For one American teacher, Bahrain will always be home

 From her house in Pennsylvannia, retired American teacher Pat Boyer longs to be home.

But home for her is 12,000km away.

Boyer, who retired three years ago, holds the record in Bahrain for the longest-serving teacher at 37 years.

Earlier this year, she visited Bahrain to celebrate her 40th anniversary since she first moved there.

“My love story with Bahrain is not over and I will be back soon on an extended visit,” she said at the farewell reception hosted in her honour, backing a popular notion among expats here that “Bahrain always brings you back”.

Boyer delighted reception guests with fascinating stories about life in Bahrain in the ’70s.

She was there for it all — Bahrain’s independence and all the way through its nation-building years.

Speaking to Gulf News, she recounts tales alien to modern-day expatriates.

Recalling her life outside school, she said that she used to have sweet water delivered to her house near the American Mission Hospital on donkey carts.

She has lived in the same house for 35 years.

“We used to wash vegetables with Milton tablets and take malaria pills. We travelled to Saudi Arabia in dhows, near what is now the Bahrain Financial Harbour, and organised theme house parties as there were no coffee shops or hotels during that time.”

Pleasant memories also included high-profile figures, she said as she shared “an interesting anecdote of an encounter with the late Emir Shaikh Eisa Bin Salman Al Khalifa”.

“I was looking for a camp site and got lost in the Sakhir desert. I remember coming across a gathering of men sitting in circles around a campfire. I was afraid of stray dogs, so I approached slowly and said ‘hello, hello, hello’, not knowing what to expect. The men popped up and came towards me and the first person among them was Shaikh Eisa. He looked me and said ‘I thought you were a bird making sounds’. He gave his instructions and I was assisted all the way to my home.”

Pat came to Bahrain on September 19, 1976, from Italy to teach at the Bahrain School.

“Thirty-seven years ago it was an adventure for teachers and students. I joined work as dormitory counsellor and, after three years, I taught physical education to all grades. It was rough as it was not a fancy place and it was definitely an adventure to study there. However, teaching was fun at the school which, along with St. Christopher in Awali and Al Raja School in Manama, were the pioneers in education at that time.”

Pat initially thought her Bahrain posting would be for a few months. Little did she know it would last more than three decades and a half.

She has taught several members of the royal family, including Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

“He was always polite and he was a good student,” she recalled.

“Things have changed over the years from the coastline to skyline, traffic, malls even branded clothes, which was something that was not present when I arrived in Bahrain,” she said.

“But what has not changed is the friendliness and hospitability of older Bahrainis who have a good sense of humour and accept people from all walks of life.”

“In Italy, Germany or France you will always be a foreigner,” seh said.

“But in Bahrain, I feel like I belong.”

source: GULF NEWS