Watching captain majid on TV then going out to repeat the moves in the hood. Driving around Searock waiting for a park because you really want a MALGHOOM. Going to Awal cinema every weekend. Sitting on the ground right infront of the screen because all the seats are full and the balcony is too expensive. Hanging out outside after the movie next to the back door when the movie’s over. Finding out that Fudz was the new place everyone is going to while you were still going to DQ Salmaniya. Hanging out in Awali because it just felt right–sitting at the bus stop and pretending to be the mob. Bapco club (Friday buffets are still on!). Listining to 2Pac and pretending to be from the WestSide. Baggy pants and a T-Shirt 5 sizes bigger than you (probably the same one everyone is wearing from Old Jeans). Al Alawi mall was the place to be and Seef did not exist. Adliya road and exhibition avenue were actually the place to be and Saudi’s did not exist. Nearly drowning in Marina Club because they don’t have a life guard. Trying to get into albandar without a membership. ARCADE GAMES.. Sindbad in Exh. Avenue.. Kids Land in Riffa3.. and that weird park in Muharraq which had RC cars for 100 fils per minute. Bumper cars in Athari! Haunted mansion in Water-garden. Qasari water park, with very long queues at the door! People used to go out for picnics on the side of the road and pic dates from the palm trees. Neighbours knocking the door in Ramadhan and bringing food (harees! yum). People caring when someone gets married (mabrookeen) or dies (3atham Allah ajerkum). Cruising around in Isa Town after 12PM, passing by the guys polishing their cars on the curb. STREET RACES on the Highway, which are planned 15 minutes before they happen and you arrive 15 minutes after they’re over cuz you got the call too late. Busses used to be red without any ads on them. Everyone has a mobile phone today. Pagers used to be the thing and we were so desperate for SMS that we invented BLEEP CODES: 143 plus a list of two hundred other codes! Rival school fights–Bayaneez trying to kill an IKNS dude, with lots of the Rifa3ee friends coming to the rescue (nobody fights at the end of the day). Our landmarks: Pearl roundabout, Bahrain Map, That weird fish thing! People with nothing better to do walking around in Seef mall. Barber shops with indians who give you a shave for 500 fils. The Airport lounge which remains the same no matter how much they revamp it–that annoying black signboard where the words are cut in half and flip over every minute. Roundabout after roundabout in Hamad town giving you severe nausea. El soog el markezi! Buying Lego from Novelty! Playing kout sitta with the guys in the gahwa! Drinking lebanese cocktail from meshmesh! JAN BURGER!!! Shopping at Zara like 90% of Bahrain! Speaking 3arabic 3ala english china it’s normal to do so! Going to 3aza in Manama! Matams less than 1km awat from Night Clubs. THIS CAN GO ON FOREVER, but consider this: An extremely diverse soceity–you can easily think of 10 different Bahrainis off the top of your head and they have NOTHING in common. Yet of you think about it, everyone does have something in common: We love Bahrain, no matter how much we pretend to hate it, we love it. Not because it’s the best place in the world to be, not because it’s been good to us, not because it might change and become a better place, BUT we love Bahrain because it IS home, and we wouldn’t be who we are if we lived anywhere else in the world. We love Bahrain because it’s a part of who we are and we are a part of what it is, and nothing will ever change that.
e.
Re: I wonder…
I lived close to Dallas (Fort Worth) for 3 months, not enough to give me memories as our lad’s Boston of course, but enough to put some memories where they belong… though I must admit that I remember a lot OUT of Dallas/Fort Worth than in; for instance flying with the geese over the mississippi to New Orleans, my airplane breaking down in Shreveport and having to dead-reckon in the fog (no vacuum pump!), the pumpkin pie in Amarillo, being vectored to OKC when I got completely lost and couldn’t see the airstrip at night! and experiencing REAL turbulance in a Cessna 152 which probably was just a puff of wind to other aircraft, being JOLTED up on landing because I was sandwiched between two 737s because of the jet turbulance of a 737 landing before me at Amarillo while a dickhead controller screaming into my ear to “expedite, expedite” and doing over 120 knots on final, resulting in seeing the underbelly of the 737 behind me suddenly flash abovewhile doing a go-around (that was shit scary!) and joining the pattern of B52s while practicing touch-and-goes at Meacham field! My life was pure airplanes for the 3 months I’ve been there, the highlight of which was our eldest daughter Amna being borne in Bahrain (a month or so premature) while still working on my PPL.
What have you done Bahraini Rants, you’re bringing out everybody’s memories!
