First impressions of Bahrain: Hot and Muggy

My first impressions of Bahrain were a little foggy. This was in part due to the 32 hour journey from San Francisco, but perhaps more because my glasses fogged up immediately upon leaving the airport. As they say back in DC, it's not the heat, it's the humiture.
My second impression of life here was that there seemed to be no actual Bahrainis. I was put up in a hotel for the first week while I confirmed my apartment. It was staffed almost exclusively by Filipinos and Indians. Everywhere I went, stores, cafes, and restaurants all seemed to be staffed by Filipinos and Indians. There are a lot of Americans near the Naval base, and almost every nationality in the diplomatic area, but very few Bahrainis.
Part of this had to do with arriving during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Since eating and drinking is allowed at night, many Bahranis stay up all night and sleep most of the day during Ramadan. Almost every place has shorten hours, and no restaurant or cafe is open during the day, as I found out the hard way. It's also forbidden to wear shorts and smoke in public during Ramadan-I'm still not sure why. I was surprised when my Human Resources person couldn't tell me the end of Ramadan. Because it's linked to the lunar calendar, they all wait for an official announcement over the TV that leads to four days of feasting to make up for lost time. A bit like snow days, I suppose.
I later heard that somewhere between a third and a half of all the people in the country are expats, and most of the Bahrainis stay out of the port area. This goes back to the early twentieth century, before the oil era, when Bahrain was a major pearl exporter. It became a critical link between British India and the rest of the Middle East, particularly Persia. As part of what was euphemistically called the informal empire, Bahrain's port of Manama became flooded with foreigners, and English was the easiest means of communication between communities. To this day, I use English with almost everyone I deal with, including the gas station attendent and janitors. While this makes life a lot easier day to day, it has frustrated my attempts to learn Arabic. The only Bahrainis I actually know are my students, who are always excited by any attempt on my part to speak Arabic. They don't think much of the Syrian speaker I imitate from Pimsleur, though.
The port area where I live has a certain Las Vegas feel about it: There are a lot of super modern tall box buildings, surrounded by empty desert areas. I ended up near the Navy base, so there are also a lot of American chain restaurants, including some I had forgotten about, such as Bennigan's, Benihana's, and TGIFriday's (weekend starts on Thursday here, though). And don't worry Dad, I spotted an Applebee's the other day, too. Despite eating good in my neighborhood, I have already lost about ten pounds. Probably water weight...