15 Oct. 2010 - Camp Lemonnier living

So the PAE PM, Bill Callahan, has already asked me if I want to play golf here. I told him I generally only play for the beer drinking aspects of it - and since we can't drink off base...then there is no need to go play golf! ;-) Right? We'll see. It's still pretty warm here. Up to 97 yesterday. But funny how fast you adjust. I played flag football outside last night. The sun was going down so the temperature probably had dropped a few...but even still, it was probably still in the upper 80’s/low 90’s. And of course my math skills are being tested – everything here tells you the temperature in Centigrade, not Fahrenheit. So I have to do conversion…I am not always very quick.

I hit 11 Degrees North on Sunday to watch the Ravens vs. Steelers game. At 11 Degrees North - the base pub - they will show some of the games. Several of the sports channels on the Armed Forces Network (AFN-TV) are fan based – you can go online and vote for the top games to be shown. Of course the Steelers vs. Ravens game was a bigger game and it was top of the list. I am not the only fan here – there were a handful of other Ravens fans, but we were way outnumbered by the Steelers fans in there. I was able to email back and forth with my Dad while the game was on. Since it was played in Pittsburgh, he was home watching the game. It was almost like we were watching it together. This past weekend’s game, Ravens vs. Broncos, was not aired on AFN. So I hit my office and listened to the radio via internet feed. It wasn’t so bad. My Dad and little sister were at the game, emailing with me again. What a great couple of games! GO RAVENS! And they have 16 oz. cans of Amstel Light at the pub. So that makes me happy! They may not have Diet Coke here, but they do have Amstel! Everyone is issued a beer card each month. You are allowed to have 3 beers (16 oz cans), some of those malted beverages or 3 wines per day (I am told 3 of these mini bottles of wine equals a full bottle of wine). So they mark your card as you purchase your drink. I have learned if you tip the bartender well, he may just mark you as having a beer on the wrong day…ooopppsss! Shhhhh…that’s our secret.

So around here....now that I have been here almost 2 weeks... We work generally from 0800 - 1800 - 10 hour days Monday-Friday. On Saturdays we work 1100-1700 or so - 6 hours on Saturday. There are always people working around here. So you are never alone. My boss and one of my co-workers went to Qatar this past weekend - they say it's the cheaper version of Dubai. The laundry facilities are right next to the bathroom in my CLU building. I can do my own laundry (which I am doing) or I can drop mine off at the laundry facility near the Galley and they'll do it for me. I'd rather do my own. It's free. I just have to buy the detergent at the NEX (Navy Exchange). I actually did my laundry the other day - popped it in, came to work, and then went back and forth until it was done. Easy program. I work about a couple blocks from my CLU. So it's an easy walk to work in the mornings. The Galley is about half a mile from here. So I tend to pick up containers of cereal at the galley when I go to lunch and keep them in my office. So I don't have to go down there for breakfast. But once I get back into my morning gym and running routine, I will probably stop for breakfast there - since the gym is right across from the galley. The base has everything I can think of needing.

This past Sat. we had an All-Hands. They give out monthly awards and talk about the program as a whole. It was a great opportunity to meet a bunch of people. They have a cookout and you can use your beer cards to grab a few beers or wine too. So I had a nice time. Photos loaded on Facebook…the link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=236626&id=708719481&l=642e68c2d5

Each week we lose one day of liberty (ability to go off base) - it's always random. And every day they specify places that are off limits, in addition to those places that are always off limits (like tattoo parlors, brothels, night clubs, etc.). Making sure we vary our routines and such. I went off base when I first got here for dinner with my group here. The food was awesome - a Lebanese Restaurant. But we took some wrong turns coming back and that was interesting. Not really scary - but the Khat industry around here is something - there were Khat stands all over the place. And people just hanging out in the streets. Very different than where I come from.

People here on base are really nice - but I expect that. We are all in the same boat here. And it's a lot of retired/former military peeps here supporting this mission. I have made many friends already. Being so shy is tough sometimes! Ha Ha

My CLU room is small. I have my twin bed and 2 lockers in it. My suitcases are still on the floor as I have not unpacked everything yet - since I am moving. I got my memory foam mattress topper before I got here - so I use that box for a night stand. I had to buy a power transformer when I got here - so I could use my alarm clock and iPod radio. My laptop works fine with the current power using only an adapter. I have 2 plugs in my room. So I got one power strip too. I hang stuff on my CLU walls with magnets. It is so humid around here - when I get home at night the outside of my door and window in the door are covered in moisture. My towels never seem to dry all the way. But I am adjusting fine. It's only a year…

We are currently wrapping up the Captain's Cup Challenge - I joined the flag football team. There was dodge ball last week. They've had a biathlon, 3-on-3 basketball, 3 point shootout, some running events, ping pong, Djibouti Idol, billiards, etc. etc. Most was already done by the time I got here. So that's why I signed up for the flag football. Plus we get extra points just because I am a female on the team. We practiced flag football several times last week. Anyway - there are 11 teams on base - PAE is their own team. Then each of the other "groups" on base has a team. It's fun. And I am glad I can participate.  We won 2 games and made it to the play-offs, but lost our first play-off game. It was fun anyway. I am already signed up to do the biathlon for the next challenge - probably in March.

I ran a 5K this past weekend - to celebrate the 235th Birthday of the Navy. I am out of shape - but this is a good kick-off to my training season! Since then I have been meeting with Ben, another guy who started the same week as me. He works in Air Operations – down by the air field. He wants to train for a half marathon, so I am training him…while I train myself. We have a couple of other people who come when they feel like it. We also have another 5K the end of this month for Halloween. So we’ll run that too.

Today I found the Post Office. I have already made one trip to the base clinic…was seen by an extremely handsome Navy doctor…or was I just delirious? LOL. Nothing major – just a little bout with some stomach bug. I will be getting a brand new flat screen TV installed in my room in the next few days – only a 27 incher, but enough to watch shows from time to time. And even football!

I find it humorous that I have about 60,000 Djiboutian Francs in my wallet right now. Sounds like a lot, but hardly. I think it’s about $90. I’ll use that this weekend if we make it off base. We are hoping to do a little shopping at the market and find a nice place to have dinner. Most places around here do not take credit cards or US money. So it’s definitely a learning curve for me to spend money in another denomination. But it’s great – on base here we just hit the Cash Cage and they will give us Djiboutian Francs or US dollars with a check. They also have a Navy Federal ATM on base. It’s kind of funny; they call it the largest ATM facility in the world. They built this nice sized Post Office facility and put the ATM in the front of it. However, they discovered that the building was not safe to occupy, so thus far it serves as only an ATM. They will tear it down and start again one of these days.

So this wraps up my thoughts for today. I will post again soon. Hope to have more photos uploaded soon as well. Especially if we make it off base this weekend. Will have some photos of Djibouti proper.

Y’all take care.

Cheers!