Re: I wonder…
You’re evoking a lot of memories bud. And yes I’m sure people can bring out fond memories of their lives in Bahrain, but they don’t sound “as good.” Why is that? Is it just me or are there a lot of things missing?
I could probably bring out a lot of good memories of my time in Scotland for instance, but would be hard pushed to “match” them with my Bahraini memories while growing up, school and work. The missing things all have to do with the freedom I experienced at college in Scotland, without having to continuously look over my shoulders. I was – like almost everyone else with me – more concerned with the quality of life then…
Re(1): I wonder…
Mahmood writes “I could probably bring out a lot of good memories of my time in Scotland for instance, but would be hard pushed to “match” them with my Bahraini memories while growing up, school and work. The missing things all have to do with the freedom I experienced at college in Scotland, without having to continuously look over my shoulders. I was – like almost everyone else with me – more concerned with the quality of life then”
How much of that comes from growing up in a society where you feel you might have to look over your shoulder and how much of that comes from living in what is a relatively small country? In Scotland, especially in a city like Edinburgh or Glasgow, you can certainly get lost in the big city and be anonymous. Having not lived in an area, for more than a few months at a time, where I would have to look over my should for any other reason, I do not know how that would feel.
I wonder…
Are you kidding me? of course your kids will love Bahrain.. it’s in their blood… Everyone does a lot of growing up in college, so it’s totally natural to have a relationship with where you went to school… give them time.. soon they’ll start to appreciate and remember sunsets at Budaiya beach, or driving through Sakhir, or various family traditions you guys have, maybe even drinking juice from their favorite juice stand… You really shouldn’t be worried about them not missing Bahrain… you just need to be prepared for them to outgrow Bahrain and want to discover the rest of the world…
From what I’ve gathered, you and your wife have a great relationship with your kids… That makes a world of difference.. You should be extremely satisfied with yourself that your kids can talk to you about anything. It’s a luxury a lot of kids growing up here don’t have…
Re: I wonder…
That’s very true.. however with us, we consciously decided not to limit our children. They can go live and work wherever they want in the world, and if they want to come back here and just visit us old foggies then that’s a huge bonus for us! (we’ll even babysit for free :))
The thing is, you will always be pulled to the place you have the fondest memories of. That’s what I was meaning. I was hoping that our children will have enough good memories of Bahrain to voluntarily make it their home. No strings though, they can go wherever they feel appreciated and concentrate on their quality of life rather than swimming against the current all the time.
I wonder…
That was just Boston. Imagine if he’d seen Dallas.
Steve
I wonder…
I was born in Europe but spent my childhood in a couple of different locations. I can say that I have fond memories of all of them. As an adult I went back to all of these locations to relive what I had enjoyed as a kid. The memories you make when you are a kid stay with you forever. I remembered things as small as a park,right against the Rhein, where I used to play at in Germany until I left when I was 6. I went back and it was just the same as I remembered it.
Give them the fond memories now Mahmood and they’ll remember it all long after you are gone. After my father(May God have mercy on him) passed away a few years ago I have often called on these memories and thought of him with fondness. God Willing, it will be the same with your and your family.
Re(1): I wonder…
Great stuff… sun top… do you remember the “sun top” stickers? didn’t they have polar bear or something as the mascot?
And what about “OK” crisps? I think they’re still in production..
and there were also these minoo type crisps… they were shaped like hollow cylinders and you’d get two in each pack..
and how many of you remember chasing the “sabaya ice cream” van when he played the music in your area
and im sure some of you were big in to collecting those football superstar stickers that you got in the boxes of cereal around the time of italia ’90…
and remeber when coke had that promotion to win a mountain bike? and no one could ever find the ring top that had “handlebar” written on it….
I wonder…
roller rebwar :
Dont know it is in bahrain….But did you people have the capri-sun fake… called capri-son , it was sold everywhere , the fake that is, I only got to see the original when i left dubai, but Nah it had nothing on the fake !
P.s. anyone know any proper dubai blogs?
Re: I wonder…
I detested both -sun and -son with a passion! Although all of my children still guzzle it by the bucketload.
Regarding the Dubai blogs, here’s what I’ve got so far. If you discover new ones let me know and I’ll add them. It might also be worth your while to check out the Arablogger site as well for more.
