Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Hope your holidays were happy and safe! On Christmas worked until 5:30pm and returned to the FOB to a very non-traditional holiday dinner. We did have an Iraqi band and dancers. The party was fun and helped to create some holiday cheer here. For New Year's we worked but traffic was light and we got out a little early.
I'll post some pictures soon.
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Athens, Greece
I arrived in Athens on Saturday, Nov 1st in the evening. What a beautiful flight through Doha International Airport into Greece. Flying into and out of Doha I saw a lot of water and desert! The city has some very modern as well as traditional architecture as you will see in the photos.
Descending through the clouds the islands surrounding Greece came into view. What I saw were tree covered rock islands that sharply dropped into the surrounding clear ocean water. Breathtakingly beautiful! Then the coastal cities came into view as we approached the airport. A quick trip through customs and baggage claim and I was in a taxi on my way to Hotel Armonia (www.armonia.gr). Their brochure says, “The picturesque resort town of Vouilagmeni is where Hotel Armonia is located. It is on the coast about 24 kilometers from Athens. It is renowned for wide, unspoiled beaches, fine restaurants and a cosmopolitan atmosphere.” It is a beautiful hotel in a very beautiful resort area.
Paul Samaras, the owner of the tour company, met me in the lobby. We had coffee and he gave me a private orientation to the area as well as some ideas of how to spend Sunday and Monday. Following his suggestions, Sunday I walked for miles exploring the area. There are many small quaint restaurants and shops. I found the fresh water lake/spa he told me about as well as the million-dollar yacht basin. The beach was beautiful and the water was cold. The temperatures are warm during the day and cooler at night with just a hint of humidity in the air.
Monday through Wednesday was exploring on my own. Tuesday was a tour to Mycenae (The Lions Gate) and Wednesday was to Delphi.
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Click here to see photos
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Descending through the clouds the islands surrounding Greece came into view. What I saw were tree covered rock islands that sharply dropped into the surrounding clear ocean water. Breathtakingly beautiful! Then the coastal cities came into view as we approached the airport. A quick trip through customs and baggage claim and I was in a taxi on my way to Hotel Armonia (www.armonia.gr). Their brochure says, “The picturesque resort town of Vouilagmeni is where Hotel Armonia is located. It is on the coast about 24 kilometers from Athens. It is renowned for wide, unspoiled beaches, fine restaurants and a cosmopolitan atmosphere.” It is a beautiful hotel in a very beautiful resort area.
Paul Samaras, the owner of the tour company, met me in the lobby. We had coffee and he gave me a private orientation to the area as well as some ideas of how to spend Sunday and Monday. Following his suggestions, Sunday I walked for miles exploring the area. There are many small quaint restaurants and shops. I found the fresh water lake/spa he told me about as well as the million-dollar yacht basin. The beach was beautiful and the water was cold. The temperatures are warm during the day and cooler at night with just a hint of humidity in the air.
Monday through Wednesday was exploring on my own. Tuesday was a tour to Mycenae (The Lions Gate) and Wednesday was to Delphi.
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Click here to see photos
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Thursday, October 23, 2008
Kuwait City, Kuwait
It's Octover 23rd and I'm in Kuwait City, Kuwait. I flew in last night and spent about an hour getting my visa so I can stay thru Nov 1. Friends met me at the airport and took me back to their condo. WOW, what a great place to stay!
During the day I explore and at night we socialize. I feel very safe walking alone here. There's a mall and a grocery/department store within a few miles. The neighborhood has many services; laundry, beauty shop and great restaurants. Two of my favorite restaurants are a sushi place (can't remember the name) and Fresh. Fresh has indoor and outdoor seating and the evenings are cool so dining outside is wonderful. The food is great and reasonably priced.
Mark was our tour guide on Sunday and drove us all around downtown Kuwait City. We parked and explored a very nice mall and some of the smaller neighborhood shops. So much to see and do! The people here are friendly but you take your life in your hands driving. They speed up and down the main road so fast!
This is a wonderful place to visit.
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Click here to see photos
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During the day I explore and at night we socialize. I feel very safe walking alone here. There's a mall and a grocery/department store within a few miles. The neighborhood has many services; laundry, beauty shop and great restaurants. Two of my favorite restaurants are a sushi place (can't remember the name) and Fresh. Fresh has indoor and outdoor seating and the evenings are cool so dining outside is wonderful. The food is great and reasonably priced.
