Bahrain: chilling in 45' heat

well, I have now been here for a total of three days. Me thinks I am going to like this place. It is pretty chilled,food is good, people re great, the heat slows things down quite a bit but it is a great pace. This country has all the infrastructure needed for aiesec to be a great success. My team mates are switched on people, three different people, three different AIESEC backgrounds (US, Romania, Australia). The members are smart, the office is cool, and the country has a strong financial industry (it would be amazing if one of our first projects was around finance and islamic banking)...

Bahrain:
The best way I have of describing it is like a really big country town. The buildings are generally pretty low, mostly light sandy colours (tan, beige, white etc to avoid absorbing heat). The roads are wide. The place is clean, modern but still with an arab feel to it. My previous analogy was comparing bahrain and singapore... but maybe singapore 30 years ago. The members drive everywhere, even around the corner to go for a coffee. Petrol costs about 15-20c a litre here. The people we have met are mostly 19-24 which is cool.

The weather here is hot, but tolerable and quite enjoyable. It falls around you like a warm comforting blanket: a little combersome, heavy, but comforting and warm... however you know you cant stay there forever. Water is a big thing here. You cant drink the tap water as it is really salty (which makes showers a little interesting). Our apartment comes with free 5 gallons of water but we are going throug it pretty quickly. Showers are also interesting because it is hard to get cold water... the pipes heat up so much that every shower is about 30 degrees.

Food: typical lebanese, turkish, north african food: lots of bbq lamb and chicken, lots of kebab meat, homus, various dips, fool (spl?), felafel, tikka. Last night we sat out at a cafe drinking lemon and mint juice and smoking shisha's for hours, outside, under the stars, arabic chattering away in the background, waiters running around with smoking bryers 'refilling' people's shishas. it was a great moment. It was also a men only cafe. I found out that some of the cafes kep themselves a litle dirty and gritty to ensure a male only clientel, I think it is to create an escape for men... sort of luck a poker night back home... or a dodgy local pub.

Prices: some things feel insane but I guess things are not that crazy it is simply the power of the conversion rate that feels weird... 1 bahraini dinar = 2.7US dollars... which means if you are holding a 20dinar note you are actually holding $50US... which seems really high. The rent will cost about $600 a head (with only three people in the apartment), actually thinking back:thats not that bad.. Im ust comparing it to the current MC house... a case of beer is about $50 australian, You can find shisha for $1.50 aust, dinner for $1.50, to $4.50 to whatever. So things arent so bad, but the weight of the conversion rate throws things.

People: Everyone I have met has been open, generous and very cool. The AIESEC guys who arrived before us have done a good job at sorting out a bit of a social network. Eating is a big way to socialise. Last night we all played a stunted version of soccer in a local park. By stunted I mean it was mainly taking pot shots at goal because the heat (still 40 degrees at night) doesnt really allow for too much more. bahrain is pretty chilled with men/woman relations, allowing free mixing and a relaxed attitude. People are very interconnected here and there are lots of stories about 'friends that...' so it should be okay trying to find a collection of people with similiar interests (ie getting people together for soccer, or music or something)

Arabic: English is spoken 60-70% of the time, clear fluent english that is. I have been learning my numbers (1-5), please, thankyou, hello, WELLAH!!! (more coal for the shisha please) and I will keep picking away at the small things. One of our friends teachs at the language school, so it might be well worth the investment to take a ten week language class in september. Im pretty excited by the concept.

The apartment: awesome. furnished with cool couches, a giant TV (with cable TV) and DVD player, two bathrooms, two bedrooms, strong aircon, clean, big = I like. We are goingto have to figure out the living arrangements because some more people are coming over and in all honesty this current place is a little extravagent (but still cool).

Our office: think dark cedar desks, high back leather chairs, a couple of phones, wireless internet and a view out over the Persian Gulf... you can see the sun set, it is sweet. I think we are there for another three months and then we have the option to find a more economical place but right now:this place is the bees knees. There is even a waiter that comes around to take tea and coffee orders!

We have a planning meeting, transition meeting coming up next week so some guys from the US are flying over for that (Jen and Paul, their finance guy). Then we have a national conference coming up in late July. Should be good. We have around 27 members who are all excited about aiesec and can't wait to get started.

thats the big update, from here I will try and find isolated stories and events that help paint a more accurate picture of the country.

Evening meal and Shisha

Evening meal and Shisha
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

Osama, Ravi, Me, Marianne, Ahmed and Eric (current MCP Bahrain).

Welcome to Bahrain

Welcome to Bahrain
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

The Bahraini welcoming crew: Marianne, Ala, Aysha and Mohammed Ali (Turbo) (L-R)

Cairo by morning

Cairo by morning
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

I took this photo out of the apartment window. The sun was rising, solid and fierce, promising another hot day. i like cairo, it is busy, big and bustling.

