Sana'a encore

Back in Sana'a and at the Sheraton with a really nasty cold. I've been in my room for 24 hours now - just one brief excursion to the coffee shop for breakfast. They brought me a nice mix of mint tea and black tea - so I had some along with the fruit salad. I think I'll have some soup later and that should do it for me. Don't want to gain back the weight due to boredom/sickness eating.

It is good to have a tv when sick - I can have some noise in the background without having to think too much.

The shooting and death in Sana'a continues - I made the mistake of watching a video posted by Greg Johnson and now have images of brain on the street...this one guy's head was blown apart, and his brain appears to have fallen out - rather disturbing and not good to realize that this is happening just a few miles away from here.

I want the killing to stop - I want it to be as it was a few days ago - I don't know when it will be that way again - the last two weekends I was able to get out and about a bit - this weekend we are all shut down and reasonably so. But I don't like it at all - regardless of my wanting to go away for a long weekend in Dubai in two weeks - I just don't like Sana'a streets turned red due to fighting between the 1AD and the RG.

And I don't like this cold in my head.

Kabul again

More roses this time - the grass is green and lush and as I walk to the FSU, it is raining - not heavy but distinct and noticeable rain coming down and getting my wonderful but aging purse wet. I make it to FSU and login and get my danger pay letter and forward it to Sana'a and of course Theresa is there, she is always there, and she tells me there is not sufficient arrival specificity - I sent her comments to Jamie and Tabia and then later go talk to Tabia...this silly thing.

Then, I knew he would be here, I see Mike and he is on the phone with his wife and I yell and he turns and comes and finishes his conversation with her and then talks to me a little - and tells me he will see me later - he knows I am at Virginia house - he is upstairs from me on the third floor. Such a tease in a way but what the hell - i'm quite certain Adil will not be coming to dubai so might as well enjoy a little flirtatious energy, thus is my rationalization.

My roommate - one of them - is tired and is napping so I need to be quiet - my fingers are tapping the keys but I don't think the sound of them is drifting across the room - the air conditioner is turned on very low as she gets very hot when she sleeps - there is a reason. I used to hear Mike's keys tapping hard on the keyboard as he wrote his long and carefully corrected emails with typos sometimes still slipping through. It is a little strange to still be here but not be there and I don't know what will happen but I just get to keep doing whatever and showing up and walking around and drinking coffee and reading books and staying warm and dry and soon I will be in Dubai. It is warm and sunny there - there I will try to swim in the pool and get my eyebrows done and maybe a trim as my hair is dry and brittle and probably very split in the ends. In the end, who knows what will happen - where I will be. what I will do won't change much but merely the location of the work. still, first is vacation and ocean and sitting and breathing it in - hopefully quiet germans and not loud drunken ones but when on vacation, it doesn't matter - I don't have to be up at 630 - or even 7 - though on saturday up at 4:30 or 5. I have my egyptian coffee which isn't great but is better than nothing - I can have a cup before I get picked up by motorpool and taken to CAC by 5:20 and then picked up again for the airport...

Leaving soon

It is now only a few days until I leave for Kabul, then two days there then two days in Dubai and then DC. I'm ambivalent about it as in some ways, I feel like I have just really settled in and feel comfortable with what I am doing. But on the other hand, the lure of indoor plumbing is hard to resist.

I feel like I should print out the Saint Francis prayer for Mike. I think he probably feels that he already does what it suggests, but I detect a vibrant thread of anger and resentment underneath the overly amiable exterior. As I told Alex, the folks here are dysfunctional enough to be interesting, but not so messed up as to be psycho.

Watching again Sherlock - the modern day British take on Sherlock Holmes. He is kinetic and hyper and bored and childish but also very sharp and when engaged, a whirlwind but an attractive one at that.

In the spirit of the day, I am downloading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to watch probably when I'm in Kabul (as it is taking a long time to load). It is a rental, so the only thing is that when I start watching it, I have to watch the whole thing within 24 hours. It is a strange condition but oh well. The joys of Apple.

Given the wind and dryness, I can't really tell when I have washed my hair so just wash it on Fridays (today) and Mondays. The conditioner that Rachel kindly bequeathed to me helps somewhat. And tonight is steak and lobster night. I was thinking I can get some steak and then cut it in half and save it for tomorrow. Ideally I shouldn't eat anything more at all today as I have spent most of the day sitting but as lunch was at 11:30, I probably will succumb to eating something.

