Creepy Dudes and Censorship

It's been exactly one week since I arrived on Bahrain soil (sand) and while there are many wonderful things about this country and the opportunities I have had, there are also some injustices I am only just discovering. I thought everyone had heard enough of my gloating posts about all the cool things I get to do for a little while (even though the good most certainly out-weighs the bad) and I wanted to share some of the things that have surprised me about Bahraini culture.

Firstly, driving over here is ridiculous - not to mention dangerous. Nobody bothers to indicate, and if they do, you know the driver is most certainly an expat. On one afternoon drive back from work I saw one car get so impatient with the after school traffic that they drove to the edge of the road, between the space where the road side ends and the barrier begins, and they just drove down the side until they got to the front of the traffic. Let me just I clarify: they were not even driving in an actual lane! Speeding is fairly normal, car crashes are common, and when I walk down most main roads I feel like I am walking beside a motorway. When I was walking to the Marina market this afternoon, in the space of five minutes, two cars beeped at me, and one car SLOWED DOWN while the driver tried to coax me to get into his car for a "lift". Another thing which shocked me was the lack of regard for pedestrians: while they have pedestrian crossings, they might as well not be there because nobody stops for people waiting. This will surely take a lot of getting used to...

Secondly, once I arrived at the Marina market, I walked around the stalls, listening to the music blasting through the speakers, when Macklemore's Same Love comes on. Or so I thought it was... It turned out to be a remix which completely destroyed the original song's premise: advocating for LGBT rights and in particular, gay marriage in the US (the song was written a few years before gay marriage was legalised there). The remix began with the song's chorus sung by a male (instead of a female):

And I can't change

Even if I tried

Even if I wanted to

And I can't change

Even if I tried

Even if I wanted to

My love, my love, my love

She keeps me warm (x4)

As you can imagine, while that didn't surprise me, it did upset me a bit - it's such a brilliant song and the remix didn't make logical sense at all... what can't a heterosexual male change about his relationship? Being straight? There are close to zero love songs about LGBT relationships thus far, so why spoil a perfectly wonderful one? Why not just avoid playing it...?

Anyway, besides those cultural differences that are challenging for me, I'm having a wonderful time and am looking forward to the week ahead. I hope this post wasn't a downer, but I want to record all aspects of life here in my blog, not just the wonderful stuff.

The Lagoon - 15 minute walk from my home

Thanks for reading!

Abz