Mosque - relaxing

Mosque-axing
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

I have a new favourite pastime: sitting in mosques. This one is super old, roughly 1200AD and has some fierce history behind it. There is a certain level of tranquilty that eminates from this place. It is up on the Citadel that dominates the Cairo skyline.

Ghetto Restaurant

Ghetto Restaurant
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

This was my favourite eatery in bangkok. Granted my time was limited but this place was cool because it looked like hobbo-ville but had some amazingly lively, friendly and welcoming people: topped with awesome food.

The beach

The beach
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

Empty, pristine, chilled: ideal

More beach

More beach
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

This is the beach from the water. I took this one to show the proximity of the forest to the water... very cool

Thailand: the island of Ko Somet

Feet and beach
Originally uploaded by jrwestgarth.

This is how i spent most of my time on the island of Ko Samet. Feet up, reading a book, watching the water and the forest. I like this photo, in the background you can see a rain storm.. this one never actually hit the beach and my time on the island was relatively dry. Bangkok was a different story.

How to confuse an Australian...

There used to be a series of jokes around 'how to confuse an irishman'... well, to effectively confuse me try: 6 airport trips, 4 countries, 4 currencies, 6 differents beds and 3 languages in the space of seven days... here's how it works.

AUSTRALIA:
The airport was a mess. We sat there not quite knowing what to say. Mum, Dad and Kyle, thanks so much. I hate goodbyes, and always tend to rush them. Mum was perhaps the only one managing to keep up the 'Christmas spirit'. My luck held strong and I managed to secure four seats to myself on the plane.

THAILAND:
This was my first trip to Asia. I loved it, the people were generous, the air was thick and warm, the nights were late and the food was top notch. I stayed at Tom's place. Tom is an Australian friend of Bacon's. He is living in Thailand for a year, studying and generally getting up to mischief. He was my introduction to Thai people, history and culture. Tom took me to a fantastic place to eat... I shall call it the 'slum restaurant'... it was under a tarp, on the side of a river, filled with locals drinking whisky and cooking up a storm. The food from the stalls was amazing... I made many a friend with the 'meat on a stick' sellers.

KO SAMET:
This was the perfect idea. A small island three hours east of Bangkok. I pretty much went straight here. I rented a tiny little bungalow with a fan and a cold shower, about 2 minutes from the beach. Each morning I would wake, walk to another hostel, have breakfast with the other backpackers, go for a swim, eat a bbq lunch, sleep, read my book and then in the evenings watch videos with others people on the island. On one of the days I rented a motorbike and went for a scoot around the island. I lapped it in 60 minutes. On the way I visited deserted beaches, braved muddy roads and generally had a blast.

My best description for the quality of the people is this: on the last day, as I was walking to the wharf to catch a ferry back to the mainland, a young lad on a motorbike pulled up and asked if I wanted a lift. He laughed as I mistook him for a taxi, and explained that he was going that way anyway and would be happy to help. Nice guy. So I hoped on and off we went. It was such a simple but powerful gesture.

OTHER THINGS IN THAILAND:
I saw an elephant walking down the street with a flashing brake light on its butt, ha ha. I drank coke from pastic bags. My daytrip of Bangkok coincided with a festival which meant everything was open and free... even the tuk tuk was only 60 cents for the day.

CAIRO:
Now I am in Cairo trying to sort myself out for Bahrain. This arvo I am going to drink juice, smoke sheesha and read a book in a local cafe. I might drop by a citadel or two as well.

Thats it from me. I will put up photos later.

And that's it...

in less than an hour I leave for the airport... I'm going to miss you guys, a lot.



I'm always travelin'
And I love bein' free
So I keep leavin' the sun and the sea
But my heart lies waiting over the foam
I still call Australia home

Lasik - laser eye surgery

I have often wondered about having corrective eye surgery. I imagine it is something I will do when I am loaded (re: not working below the dole line)... U dudn't really know much about it until I read Nic's blog...

Here is a blow by blow description of what they do. It is weird and freaky:

THE SURGERY:
The surgery should take less than 30 minutes. You will lie on your back in a reclining chair in an exam room containing the laser system. The laser system includes a large machine with a microscope attached to it and a computer screen.

A numbing drop will be placed in your eye, the area around your eye will be cleaned, and an instrument called a lid speculum will be used to hold your eyelids open. A ring will be placed on your eye and very high pressures will be applied to create suction to the cornea. Your vision will dim while the suction ring is on and you may feel the pressure and experience some discomfort during this part of the procedure. The microkeratome, a cutting instrument, is attached to the suction ring. Your doctor will use the blade of the microkeratome to cut a flap in your cornea.

The microkeratome and the suction ring are then removed. You will be able to see, but you will experience fluctuating degrees of blurred vision during the rest of the procedure. The doctor will then lift the flap and fold it back on its hinge, and dry the exposed tissue.