Today has been quite hot due to no wind. I haven't minded - I did work out and then showered and then grabbed lunch but aside from periodic strolls to the loo I haven't really been outside. Instead have studied Arabic some, watched cricket a bit, read a bit, and am now watching Sherlock. But tomorrow may be rather hectic, at least the first hour or so (7-8) until everyone for the visit is gone, so no naps today and will go to sleep early (9ish). Last night was a Mad Men screening - l love Dan's chairs and it is so nice to just lounge in it. I apparently am "one of the boys" which is, for a man, the highest possible accolade.

My roommate is leaving in a couple of days. I will be sad to see her go as she is a very intelligent, diligent, hardworking, and energetic woman. I admire her passion and her specificity.

Almost the Fourth of July

Today is July 1, also a Friday - our one day off. I slept in a bit, got up, had coffee, took a nap, worked out, took a shower, grabbed lunch, etc. Nothing terribly significant or important. The wind is howling, and it is hot out so the cool cave of our room is soothing.

yesterday Susanne and I ventured over to another base - Camp Arena - run by the Italians and Spaniards. We had appointments with the massage ladies and so that was nice. Now we know (sort of) how to get there. After that, we had food in the cantina and then walked down through the Italian quarter to get picked up and taken back to Stone. I went back to my room and then went with Jeannette over to Alex and Dan's and sat around and watched pictures, listened to some music (Dan plays guitar and sings a bit), and then rewatched (for me) two episodes of Mad Men, Season 3. It was quite nice. When we left, the stars were out in full force - and it was about 11:30. As those of you who know me, I'm not a late night person - but it was fun to be up and to have had a social evening.

Tomorrow is the holiday for July 4th. Most likely everyone in the office will be there - my goal is to only go for an hour or so - my boss returns from Kabul on Sunday.

It seems strange to think that I'll be leaving in about 3 weeks from now - again there is the feeling that I have been here a long time, yet I have barely scratched the surface. I miss very much seeing animals, children, being able to walk around and go to a store on my own (we do have our own little bazaar here, but it has a certain specific audience in mind (19-25 year old soldiers) and so I don't really want much of what is offered and definitely not at the prices offered. My goal is to buy a prayer rug for Sofia. To this end, I hope that I will be able to go into the old city in Herat on Sunday after lunch and find something and bargain a bit and then send it off to Illinois so that I don't have to carry it back. Seems attainable...

The hormonally induced blues of a couple weeks ago have faded - health has been restored pretty much and I'm eating less, exercising more and feeling pretty chipper. I have also booked most of my vacation in Croatia and Bosnia for the last two weeks and 2 days of August...am definitely looking forward to a nice laidback week in Dubrovnik and then a nice time riding every morning and "surprises" in the afternoon in Bosnia. I'll finish it off with two nights in Zagreb and then back to DC and maybe by then, I'll find out if I get to return to sana'a or not.

Stoners...

While here in near Herat, I'm staying at Camp Stone. There was just a major shift of military personnel so last night lots of people wandering around, many times with guns, and cars and movement and there is also a strange orange light as I walk towards the loo. No one else seems to know what it is or even has noticed it. I didn't the first few nights, but now that I've had a couple times leaving the office after sunset, I see it. One person suggested that there are lots of lights on over there - bright ones, and this is the way it shows up at a distance. I should read up on light and how it curves.

Been watching Fringe and totally enjoying the JJ Abrams takes on love and betrayal. It is encouraging to me that drama can articulate these things - I can enjoy it vicariously in my little room here sitting on a scarf that I paid too much for at the little bazaar here. I went through my bags to see what was where and repacked - am also accumulating laundry for the fluff and fold - I'm so delighted that they have that here - I really don't like doing my own laundry - though I did it in Arlington and Kabul.

I have requested time off for a vacation - while I'd like to the mongolian horseback ride - I think they require more notice than just a couple months - though I guess I should look into it. I know that on some level, my mom and sisters will be upset that I'm not visiting them - but that may happen too - Mom can come see me in Dc if I'm there very long and I can easily take a weekend and go to Chicago. So I think I will try to go to Croatia - it looks lovely and Dubrovnik sounds nice - and the Dalmatian Coast...water but not just beach - things to do but also quiet time to sleep and read and relax. I think it will be lovely. Getting there is a pain but I can go through Dubai maybe and spend a few days there too. Who knows. Or through Heathrow and see Brenna.

