Hi, Everyone!

The past couple of months I’ve been pretty spotty with posting due to the job search, but for those friends who don’t follow me on Facebook, I can finally announce that I have accepted a position for next year! After 17 interviews (one day I had 4 interviews!), 5 job offers, and many hours of debating the pros and cons, I finally decided that Bahrain is the next place for me to live. I will be teaching first or second grade (most likely second) next year at Riffa Views International School. As you may know, I once wrote about how much I wished I could work there, and so I am absolutely over the moon because I finally will get my wish!

Bahrain map courtesy of Wikemedia Commons 

A little background about The Kingdom of Bahrain: It is an archipelago of 33 desert islands whose name means “Two Seas”. It is normally hot and dry but in the summer when temperatures rise to an average of 108 it can become humid too. Despite being just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, my friends who have been there have described it as a good place to party (alcohol is legal there) and enjoy the nightlife. Manama, the capital city, is not as glamorous as Dubai, but there are ruins, craft markets, and pottery workshops to enjoy. I might lure my parents into visiting me there because Bahrain hosts the Grand Prix Formula One car races in April (which I know absolutely nothing about but will shamelessly mention a few times to convince them to visit).

It will be a big change after the insecurity, scarcity, and tropical environment of Venezuela. Bahrain is very safe, you can find everything you need, and while it is a desert environment I will be really lucky to live in a villa on a golf course surrounded by greenery.

I’m super excited because I have already talked to another teacher who likes to go salsa dancing there AND a TA who used to work at my school here in Valencia is teaching in Bahrain too. I’ve been told that there are many flights every day to Dubai, Doha, and Kuwait where I have other friends so I will not feel alone when I move to this new part of the world.

Now begins the process of getting background checks from all the countries I’ve worked in and getting my work visa in order for next year. Oh, joy.

I will be in Venezuela until about mid-June so I fully plan on living it up in South America until then. I still have trips to Cuba, Chile, and Rio, Brazil coming up this school year and now I’m toying with the idea of squeezing in a trip to Panama for Carnival.

Please share: I’m very interested in reading blogs about life in Bahrain so I welcome any suggestions, especially blogs written by fellow teachers and expats who lived in Bahrain. Also, as you well know if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I’m all about making a packing list so I would love to hear things that I should be sure to pack with me to Bahrain. Additionally, I wouldn’t mind hearing about other places that expats in Bahrain travel to (besides the Gulf countries).

Further reading about life in Bahrain:

World Travel Guide: Bahrain

Expat in Bahrain

Ignorance is Bliss