Weekend Plans

I made it home (J) from work for the long weekend in Bahrain. I have completed all of my visa and work permit requirements in Saudi so it was good to get all of that completed. This weekend we plan to do some vehicle shopping (still have company rental car now), and furniture shopping for when we move into our new Villa on February 15th. I took Cody to school this morning and he is doing great. He is doing great in his classes and loves the after school golf and swimming. He is also getting interested in the music in music class. They all are learning about an instrument and he is learning the electric bass guitar. Must have gotten that from his Pa Paw! (Don L.). Cody also has 2 kids in his class from Houston with 1 of the girls (Hannah) being from Kingwood. It is a small world after all. We have Soccer on Saturday so maybe I can squeeze in as the Coach for the boys. We will see how it goes. Letti will update about her lunch with the Chevron ladies later. They all could not get enough of Devin. Letti has more pictures to load also. Later, Jeremy

Mediterranean Style..

Good Morning (Sabaah al khair),

In Bahrain, social hours are Mediterranean in style. People get up early, have an afternoon siesta, and stay up and eat late in the evening. We are still trying to adjust to this style. Our days do start early 5:30ish am however, the staying up late we have not mastered. During the week we have dinner at 7:30ish. Devin is usually in bed by than. This allows Cody & I to have "Mother & Son" time. This is something I look forward to.

Yesterday, as you all know Cody had his first indoor football game. He enjoyed it sooo much!! The field are much smaller and are surrounded by nets. They play four quarters of 15 minutes each. Each team has 6 active players in which one is the goalkeeper. When the ball strikes the nets (walls) this does not stop or penalize the team. You are allowed to play off the wall. As far as contact rules they are standard and there is no offsides. Cody did score the first goal of the game however, his team did lose 3 to 5. The team that he plays with does not have a Coach nor do they practice. Hopefully, Jeremy will volunteer his time during his time off. Cody had tons of fun and is looking forward to his next game. On the other hand Devin missed it all. He took his afternoon siesta during this time. He has mastered it and I'm not complaining.

After the game we went to Le Chocolate and had a wonderful lunch. Cody had cheese pizza and I had penne pasta with grilled chicken and pine nuts. While we were waiting for our lunch Devin had sweet potatoes.

The boys and I had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to when Jeremy gets home. Pictures will follow. I am having trouble uploading them with my computer.

Bahrain View

Boys hanging out on the roof top of Apartment in Bahrain. What a beautiful view. You can click on photos and get even a better close-up of the view. Devin is his normal self focussed on something else in his own world while mom takes the picture.

Work in Saudi

I have completed my first week in Saudi (Al-Jubail) and overall it was very similiar to my previous international work......lot's of interesting challenges but obviously good people who are all trying to work towards a common cause. One challenge with working on international assignments is the different cultures and uniqueness of each. I have direct reports who are U.S., Saudi, Indian, Candadian, and Pakistane. Compound life here is pretty simple and pretty much have to stay in compound except going back and fourth to work and occasional trip to the grocery store which I did last night to get out. Quite an experience but they do have basic things that I would get at home. I will work through this weekend and hopefully have all of my Saudi Visa permit work completed where I can exit the country and go to Bahrain next Wed. All of our travel in country is in BPV (Bullet Proof Vehicles) which is extra precautionary measure by Chevron. More Later. Jeremy

And the adventure begins......

Bahrain's name is derived from the Arabic words "thnain Bahr' (two seas) and refers to the sweet water springs under the sea, which mix with the salt water. This is believed to be responsible for the beauty of Bahrain's natural pearls.

We arrived a week ago and to my surprise Bahrain is very westernized. At this time we are living at the Elite Towers located in the Seef District. As of yesterday, our Realtor has prepared a lease agreement for a villa located in the Saar District. The location of the villa is perfect it's near the Saudi causeway and Cody's school (Riffa Views International School). This particular villa is one story and has a garden area. It is in a very small community with a total of 8 or 9 villas. Homes in Bahrain come fully furnished, semi-furnished or unfurnished. This villa is Semi furnished which means that it is furnished with appliances, air conditioners and curtains. So needless to say I will be doing a little shopping.

The indoor football league is already in session. However, Jeremy was able to enroll Cody for the remaining of the season (5 games). His first game is Saturday. So between now and Saturday we will have to go buy him his indoor football shoes. Cody attends school from Sunday thru Thursday. A bus picks him up at 6:30 am and drops him off around 4:30 pm. After school on Sunday he has golf lessons. And on Wednesdays he is taking swimming lessons. On those two days he doesn't get home until 5:30ish. There are a total of 11 students in his 3rd grade class. Normally, we have dinner, he does his homework and is in bed by 8:30. He is adjusting very well.

Devin on the other hand is fighting a cold and is teething. Two of his bottom teeth broke skin yesterday. So before long he is going to be asking for a T-bone steak. Yum!

I guess the hardest part for me thus far is the time change. It took me a week to get use to it. I would wake up in the middle of the night ready to start the day...

Goodbye (Maa as-salaama)!!

Devin's new teeth

2 new teeth at once!

Countdown

The countdown has begun. It is early Sunday and we are still up trying to get packed for our big adventure (Bahrain). The movers were here two weeks ago moving the larger stuff; along with some of our summer clothes. That transition was smooth. Hopefully, we will receive all that was packed and in one piece. Our flight departs tomorrow at 3:50 pm and arrives in Amsterdam on Tuesday at 7:55 am (9hrs). We spend the night in Amsterdam and take a 6 hr flight to Bahrain. We will be in temporary housing for a month. Please logon to www.elitegroup4u.com to view our "home" for the month.