Patty told me to write through my bluespots. I haven't had a fullfledged one today - and I'm totally convinced that they are hormonally driven. Arranging theings a bit more here helps too - it is good to settle in even though it is temporary quarters. My nap was nice and I'll go to bed shortly - I'll just turn off the light at 9 and hope that will work okay for rachel and martin.

As I walk around the camp - either to the dining facility, or the toilet, or the office, I do get noticed because there aren't that many women, much less civilians, on the base. However, many of the young US military can tell at a glance that I'm at least their mom's age...so I am rendered gender neutral and elicit a "hello ma'am" or just "ma'am." But the Italians, many of them also quite young, actually seem to look at me (at least some of them do). I appreciate the looks from the Italians -- I feel like I'm viable at least as some one to be checked out.

More Kabul - still surreal

It is sad I think that most of the people are only happy when they are leaving - either leaving post for good or for one of the many R&Rs provided. Someone who I know from before, admittedly not that well, seems quite depressed to me and says she avoids people. Of course she also works in a very stressful office and after having met some of her coworkers, I can understand it a bit more.

Today we had early morning trainings on IEDs and various other explosive devices. After the morning of training, we had to wait for 1/2 hour for a ride back to the Embassy - but I was able to grap a nap before my afternoon training. That was a bit bizarre - some tensions in the rooms with some of the people. Also, a rather simplistic explanation offered by the trainer irritated me a bit. But we learned how to use the various toys that they have given us for our time here. And now I have a slight headache, had mexican food for dinner, and am now watching Harry Potter and cricket (cricket on computer, Harry on tv). I do like having a tv again - didn't have one in Cairo - did in the US and have one, however limited, here.

surreal white light kabul

I'm at the US Embassy compound in Kabul - the light from the sun reflects off the white concrete and is almost blinding. It is accompanied by heat, but tempered by the spring wind. It is eerily quiet much of the time. I walk by the green patches - lush green grass - with a variety of flowers including snapdragons and roses. The roses all look somewhat abused by the wind - once they have bloomed fully their petals turn out - as you walk by the large bunch of them, there is a faint puff of scent. A variety of people walk by - the local hires - mainly men outside it seems - the various military types, the suited men, the women with and without headscarfs - the women who wear skirts and thus reveal their legs which seems odd here. I wander in my kameez with long pants and sandals and my minimalist sweater which covers but doesn't really add any warmth.

The route to my hooch takes me on a little path shaded by a tree - there is a picnic table to the right. It adds a certain hominess to the rows of housing units. I'm in a two man sleeper which is occupied by a woman from Armenia who is here for six months. She has been very gracious in sharing this space...there is no storage and we sleep on bunkbeds. I have the top. We have a large flat screen LG tv w hich is hooked up to AFN network - thus i get to watch Star World and Star Movies - updated from the days I watched them in Pakistan. There are three channels that are Afghani - earlier today there were three young girls singing, their heads only partially covered by their dupattas.

A periodic source of noise are helicopters which seem to fly low over the compound. I haven't been here long enough to decipher the various paint jobs and marking to discern which entity is flying over my head...

My favorite and most common destination is the coffee place - they made nice cappucinos and ice coffees which are shots of espresso with ice and water. Still, caffein helps me get through the afternoon. I attended briefings today but was hit hard at 2 pm by fatigue and headache so came back to the hooch and took an hour nap. My iphone alarm is this irritating sound of an old fashioned phone - but it is very effective. Am meeting someone for dinner who I used to work with in south africa...which seems very remote from here.

I have to attend an all day security briefing tomorrow - and then something else on Sunday. The soonest I'll be leaving for Herat is Monday.

leaving Cairo

I have been in Cairo on temporary duty for almost two months now, and sadly, must leave and go wander around Washington DC until such time as I can return to Sana'a or _____. The options are not clear at this point, so instead I get to, again, live in a limbo of not knowing how long I'll be there an what will happen.
Things I will miss here: call to prayer, the men in their long robes (admittedly not that many but still), the interesting way the women dress - elaborate scarves of many colors and then tight jeans or pants with sometimes snug, sometimes not so snug tops over, all long sleeved and presumably rather hot during the summer, the horsedrawn carriages that i have yet to ride in (note to self - try to ride them on Friday and also visit the Lion Bridge and get photos), the considered gazes of the very young men dressed in their policemen's white summer uniform as the armoured shuttle drives past on the way to the street, the quiet of the KFC that is staffed by predominantly deaf workers, the really really excellent cappucino/chocolate swirl gelato that is made in Michigan but sold in the Royal Chocolate store near Boulus Hanna, the camraderie of the Marines and Angela, the nice smiles that I get from two of the servers at the cafeteria when I go to get my morning cappucino, the walking around the office escorting the cleaners every day, the abrupt sunset where all of a sudden, it is dark, the windy but usually warm wind that is generated in the Embassy compound due to the heighth of the main building...
I will enjoy seeing old friends in Arlington (well, people I met about 6 months ago), and who knows what will turn up, but I will desperately miss Cairo.