Re: I wonder…
🙂
i loved “Bayaneez trying to kill an IKNS dude” .. eheheh 🙂
don’t forget to add… driving at 14 around the schools… almost running into bayan’s wall (blush)..
i wonder what the “hip” place is right now… being so far away, i remember fuddz sanad on weds, then moving over to yum yum treee… (never liked their food… maybe the mrs vanelli’s…)
i just find it amazing that ever since i went off to study.. my arabic has become MUCH stronger.. 🙂 i guess cuz i had to drop the arabic 3ala english to talk to the other 7ukooma students… man my dad always had trouble understanding me… “pick 1 language and talk to me!!” heheheh
thanks for that… 🙂 i wonder what i’ll write about once i miss england! i’m so homesick i doubt it right now!
Re: I wonder…
Very Nice…
Malghoom at Searock.. it’s all over..
Drinking suntop orange and smoking cigarettes while watching movies at Awal Cinema
A time when Baraka and Sports Land were the only “real” sports stores…
I hope I’m not boxing myself in as the nostalgic persona..
eitherway, it’s good to remember…
Steve, the Lonestar state might have a lot to offer.. but let me offer you this deal… you get older, but those college girls stay the same age… that’s where Boston trumps Dallas any day..
peace,
Bahraini Rants
I wonder…
roller rebwar : Ah comme on…although they both have nothing on suntop…or the ramadan special : Vimto … capri-sonne( or sun depending on how up ureself you are ) is always good for those long lunch breaks in school, with the sun beating…godamit it was good..I miss it now, that and the chips back in dubai ( chipsticks, square crisps, marhaba , aladdin, pofaki…)
anyhoo cheers for the links
Re(1): I wonder…
BR,
But that’s the thing, BR. The Dallas girls never age. They’re always young and beautiful in heels and a little black dress. No matter how old you get, you can go back and there they are.
Steve
I wonder…
I’ll have to go with Steve on this one!
Southern girls will always look HOTTTT. It could be the year long relatively warm weather!
And oh yeah, BR, fond memories, YOU MAKE ‘EM regardless of where you are! 😉
Middle-age women with a little tan in heels and little black dresses with always make me drool! 😉
I wonder…
I meant WILL always make me drool!
Re(1): I wonder…
Mahmood,
Flying memories are the best memories, aren’t they? Everything is memorable when you are sitting on that lofty perch.
One of my best memories is taking flying lessons in college, flying a Cessna 150 over the cornfields of Iowa, the wind whipping the golden tassles of corn along as far as the eye could see like a big corn ocean. Amber waves of grain.
Or flying in a Cessna T-37 in navigator school, scooting low over the forests of the California mountains, with the occassional forest fire sending up a wispy white smoke here and there and the big mountains off in the distance, the purple mountains majesty.
Flying fast and low over the Florida Everglades in an F-4 where the sky was full of giant turkey buzzards. From a distance they looked like tiny upside-down W’s, which then expanded dramatically as they whooooooshed by your canopy in a black blur. How we never hit one of those things, I’ll never know. It’s a big sky, I guess.
Flying high over Wake Island in the South Pacific amidst a sky crowded with big puffy clouds. Wake looked like a little jewel surrounded by a coral reef and sandy bottom which ringed the island with shades of beautiful blue and green too subtle to be captured by camera.
Peering down through some scud over Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines to see if it was clear ahead to dump a concrete bomb when we missed the time window to join our strike package to the bomb range. The very second we pickled the bomb off a little banka boat appeared directly on the nose. HOLY SHIT! It was a long, long thirty seconds until that bomb splashed. Thank goodness it’s a big ocean. There were some Philippino fishermen who probably went home with a laundry problem that day.
Flying down the Rhine valley with the hills sporting vineyards with thousands of stakes holding up grapes like giant pincushions; the occassional toll castle dotting the river banks, and barges cruising both ways just like a watery freeway.
Looking out over the piney woods of North Carolina slowly pass underneath from 500 feet, thinking, man, we are going slow. But the air speed indicator said 420 knots, just like it did when I started flying the F-4, back when that was fast.
Steve
Re(1): I wonder…
Mahmood,
By the way, you might be interested to know that there is a small aircraft factory at Meachum Field building small numbers of WWII aircraft from the original plans. They were building a handful of Me 262s some years back. Now I read they are building Oscars, Japanese fighters, for a million and a half apiece.
If you ever pass through Dallas again, you should go see the Cavanaugh air museum north of Dallas at the Addison air field. Some rich guy has stuffed it full of old Air Force aircraft, many flyable, from old 1930s Air Corps trainers to a P-51 to Korean War jet fighters to that best aircraft of all time, the F-4. You can pay to go up in some of the older aircraft. About once a year, a B-17 will pass by and take up passengers for a few hundred bucks each. You can get ten minutes of pilot time for a grand.
