Christmas! Back Dating 12/25

Weather on Christmas in Bahrain.

My sleep schedule has been so messed up the past few days. Today I woke up at 3am and could not get back to sleep. Around 930am I went to the mall again with my friend Lindzy and new friend Riley. We spent about 3 hours there and I still have only seen about half the mall. There are some weird things here in Bahrain that I'm not used to. Like you have to pay to use a shopping cart. It only cost 100 fils (about 27 cents), and when you turn it in, you can get it back. It's just very different. If you go in a department store, you have to turn in your shopping bags to a security guard. Things definitely appear to cost more, but I'm still getting used to the currency difference.

The local currency is Bahraini Dinar, or BD. BD is cash, and change is called fils. 

1 BD= $2.65 US Dollars

100 fils= $0.27 

When I see the price of something, I just multiply it by 3 (rounded up from 2.65). So if something costs 4 BD, it is a little less than 12 US dollars.

Hello Kitty Spa

Mountain Dew tastes exactly like Coca Cola.

After shopping, I took a nap, showered, then headed to Lindzy's house for a Christmas dinner party.

While I was walking to Lindzy's house, I twisted my ankle in a pot hole. It hurt so bad but I just walked it off bc I knew I'd be at her apartment soon.

I didn't know anyone at the party, and I am pretty socially awkward sometimes, so I decided to help with the cooking. Made this Christmas tree veggie tray with a girl I had just met

It was a great party. Lindzy had invited her section from work. A lot of people brought food that wasn't cooked yet, so it was fun to see everyone rushing around to cook everything in the kitchen. People were yelling, it felt like I was in the middle of a huge family trying to cook a bunch of things at once. The comradery was amazing. Everyone was so kind and no one was speaking negatively of anyone else. Totally different from yorktown! It made me so happy to be a part of it all.

It's just a hookah with flavored tobacco, mom and dad! Don't freak out!

I'm not drinking for the entire first year that I'm stationed here in Bahrain. It was definitely weird not drinking at a party. I think I drank like 6 cherry cokes. But at the same time, I'm glad I wasn't intoxicated at all, bc i think this was an important time for me to make a good impression on everyone. Had some great food at the party. Overall I had a goodtime. Didn't stay for dessert though. I left the party around 945pm bc I wanted to be back at my hotel by 10 for curfew. 

Once I got back to the hotel, I realized how swollen my ankle was

Did get a chance to FaceTime with my mama and wes💕

Overall, great christmas, I loved that I got to meet new people, and there was no rushing around for me. Moved at a relaxing pace lol