Interesting tid-bits

     There are no seat covers in any bathroom here. Not even on base:(  They have bidets (pronounced biday) which is basically a low mounted toilet looking thing with a faucet or a sprayer to wash your "parts" after you go to the bathroom. Most bathrooms out in town have toilet paper but a few don't and just have a bidet. The hotel we are in has one in each bathroom and so does the apartment we will be moving into. I decided to test it once out of curiosity and it was so powerful I thought it ripped me a new one! I'm not a fan.
     All the mosques have large speakers on the outside of the buildings so everyone can hear prayer at prayer time which is 3 times a day, sunrise, afternoon, and sunset. If you are outside you can hear it of course but it's not that loud when you are inside unless you live right next to a mosque.  We were at City Center Mall last week which is the biggest mall here, eating dinner when it was prayer time and it was blasted over the intercoms. It didn't bother me but startled me when it first came on. Everyone just went about their business. There are prayer rooms in most public places, even the mall,  for people who want to pray. I felt like I should have at least put my fork down and stop eating to observe like people do at baseball games during the National Anthem but like I said everyone just goes about their business.
     I think it is weird that when we go out at night to a club or a bar security only checks the males. They usually have a little metal detector wand, but only stop males. Females can walk right in. I don't really see the point of that since the man can just hand off his weapon to his woman once inside.  I understand that they treat women a little differently and that is fine with me but I don't see how just checking the males makes it more secure.  Maybe the female crime rate is so low that they just don't believe a female would do such a thing. Just something I think about.
     There are stray dogs and cats everywhere we go. They usually live out in the dirt fields, which are everywhere in Juffair. Juffair is full of apartment towers, hotels, restaurants, and dirt fields. There is construction everywhere so eventually there will probably not be any dirt fields left. One day you will move into a nice apartment tower with a view and a month later the view is obstructed by another tower. Anyways, when we walk at night we have to beware of stray dogs more than anything. One night we walked by a garbage bin and one jumped out. If we are taking a short cut through a dirt field Jer is able to spot them pretty quickly and will make noise to keep them away. So far we haven't run into a pack which is good because Jer say's that is dangerous. They can get aggressive. It's not like a ton of dogs and cats are roaming around everywhere but they are out there. If there is too many then the police come out and shoot them. We haven't experienced that yet. In fact you never hear gun shots, ambulances, or firetrucks. I have heard one siren in the 6 weeks we have been here. I guess Jer experienced this when he lived here before. There was a large pack and the police just pulled up and started shooting them. Apparently they are not good shots. Not something I want to experience. Though the dogs are sick and aggressive it is still sad.
     We had our first sand storm last week. The temp has dropped about 10 degrees so that means it's been in the 70's! It was really windy for about 3 days. I walked to base to have lunch with Jer one day and it was really windy but clear. By the time we left base it looked like a fog had rolled in but it was sand. Even though it was dark outside I wore my sunglasses to protect my eyes. Luckily it only lasted a couple of days.
     We have been to the movies twice at City Center Mall. I love the movie theater here. The actual theater is pretty typical of most, large with stadium seating. There is assigned seating though.  You pick your seat when you buy the ticket. It costs 6BD for the two of us which is $15.60 so a little cheaper than the states. The best part is all the food choices! They don't just have one counter with the typical stuff. There is a large counter that has stuff like popcorn, candy, and a lot of the standard stuff. But then there is also counters for Krispy Kreme, Fresh Berry (which is a knock off of Pink Berry), a counter with pizza cones (pizza in the shape of an ice cream cone), and other stuff like nachos, and a few other counters that we haven't checked out yet.  I wish they would have the commercials that tell you not to talk or use a cell phone because when we were there the other night a group of girls kept talking and giggling and along with a few other people, were texting.  Most of the movies being played are American movies and they have a few choices that are not. I don't know if they are Arabic or not. The movies are mostly current. I think they get them a little later than when they come out in the states but not too much later. All in english but with Arabic subtitles.
     It's definitely interesting living in another country. Even though it is so westernized here there is still a lot to get use to. Like the conversion to celsius and kilometers. It's been nice being in a hotel with daily maid service and stuff but I am ready for our new place. I'm actually looking forward to cooking again too. Not because I really like to cook but mostly because we need to be eating healthier. It's hard to do that when we go out or eat take out every night. We will be in our new place on the 23rd and I can't wait!