Steve
I wonder…
Yo guys, anyone know who Marbel Aisha is referring to? If no one’s willing to step up then I guess I’m gonna have to swoop in and “establish a loving relationship” with the lovely lady. Can’t refuse a woman who asks me to go SWEEMING with her now, can I?
-Mo
I wonder…
HELLO DEAR.
Compliments of the day to you.
My name is Miss Marbel Aisha . My hobbies are
reading,music,watching
of movies.sweeming; and playing of basket ball.
I like your profile and will like to establishe a relation ship with
you.
In addition, you can contact me with my e mail adresse
(marbel_aisha@yahoo.com.au)
In the main time how are you doing with hope that every thing is in good perfection and without waisting your time; i want to tell you the reason
that lead me in contacting you after going through your profile in this site,
which tell me that you might be such a lovelly;trust worthy;hard
working;God fearing;responsible man of a choice that i have been looking for
that will help to share my full life with even in time of adversity
and in time of diversity so that our love will be waxxing stronger.
THANKS AND REMAIN BLESS WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOONEST.
THROUGH MY EMAIL marbel_aisha@yahoo.com.au
YOURS IN LOVE
Marbel Aisha .
Re(2): I wonder…
I remember Sun Top. I also remember collecting those stupid stickers into those stupid booklets. i was viscious too. I’d pull every pack of juice out of the cooler looking for the sticker I didn’t have.
My dad tells me I used to do this with Matchbox cars at Wonderworld Toys too.
I do remember the minoo you’re talking about. It tasted like cardboard. Looked like a bag of paint rollers. I also think I have trading cards left from Mexico `86. Breakfast of Champions, oh yeah you betcha.
And I”m sure you’re talking about the pulltab scam. Fattened up an entire generation…
Re: I wonder…
Exactly man.
No matter what, I always know that I am who I am because of Bahrain. No matter what happens on the exterior, deep down I’m still a little Desert Island Boy scampering on the shoreline against a gentle seabreeze, watching the dhows as they’re built or cruising along in open water, spending a slow summer day in the cool of a date grove, playing in traffic, walking half a mile and crossing three neighborhoods, walking faster than the crawling Conga line of cars around Bab al Bahrain, spending an entire day at the Great Muharraq Raft Race, going to an “Al Ahli – Manama” basketball game as a “neutral” observer (ha! like they’ll let you get away with that!), seeing the wildest impromptu parade of cars after Hala club walked away with the league trophy, watching Ahmed Mallallah join in the halftime dunk show during Bahrain’s first All-Star basketball game, watching the weekly NBA telecast off Saudi TV or Aramco and then going out and trying the moves in the hood, watching your kid brother doggin’ it during karate class then actually pull off a decent job during a national tournament, settling a fight by whacking your iqaal or your belt against the trees, talking your way out of being hauled in by imported cops because that old crumbling wall you just happen to be leaning on belongs to a “senior member of the ruling family” (even though he couldn’t tell you where it is), never being lost in Manama because all you have to do is stay put and someone will find you (aged 7), never being lost in Manama because all you have to do is hang out at the bus stand looking really pathetic and some Pakistani guy gives you busfare (aged 11), never being lost in Manama because as soon as you decide you’re going home if you damn well are going to walk all the way, a neighbor of yours spots you and gives you a ride home even though you could never remember his name (aged 15), eating sambousa flavored grease from a bag soaked enough that you could see right through it, hauling off as much ice cream from the Bahrain Danish Dairy “outlet” off Budaiya Road as Pops can plunk down cash for, losing a friend to an impromptu highway race, watching the look in the eyes of orphans who live across the street from the Royal Guest Palace, watching the trust deteriorate between neighbours, finding out why empty canisters of propane were being nicked, hearing an exploding gas cylinder from halfway across the island, feeling the shockwave from the blast at Khobar towers, watching US Navy personnel haggle with Manama merchants over the dollar-dinar exchange rate, feeling the shockwave from low flying jets, hollering at Saddam for firing that pansy scud at us, cheering in defiance when air raid sirens went off in the middle of the schoolday, hitting up the apartment building full of Gulf Air stewardesses to sell charity raffle tickets, watching Osama Ibn Zaid Avenue overun by Saudis who couldn’t otherwise get into the clubs, watching Osama Ibn Zaid Avenue overun by Bahrainis who couldn’t get into the British Club and who weren’t going to bother with the Filipino Club, seeing the guard detail at the right honorable minister’s residence salute His Excellency because it’s his job but raise his hand with a smile to your father because he respects him….
Memories happen when you’re not afraid to go out and make life happen. When you have so much to experience and you let yourself experience it.
I wonder…
Hahahahahahaha