Mama's Got a New Ride...and a New iPhone! Whew!

We've had a VERY busy past few days here in the Kingdom of Bahrain! 

Busy and EXPENSIVE!!! But oh, so much fun! 

After nearly 6 weeks of being a single car family - it was time to expand. With the move to Amwaj coming up this weekend we needed a second car. We were able to get by with just one at the hotel because Andrew was able to ride the shuttle to and from work. Since we are going to be SO FAR away (15 minutes) we will need 2 vehicles again.

Buying a car in Bahrain is an adventure...OF COURSE! Everything here just seems so much more, hmmm what's the right word....ridiculous/crazy/insane? Pick one.

How to buy a car in Bahrain...

(note: must first have CPR card....that's an entirely separate LONG process described HERE)

1. Go to the side of the road and see one you like (random used car parking lot but without a sales person)
2. Find a picture of one posted on base or at the grocery story or on the Bahrain Garage Sale Facebook page or on expatriates.com
3. If you see one you like - HURRY because the good ones go fast! Like same day or next day. Our car was supposed to be shown to someone right after us - so we jumped on it and bought it (turns out the next guy works with Andrew - he was complaining at work \that he was SUPPOSED to see a car the night before but someone stole it from under his nose...HAHAHA...turns out it was us) You snooze you lose!
5. Look at car - make sure you won't be upset if it gets demolished in the next 2 years thanks to the crazy drivers..and make sure the AC works...and make sure it can make it 2 years in the sand and heat.
5. After deciding on car - take out cash...Bahraini Dinar of course
6. Meet guy in random grocery store parking lot with envelope of cash and drive off with the car
7. Before driving off with car give him your CPR card so HE can go to the motor vehicle place and change the ownership. (I was not so thrilled about this. You can't do anything without the CPR card here, and I just handed it over to a stranger - no big deal - and I was surprised that I didn't need to be at the DMV-place too)
8. Meet guy again the next day for our "Certificate of Ownership" cards
9. This step is for Andrew only....lose the "Certificate of Ownership" somewhere between having it handed to you and getting back in the car. (This is about a 2 foot radius)
10. Search your car, yourself, the ground, everywhere for "Certificate of Ownership"
10. Repeat step 6.
11. That's it really. So maybe it isn't that crazy. Just so fast paced. Bam. Bam. Bam And now I have a car with kilometers instead of miles. I love seeing it hit 80-100 kilometers per hour I feel SO FAST. (but really it's only like 50-60 mph...not so fast or cool)

INTRODUCING MY SWEET RIDE!!!

2003 VW Passat

MORE EXCITING NEWS!!!!!

After getting my CPR card back I was FINALLY able to get an iPhone! The iPhone packages are pretty sweet. With a 12 month or 18 month contract the iPhone 5 is pretty much FREE. At first, we thought I could get by with a cheap pre-paid phone. BUT...I'm a walking disaster. I need serious help. Help from Siri and help from Google Maps (I got crazy lost in the slums the other day. Not pretty. Not good. I survived, but I'm NOT doing that again.) AND I need to be connected to my people back home. I'm a people person - I NEED my people and I need contact with them on a daily base. HELLO iChat or iMessage, whatever it's called.. 

Since getting my iPhone tonight I've already been iChatting up a storm and it feels SO GOOD!!!

Here is my FAVORITE text of the evening. This is from my dear sweet friend Katie in Maryland (her son Enzo, and Davis were born just hours apart...same delivery room...same doula...we are lifelong friends - more on that story later)

She is Amaze Balls - maybe because we have the baby bond. Maybe because we text like gangsters and use words like "Holla" and "Amaze Balls" and it's totally normal. Though, I'm pretty sure gangsters don't talk like this either. I just feel pretty gangsterish when we do. 

Back to the point...

Skype even works better now! And I can Skype on the run - I don't have to sit in one spot in the hotel room praying I don't lose the wireless connection while not really even being able to hear what the other person was saying anyways. It's amazing. Suddenly I feel so much closer to everyone. 

I FEEL LIKE A REAL PERSON AGAIN! Car, iPhone, freedom! 

I even drove my car WHILE talking on my iPhone like a true American. 

It was the epitome or normalcy for me!

Until I pulled up to the gas station, rolled down my window, paid 5 BD ($13) for someone to fill my car with an ENTIRE tank of gas...yep...reality check, I'm NOT in America. That would only be like 3 gallons back home....and I would be out there pumping that liquid gold myself (wait liquid gold is breastmilk...sorry when I think pumping I think breastmilk...and that's my life right now). 

All in all a great day - I'm about to write another post since it's too much to cram into a single one!

...and That's 'Watts' She Said!