Oh wow! Where do I start? It's been so long since I've updated this thing that I have a ton to say. I would also imagine that anyone who has been checking in regularly to see what I've been up to has long since stopped so I'm probably writing this now just for my own sake but here I go anyways.
Well to start way back from where I left off... My last week in Kandahar was a little hectic trying to get all my work closed off before I left. Why is it that whenever time runs short that's exactly when you get the largest workload? It's like the irony of sleeping in the morning... why is it that the best time to sleep is the exact moment that you have to get out of bed?
It wasn't just the work that made the week chaotic, the process of leaving was chaotic too. Nobody seemed to really give me any instructions and i've obviously never done this before so how should I know what I should be doing and when? In the end it all worked out, but it just seemed like I had to jump through a lot of hoops in order to leave.
I had to do an "exit interview" in case I had any complaints or needed to pass on any security concerns or anything like that. Well it's somehow not just as simple as going to the interview, I had to have an escort to get there and back. now you would think that the travel/HR department would provide that person. They got me to the base afterall, don't you think it should be their job to get me home too? Turns out... no. It was up to me to find someone. Oh, and it can't just be anyone, it has to be someone who is certified to escort you to the interview.
"Ask your boss," they said.
"I did," I said, "He's not certified."
"That's ok," they said.
"It's ok if my escort isn't an authorized requestor?"
"No. Ask your boss."
"What?"
That conversation didn't really go anywhere. In the end I found someone who found someone else to escort me and it all worked out, but what a pain.
I think I got out of Kandahar just in time actually. The heat for the last few days was really opressive. It felt like it had actual weight to it and it's still nowhere near the summertime temperatures. I can't imagine what that's like.
On the plane ride back to Dubai they served beer. To quote the brilliant Will Ferrel "It's so good once it hits your lips." Yeah, it's true. Good one Will.
Oh! And I almost forgot, as I was sitting on the plane staring out the window I saw a mid-air refueling taking place! It was awesome! The two planes crossed directly under our path with one tucked in right behind the other.
Well I arrived in Dubai on Sunday afternoon and went on to my hostel and checked in. Now I had been writing back and forth with a friend from my MBA days who's currently living in Dubai now and he invited me to stay with him. Unfortunately I didn't get that e-mail until after I had already checked in, but what are hostels if they aren't cheap, so after checking my e-mail I proptly checked back out again and went to stay with him. Thanks Amine, you've been a great host!
So sunday evening wasn't too eventful. I met up with Judy for a late supper and a beer... the second time was just as good as the first... and then when I got to Amine's we went for more food. It was good to catch up with Amine and I'm glad i got the opportunity to. Mind you it sounds like he wants me to move here. It would be a nice city to live in, but it's just too hot!
I'm realizing that this blog post doesn't really sound too interesting... if you've stuck with me so far please don't give up yet. It gets better I promise.
On Monday I got up and went to the area around the creek to go to the souks and do some exploring. I really do love this plpace, it's so diverse and it's such a comfortable city. I'm not really sure what I mean by comfortable, but I've never felt out of place or uncomfortable about being anywhere. I just always felt like I belonged wherever I went.
While wandering the souks I got the distinct impression that i had the word "sucker" written across my forehead. I kept geting drawn into stores and once I was inside there was probably about a 4 in 5 chance that I was leaving with less money than I went in with. The highlight was probably a swquence that started with me walking through a narrow alleyway in the gold souk and a guy shiftily coming up to me and saying in a low voice, "Wanna buy a watch?"
Well no, I didn't really want to buy a watch but I was curious to see where this would go so I followed him through some alleys to a small shop. The alley where the shop was couldn't have been more than about 5 feet wide at best. Now first of all, who decideds that this is a good spot to open a store? This location required a guide in order to find it in the first place... not good business planning. Second, when I say it was a "small shop" that's a bit of an understatement. The store was a room about 6 feet wide by about 10 feet deep. Small.
Anyways I went in and "the guide" closed the door behind me and left. Hmmm... curious. So the guy in the store says "You want watch?" Well I look around the store and there are no watches anywhere, the store seemed like it was mostely focussed on selling junk. Just a lot of really random junk. Well the guy goes to the back wall and slides a hook out of the way and bangs on a panel (honestly, I couldn't make this up) and a little secret door opens up and he pulls out a box of watches.
"You want Rolex? You want Tagg? You want Breitling? You want Omega?" and he starts pulling watches out of the box. Well remember how I said that there was a 4 in 5 chance of me buying someing once they got me into a store? I've always wanted an Omega so... I bought one. $90 and made in Korea but it looks nice and I'm sure it's of *very* high quality ;)
So here's something I don't understand. Well I do understand the traditional arab outfits... long, white, loose fitting, it all makes sense and they look very comfortable. What I don't get is why the women get screwed over by having to wear black! The sun here is just too hot to be draping yourself in black! I would melt.
