back in the boiler

Well, I'm back in Bahrain. Things have been pretty interesting the last two weeks.
First of all, it's ridiculously hot. Like you open the door and step into a sauna kind of hot. The only thing I want to do is take a cold shower, but you can't even do that because even the cold tap gives warm water. I turned off the water heater so I could take "cold" showers, but it's still like taking a hot shower. So we run to our air conditioned locations and park it there

When I first got here, my life was pretty much in limbo. I arrived on a visitor's visa, which only lasts two weeks, I couldn't get in touch with anyone from the school, I had no place to live, and I didn't know when school was starting. Now, a few weeks later, I"m happy to report that at least some things have become clearer.

1. My visa is in the hands of the school now. They are getting a month's extension until all the paperwork is complete. Basically they have to take care of all that, so it's not my problem. Cross that one off the list.

2. Teachers started school this past Tuesday, so I have a better idea of what's going on there. However, as of Thursday, my classroom was still being cleaned (it was filthy), the furniture was all shoved into the center of the room, the AC was really working, and the new lights hadn't been installed. School is supposed to start on Tuesday. In America, we would get really worried about all of these things because it would appear that nothing is ready and it won't be ready on time; however, as a two year veteran of this system, I've come to realize that it's better to just sit back and relax. Things will get done when they get done.

3. I found an apartment! After one short week of searching, I found a nice, brand new, two bedroom apartment! It's not far from where I lived last year, and I can get a ride to school everyday! The only downside is that it is unfurnished, and by unfurnished, I mean completely empty. I am buying window air conditioner units, a fridge, and stove this weekend, so hopefully, I can move in next week. We also hit a huge sale at the furniture store, so I will have a bed to sleep on! All of that should be delivered in the next few days. Cross that off the list.

4. As I mentioned before, school is supposed to start on Tuesday; however, we have been hearing rumors that the governement has declared school can't start until the end of Septmeber, after Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islam. No one is really listening to that, and the private schools are planning to start September first. Yesterday I just heard another rumor that the goverment has mandated that none of the schools can open until the 6th of September, next Sunday.
So I guess on that front, we are still in limbo. But hey, 3 out of four isn't bad. :)

I have picutes of all these new changes that I will try to post once the internet is set up in my new place.