Mark was our tour guide on Sunday and drove us all around downtown Kuwait City. We parked and explored a very nice mall and some of the smaller neighborhood shops. So much to see and do! The people here are friendly but you take your life in your hands driving. They speed up and down the main road so fast!
This is a wonderful place to visit.
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Click here to see photos
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Monday, October 20, 2008
Vacation Time....Finally!
Ok, I've been in Iraq since May 2nd and now it's time to go on my mid-year vacation. It's hard to believe it's been 5 months. Right now I'm in Baghdad taking care of some things at the BAT Cave (our office). On Wednesday, Oct 22, I fly to Kuwait for a week stop-over and sightseeing. I'm really excited about that because I haven't seen much of the country, only the little bit I get to see on the POE and FOB. Then I fly to Athens, Greece where I'll spend Nov 2-5 relaxing and sightseeing until my brother and his family arrive. We'll be together from Nov 6-11 and all fly out on the 11th. They fly back to the U.S. and I'll fly through Kuwait and immediately back to Baghdad. From there I have no idea how long it will take me to get back to my unit. I'm going to post some photos of my adventure so stay tuned for some new events!!!
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Click here to see photos
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Click here to see photos
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New Clothes
This is a picture of me in a Hijob (pr he-job). It is the traditional woman's wear in Islamic culture. I bought it for a friend but couldn't resist trying it on. What do you think?
Friday, October 3, 2008
FINALLY, an update!!!
Have you ever seen the movie “Groundhog Day”? Remember it’s the same thing (almost) day after day after day. Well that’s how my routine is here and why you haven’t seen anything new on this blog for a while.
One thing that is new is I'm in school again. I'm doing a 2nd master's degree, this one in Management of Information Systems (MIS) through the University of Phoenix (online). I want to have something to show for my time in Iraq besides the number of books I’ve read, the number of movies I’ve watched and the number of miles I’ve walked. There are 10 classes and each one is 6 weeks. My first class started on July 29th and completed on Sep 8th. My second class started on Sep 9th and ends Oct 20th. I will not be in class during Oct-Dec.
In Oct-Nov I’m going on vacation. It’s my mid-assignment vacation and I’ll be meeting my brother and his family in Athens, Greece. We’ll be there the same time the Athens Marathon is happening. I will be there from Nov 1-5 alone. I plan on having a “spa day” then relaxing and sight-seeing until they arrive. We’ll be there together the 6th – 11th. We have lots of fun activities planned. On Tue and Wed before they arrive I have 2 1-day trips planned through the hotel. I’ll go to Mycenae on Tuesday and Delphi on Wednesday. So you’ll see some photos and updates with vacation adventures!
One thing that is new is I'm in school again. I'm doing a 2nd master's degree, this one in Management of Information Systems (MIS) through the University of Phoenix (online). I want to have something to show for my time in Iraq besides the number of books I’ve read, the number of movies I’ve watched and the number of miles I’ve walked. There are 10 classes and each one is 6 weeks. My first class started on July 29th and completed on Sep 8th. My second class started on Sep 9th and ends Oct 20th. I will not be in class during Oct-Dec.
In Oct-Nov I’m going on vacation. It’s my mid-assignment vacation and I’ll be meeting my brother and his family in Athens, Greece. We’ll be there the same time the Athens Marathon is happening. I will be there from Nov 1-5 alone. I plan on having a “spa day” then relaxing and sight-seeing until they arrive. We’ll be there together the 6th – 11th. We have lots of fun activities planned. On Tue and Wed before they arrive I have 2 1-day trips planned through the hotel. I’ll go to Mycenae on Tuesday and Delphi on Wednesday. So you’ll see some photos and updates with vacation adventures!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
July 4th Celebration
We had a party on the 4th of July for everyone on the FOB and we invited many of the Iraqi’s that work with us on the POE. We did not have alcohol (we have a general order not to consume while in country) and we were smart enough not to shoot off any fireworks being this close to the Iraq/Iran border. We had food and Iraqi dancers. It was a lot of fun.
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Click here to see photos
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