Well to start way back from where I left off... My last week in Kandahar was a little hectic trying to get all my work closed off before I left. Why is it that whenever time runs short that's exactly when you get the largest workload? It's like the irony of sleeping in the morning... why is it that the best time to sleep is the exact moment that you have to get out of bed?
It wasn't just the work that made the week chaotic, the process of leaving was chaotic too. Nobody seemed to really give me any instructions and i've obviously never done this before so how should I know what I should be doing and when? In the end it all worked out, but it just seemed like I had to jump through a lot of hoops in order to leave.
I had to do an "exit interview" in case I had any complaints or needed to pass on any security concerns or anything like that. Well it's somehow not just as simple as going to the interview, I had to have an escort to get there and back. now you would think that the travel/HR department would provide that person. They got me to the base afterall, don't you think it should be their job to get me home too? Turns out... no. It was up to me to find someone. Oh, and it can't just be anyone, it has to be someone who is certified to escort you to the interview.
"Ask your boss," they said.
"I did," I said, "He's not certified."
"That's ok," they said.
"It's ok if my escort isn't an authorized requestor?"
"No. Ask your boss."
"What?"
That conversation didn't really go anywhere. In the end I found someone who found someone else to escort me and it all worked out, but what a pain.
I think I got out of Kandahar just in time actually. The heat for the last few days was really opressive. It felt like it had actual weight to it and it's still nowhere near the summertime temperatures. I can't imagine what that's like.
On the plane ride back to Dubai they served beer. To quote the brilliant Will Ferrel "It's so good once it hits your lips." Yeah, it's true. Good one Will.
Oh! And I almost forgot, as I was sitting on the plane staring out the window I saw a mid-air refueling taking place! It was awesome! The two planes crossed directly under our path with one tucked in right behind the other.
Well I arrived in Dubai on Sunday afternoon and went on to my hostel and checked in. Now I had been writing back and forth with a friend from my MBA days who's currently living in Dubai now and he invited me to stay with him. Unfortunately I didn't get that e-mail until after I had already checked in, but what are hostels if they aren't cheap, so after checking my e-mail I proptly checked back out again and went to stay with him. Thanks Amine, you've been a great host!
So sunday evening wasn't too eventful. I met up with Judy for a late supper and a beer... the second time was just as good as the first... and then when I got to Amine's we went for more food. It was good to catch up with Amine and I'm glad i got the opportunity to. Mind you it sounds like he wants me to move here. It would be a nice city to live in, but it's just too hot!
I'm realizing that this blog post doesn't really sound too interesting... if you've stuck with me so far please don't give up yet. It gets better I promise.
On Monday I got up and went to the area around the creek to go to the souks and do some exploring. I really do love this plpace, it's so diverse and it's such a comfortable city. I'm not really sure what I mean by comfortable, but I've never felt out of place or uncomfortable about being anywhere. I just always felt like I belonged wherever I went.
While wandering the souks I got the distinct impression that i had the word "sucker" written across my forehead. I kept geting drawn into stores and once I was inside there was probably about a 4 in 5 chance that I was leaving with less money than I went in with. The highlight was probably a swquence that started with me walking through a narrow alleyway in the gold souk and a guy shiftily coming up to me and saying in a low voice, "Wanna buy a watch?"
Well no, I didn't really want to buy a watch but I was curious to see where this would go so I followed him through some alleys to a small shop. The alley where the shop was couldn't have been more than about 5 feet wide at best. Now first of all, who decideds that this is a good spot to open a store? This location required a guide in order to find it in the first place... not good business planning. Second, when I say it was a "small shop" that's a bit of an understatement. The store was a room about 6 feet wide by about 10 feet deep. Small.
Anyways I went in and "the guide" closed the door behind me and left. Hmmm... curious. So the guy in the store says "You want watch?" Well I look around the store and there are no watches anywhere, the store seemed like it was mostely focussed on selling junk. Just a lot of really random junk. Well the guy goes to the back wall and slides a hook out of the way and bangs on a panel (honestly, I couldn't make this up) and a little secret door opens up and he pulls out a box of watches.
"You want Rolex? You want Tagg? You want Breitling? You want Omega?" and he starts pulling watches out of the box. Well remember how I said that there was a 4 in 5 chance of me buying someing once they got me into a store? I've always wanted an Omega so... I bought one. $90 and made in Korea but it looks nice and I'm sure it's of *very* high quality ;)
So here's something I don't understand. Well I do understand the traditional arab outfits... long, white, loose fitting, it all makes sense and they look very comfortable. What I don't get is why the women get screwed over by having to wear black! The sun here is just too hot to be draping yourself in black! I would melt.
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