My first couple of days were spent getting to know the people in the office and trying to narrow down exactly what I'll be focusing on. I haven't been terribly jet-lagged, but I always tend to fade around 3pm every day. Finally, on Wednesday, I was able to get in the groove at work and keep my energy level up.
For the last couple of days, Ananda and I have gone to a nearby mall to eat lunch. It's kind of our time to get away from the office and reflect on the fact that we're in a COMPLETELY foreign land. This isn't like going to Europe. Everything is different. We've commented on our reactions to seeing (or not seeing) half the female population who are fully robed in their 'jilbabs'. Some women are robed with a head scarf, while others have their heads completely covered except their eyes. Even more extreme are the women whose heads are completely covered. I saw one woman who obviously couldn't see past here veil and bang right into a wall (just kidding). It's pretty interesting to see some younger women who have eye make-up, or who are wearing tight-fitting 'jilbabs' so you can see their figure. I realized I've settled in when I saw one woman wearing a tight outfit and thought, "damn, she's smokin!"
Yesterday, we were given a tour of the construction site that our company is building in Bahrain. I can't talk too much about it, but this is the first site being built. Other sites will be in Saudi Arabia and then part of my job is to win deals to build in a few African countries that are growing right now. It was good to see in person the "product" that our company makes, but it is a few months from being up and running.
Malls are a big deal here. There are 3 malls within a five minute drive of my office. The one we've been going to is apparently a 2nd-tier mall, but it's got a Tag Heuer store and some other high-end retail stores. Another mall is supposedly a 1st-tier mall and I'm sure it's out of this world. I've also checked out a Walmart-style superstore that is pretty upscale, followed by a Kmart-style store. Both carry similar products but the upscale one has a lot of ex-pats that are "knowledge workers" and mostly european. The lower-end one seemed to cater to a lot of the working class, most of whom are South Indian and Filipino. Migrants from these countries make up the bulk of the working class and there is a ton of construction going on. I don't know how they can work in the heat all day.
So, as I mentioned before, my weekend will start tomorrow evening. I'm going to check out a lounge or club. They have a small but mature nightlife scene here from what I can tell. I'm planning on contacting some of the local DJs here to see if I can get a few gigs. With so many euros here, the house music scene is pretty developed. I think Hed Kandi (who does a lot of house compilation CD's) has a monthly here and Fred Everything (Canadian house DJ on OM records) was here just a couple of weeks ago. At some point, I'll try out the local hookah flavors as well. The third Sloanie, Nishi, will be arriving on Friday so we'll probably save some of the partying for then as well.
That's about it for now. Here are a few more pics, showing my office. As you can see, my desk is a bit of a mess. Didn't take too long ;-p
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