The laser will be positioned over your eye and you will be asked to stare at a light. This is not the laser used to remove tissue from the cornea. This light is to help you keep your eye fixed on one spot once the laser comes on. NOTE: If you cannot stare at a fixed object for at least 60 seconds, you may not be a good candidate for this surgery.

When your eye is in the correct position, your doctor will start the laser. At this point in the surgery, you may become aware of new sounds and smells. The pulse of the laser makes a ticking sound. As the laser removes corneal tissue, some people have reported a smell similar to burning hair. A computer controls the amount of laser energy delivered to your eye. Before the start of surgery, your doctor will have programmed the computer to vaporize a particular amount of tissue based on the measurements taken at your initial evaluation. After the pulses of laser energy vaporize the corneal tissue, the flap is put back into position.

A shield should be placed over your eye at the end of the procedure as protection, since no stitches are used to hold the flap in place. It is important for you to wear this shield to prevent you from rubbing your eye and putting pressure on your eye while you sleep, and to protect your eye from accidentally being hit or poked until the flap has healed.

Reason 3 - tutorial

Music production is another one of my hobbies... this guy is a bit of a mong... but this is for me to look at later...

Skip

Inquisitive fella isn't he. Moments like this that I do a second take at the creatures that inhabit my homeland. Strange.

Pebbly Beach

The NSW south coast. Pebbly beach is a great place to find wallabies doing their thing.

Pigeon House rock

The more adventurous of our party decided to conquer the nearest mountain. It was an amazing experience, one that reminded me of just how different life is outside of Sydney. The two mongrels to the right of Kyle are are Marty (Norway) and Ausra (Lithuania).

Australian Bush

This one was taken up on Pigeon house, on the NSW south coast near Ulladulla. The Australian bush evokes a certain sense of space, something I quite enjoy.

To my team mates

There is a need to write more about the people with whom I have spent the last fourteen months. They are a collection of six. A noble bunch. I am a big fan of AIESEC learning environment descriptors, and for me, these guys represent the a pinacle in my understanding of the development that occurs whilst working in teams. The ability to study and learn from ones peers is a powerful, if not underutilised, opportunity for our education system. On a daily basis I would approach my team mates for advice, ideas, support, feedback, friendship, laughs, problems, companionship and the general desire to hang out with a bunch of intelligent, engaging individuals.

From these guys I have learnt the value of family, of appreciating your roots and understanding that one day your folks will need you as much as you needed them. The value of integrity, the concept that if you sort out your personal values then it will be a lot easier to make those hard decisions. I have learnt the concept of brotherhood, of engaging friends and relying on them for support and challenges. Working in this environment has been the single most stimulating experience thus far. The notion that it is only our imigations holding us back from achieving. I have learnt that leadership and direction come in many forms, it is up to us as individuals to recognise and respond appropriately.

I have spent the last 14 months working with collegues and friends that I wish to be working with again in ten years time. We have lived, worked and laughed together. Set life goals and changed lives.

I am happy and proud to be involved in one of the most powerful open source education systems I have ever seen.

A new lease on life

Three great events have occurred since my last post:

ONE: I am moving to Bahrain. The call came at last. I was initially selected for the Qatar team in November last year. In the last few months we have seen a couple of adjustments in team positions but now everything is set. Tickets are booked and that’s it: I am moving to Bahrain. I leave Australia on Monday 19th of June. Head to Thailand for a major chillax, have a one day stop over in Egypt for sheesha, shwarma and fresh fruit juice before moving onto Manama itself. I will arrive there on the 25th of June to begin my role as Exchange/ER manager.

TWO: I am one day away from completing my four and a half year involvement with AIESEC Australia. It is a little saddening; in fact it has been very saddening. I have enjoyed the companionship of my team beyond belief and now understand what it is to companionship that extends above and beyond camaraderie. This group of six have played an essential role in my personal development, my professional development and my understanding of friendship. I do believe these people will receive a separate post.

THREE: On June 11th I turned 24 years old. We celebrated in style. Four days of drinking, dancing and singing. Friday was a trip back to the Rugby bar, Saturday was food at mine before the infamous piano bar, Sunday was a music festival (highlight: Grandmaster Flash and Sneaky Soundsystem), Monday was movies and beer.

In terms of the arts: I have spent the last month revisiting the Dandy Warhols third album: 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia. I finally get it… only took me six years. I am currently reading a collection of short novels by John Steinbeck. A master craftsman if ever there was one.

I will leave this post at that. Short and simple. This is a strange time, there be much change in the air. A new team have arrived, new friendships gained, old friendships forged, memories captured and I am filled with an omnipresent feeling of uncertainty about the unknown and joy at what we have accomplished this year. It is a good feeling to have. Six sleeps till I, once again, board a plane.