Jan 27-28

I just typed a huge amount of text and then lost it. Sigh.
Oh well, so the more succinct version The past two days, Thursday and Friday, are our weekend here in Sana'a. On Thursday, I went with some other Embassy people to Wadi Darbar (Ssp?) which is booked as the Imam's Palace. It is a nice building built on top of a peak and also incorporates the peak into the building. It is quite clean and rooms nicely labeled in English.

So it is time to study arabic now. Despite it having been a leisurely two days with little demands on my time other than naps, eating, and lounging about, I haven't been good about studying. So here, in the last half hour before I go to sleep, I am inspired to study a bit. Thus, this first blog entry shall be short and sweet and I'll go into more detail about my adventure on Thursday another time.

Sana'a - Jan 28.

So here I am - in Sana'a Yemen with my two laptops and not great internet connections. I tried to post another note on FB, but to no avail so I guess I will do this and just send it to certain select people.

Tis the winter of our discontent I guess - Egypt, Yemen and now Jordan having protests - though I guess there weren't any here today -just yesterday. Still, sana'a is a huge sprawling city so in my little corner, I didn't see any protests. Of course, I'm not familiar with the city yet - but often when I lived in San Francisco, there would be big parades and protests and my little part of the Mission would remain its usual bucolic self.

I do find it interesting that this place in Yemen has all these American tv shows on - of course a lot of that is from the channels which are based in Kuwait, Dubai, etc.

So aside from that, what can I say? The Embassy is much smaller than the one in Pretoria, but much more elaborate security measures are employed vis a vis getting there, routes, vehicles, and then the variety of gates/blockades that you have to go through in order to finally access the Embassy.

My office feels a bit like a club - rock and roll, mainly younguns, biker language, etc. My boss asked if I was opposed to making coffee - I said philosophically? no - so we agreed that sometimes I would make the coffee. I did say I wasn't thrilled about serving it - he looked appropriately horrified and said definitely not. What I need to remember to do is take some milk to the office tomorrow and then put it in the fridge down the hall.

I got to go shopping with Jan, the Ambassador's assistant, and Haj, the Ambassador's cook. He took us to a few different grocery stores so we could get a sense of where to get what and where the prices are the best. I enjoyed it - it was fun to see Yemenis shopping and also to see kids and smile at them and occasionally pat the head of the little boys. The stores are more elaborate thanI remember Al Fatah being back in Pakistan - definitely more spacious. One of them actually has large signs in arabic and english on the aisles indicating what is where. My whole idea that you can't survive here without arabic is definitely being challenged - though I still think it is useful. I have tried talking to the drivers and they very kindly correct me. One other guy in my office has studied Arabic - but the others don't.

The highlight of the "weekend" was going to a local tourist spot - Wadi Dhardar. This is a palace of the Imam up a bit from Sana'a in the mountains. The palace is on top of and utilizes the peak that is set upon. It is quite well preserved with nice labels in English describing the various rooms. Some of the rooms are protected by glass and have been furnished - but several of them are just empty. The views are great - being high up has always been a good idea so you can see the enemies/friends/visitors from a distance.

There was a little cactus tree with large wide leaves and, much to my surprise, cats on the leaves. The cats are quite little and were scattered about next to the trunk, on the leaves, etc. It was quite a charming sight.

There were some other folks at the palace other than our group - also lots of locals running about. I made sure and said "salaam aleikum" to the women mainly. They all responded which was nice. I was definitely scanned by the variety of brown eyes between the black fabric covering face and hair.

I also ended up sitting by myself for a while sipping tea. I watched the world go by (not much of the world as there weren't that many visitors), and also read my Teach Yourself Arabic for a while.

After the visit, four of us went to a very nice (and relatively expensive) restaurant for lunch. I ordered a "single portion" of lamb which came on a large plate with tons of rice and almost an entire potato and a few bones with lots of lamb on it. The lamb was delicious - the rice also was good and the potato was beyond my capacity. The dish itself was about $10.00 which is reasonable for US prices, but I can see why this restaurant isn't going to attract many of the general populace.