Having the privilige of being from such a small and (relatively) unknown place, it's always a treat to listen to what other people have to say about bahrain abroad. The viewpoints you hear range from well informed to the down-right ludicrous. Here are just some of the conversations I've had trying to explain bahrain.

Dialogue one: the (semi)-avid traveller
him: where are you from?
me: bahrain.
him: oh bahrain.... great great airport. amazing. i really liked it. amazing duty free. I really liked the cars on offer.
me: yeah.. have you ever been in the country?
him: nope... just the duty free.. really liked it though... i was glad to see they had a bar...
me: that's good
him: isn't it the one that has a cool design like a mushroom? with a shiny glazed roof?
me: no that's abu dhabi...
him: oh....

Dialogue 2: the absolute imbecile
him: where are you from?
me: bahrain
him: bah.. what?
me: bahrain
him: bayran? where is that?
me: it's bahrain.. and it's in the arabian gulf.. near saudi arabia and kuwait
him: oh iran....
me: no... bahrain...
him: so you guys have a lot of oil ha?
me: we've got a bit... not as much as the others unfortunately
him: so... you must be pretty rich ha... so do you have like a large house with a swimming pool and a golf course and everything?
me: yup.... they're right next to the oil field in my back yard...

Dialogue 3: The Guardian reader
him: where are you from?
me: (sigh)... bahrain
him: oh cool... so did you enjoy the grand prix?
me: wow... you know bahra... anyway.. yeah .. it was really good.. i wasn't there.. but i watched it on tv.. and it looked pretty awesome.
him: yeah..... it looked a bit empty though... and you guys also had the arabian big brother ha?
me: ummm... yeah....
him: hahaha.... is it true they stopped it because a girl had a t-shirt saying (sexy girl 69) on it? and because they kissed on the cheek when meeting?
me: umm... i guess
him: so how come guys when kissing guys and girls when kissing girls can kiss on the cheek but not when it's guys and girls?
me: it's complicated man.. anyway.. i gotta go... nice to meet you.. bye...
him: what... no kiss on the cheek?

¶ 4:09 PM