Fun in the Land of Sand and Veils

Yikes! It is already February!

2016 is off and running but I would be amiss if I did not share some of the fun we had at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016.

(I apologize for not having any blogs in January. You will understand when you read the next couple of blogs. I have been really, really busy! And, this is good.)

We have an executive (TM) from Hubby D’s company currently visiting here in Bahrain. TM arrived around midnight on January 29 just as we were dancing the night away at the AWA Ball. He was shocked to see “tuxedoes and ball gowns in Bahrain.”

I can assure you I set him right the next day. We took him on a “4 Star Tour” of our little fun filled island.  I think he will be leaving Bahrain with a much better appreciation for life here.

The final weeks of 2015 held some pretty fun stuff for Hubby D and I. H m m m m m, maybe I should rephrase this to fun for myself.  Hubby D was working his fingers to the bone.



I should have known the holidays were going to be packed with fun. We started the season with a "FANtastic" brunch at the Golden Tulip Restaurant to celebrate AWA President DR's birthday. Here she is (center) and my good friend DW (right). That's me with the pink fan.

Early in November the fun started heating up even more.

AWA holds a fashion show each year and the chairman (IF) asked me to be the MC for the show this year. I was thrilled!

IF had arranged to have professional makeup and hair for all the models. She included me and I tried to go along with what they wanted. In the end, I had to wipe off the lipstick.  I just could not handle big bright red lips. I am just not a fan of heavy makeup. In the Middle East women wear a great deal of makeup.

They did create a bunch of curls in my hair. It was a hoot to look at, but it took me two days to wash out all the product they put in my hair.

IF is a very talented lady. She choreographed the dancing and even appeared as Charlie Chaplin in the opening sequence of the show. It was so cute!

Here is a video of the opening of the show. If you are reading this blog in an email, you will need to go to my blog page on the Internet to view the video. http://brendahyde.blogspot.com

I am not the model type, but it was SO SO SO much fun being on the stage with all the talented AWA member models.  Not only did they model beautiful clothes, they also danced.

Some of the clothes were traditional Bahraini dresses.

The evening wear was stunning.

I was very impressed with ALL the models. One of the models, AR is the wife of the American Ambassador to Bahrain. She modeled, she danced and she is the wife of the Ambassador!

They really strutted their stuff down the runway modeling AND DANCING. It was very impressive - downright amazing.

The dancing really made the show a hit.

Here are co-chairs for the show IF and SB at the end of the "Spectacular Fashion Show."

The models represented the diversity of AWA membership with ladies from Switzerland (co-chair SB), Egypt, Lebonean, Texas, India, Jamaca, Belgium, the UK, South Africa, California, Palastine (LA was also Jordanian) and the Czech Republic.

There were also plenty of beautiful ladies in the audience.

There were gorgeous pumpkins on all the tables with the beautiful ladies.

Right after the “Spectacular” fashion show, I was invited to be the MC at the grand opening of an American Festival at a department/grocery store, LuLu’s. Again, I felt really honored.

The grocery stores here in Bahrain are like a super WalMart with groceries, small and large appliances, clothes and all you need for your house even small furniture items.

LuLu’s is an Indian owned grocery store and has a huge selection of traditional Indian clothing and formal wear. The women’s dresses are beautiful.

From time to time LuLu’s holds a festival with a country theme. They were going to have an American Festival of food and products. Through AWA they were given my name and asked me to be their MC for the opening ceremonies. It was so much fun to represent my country and see all the great (and familiar) products they brought in to celebrate America.

A group of AWA members organized by my friend DW sang patriotic songs and read patriotic poetry. The American Ambassador even came and toured the event. I had the thrill of my life when he remembered me from our previous encounters and greeted me by name. I felt so honored.

AND THEN THERE WAS THANKSGIVING which was a very interesting this year.  We hosted 40 people in our flat including 3 service men from the US Naval Base. To be specific, we shared the hosting honors with 3 other families in our building by having the dinner as a progressive feast. We took up 3 floors of the building with the traveling dinner. It was very successful.

We had old friends from Hubby D’s company as well as other great new friends we have met here in Bahrain.  Most were American but a few were from other countries including Canada and Greece.

Our flat overflowed out onto the balcony overlooking Manama.

This was a progressive Thanksgiving Feast on three floors of our building. We only hosted the main dishes in our flat with 2 tables overflowing with turkey, ham and delicious side dishes. The starters and salads were hosted by "J/K W and ES" on another floor and dessert was hosted by "S/D W" on yet another floor.

December arrived and we celebrated D's birthday by inviting a group of our friends to share the decadent Friday Brunch at the Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa with us. We reserved a number of large tables on the patio and enjoyed several luxurious hours in the perfect Bahraini winter weather.

We even stayed long enough to enjoy a sea view sunset. This was a great treat for me and a fun celebration for Hubby D.

The Sofitel is right on the beach of the Arabian Sea.

Thought you might find this interesting.  Our little island lies in the Arabian Sea between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Sofitel is right in the middle on the coast towards Saudi (red dot). We live close to the bridge to Saudi in the top left area of the island. Hubby D works in Al Khobar where the bridge from Bahrain meets the Saudi coast line.

Some of the ladies on the beach at sunset.

I finished up my holiday celebrations in Bahrain with a special AWA Christmas Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton. This is the "smoking dessert" they prepared especially for our group.

We were having WAY TOO MUCH fun.

I never did quite understand these holiday decorations at the Ritz-Carlton. Umbrellas?

After all the parties and celebrations, I was ready to get back to Florida and visit with family (and see little LW). However Christmas had to be achieved in only a few days after we arrived on American soil.

Great grandpa DM, granddaughter ML and grandson BSJ arrived, we hustled and it worked out okay. I am sure you saw in my Christmas blog and know that we had a great time.

ML, BSJ and Great Grandpa DM celebrating Christmas.

ML, BSJ and Great Grandpa DM celebrating Christmas.

I am not going to spoil the fun by telling you about little LW’s FIRST birthday in this blog. You will have to wait for my next installment  - and it is great.

When I arrived back on the Island of Bahrain from America, I had only one day and then our big American Women's Association Ball was held.  Oh My Goodness!  It was fantastic.

Wow, I am warn out just remembering all the fun.
Cheers,
Brenda