Well, I'm out of really old material so I'll start on some couple-week old material. Right now, we've moved the trailer cousin Eddy style and I've been shipped off to Djibouti. For those of you who don't know where that is, it's the smallest country that I've been told is a doorway to hell. Or, maybe they said it was hell.
I would have to somewhat disagree with that because I've spent quite a bit of time on a submarine. But, then again, it's winter here and it's 80 degrees at 10pm. As far as the submarine comparison, the only thing that was better on a submarine was the food. Sorry for the folks cooking at the Bob Hope Galley, but it's not as good as the good ol folks on the USS Rhode Island Gold.
So, my goals when I came to Djibouti were simple. Don't get malaria. Don't have a heat stroke. Run a half-marathon. Swim in the saltiest lake on earth.
So, I've been here for 6 weeks now and I've accomplished all of those things plus a helicopter ride. Now I'm scratching my head trying to come up with new goals. I'll try to start posting more regularly, maybe that can be a goal.
At any rate, life in Djibouti is pretty much like life anywhere else I've been except there's an AYCE buffet with mediocre food. However, unlike on a submarine, there's always HARDPACK! (that's real ice cream for those who didn't know) They also have frozen snickers bars and nutter butters. Maybe another goal should be to not get fat!
Living conditions are not too bad either. We live in CLUs (containerized living units). I'll clarify that for you...it's a shipping container with beds, a window A/C (not sure why it's a heat pump?), a locker and you guessed it....internet and sunshine! Take that submarines.
I'm currently on a list and in some time I'll eventually upgrade from a dry CLU to a wet CLU. That means I'll get to have my own room and share a shower and toilet with someone on the other side of the CLU. Right now, I share a room with one guy and have to walk outside and share about 6 toilets, showers, and sinks with about 50 other dudes, much like on a submarine. Amazingly enough, these 50 guys are as talented in the bathroom as they were on the boat. Not to be terribly feminine, but I can't stand seeing piss all over the toilet and the floor. It's not that hard to lift the seat and you don't even have to use your hand. And writing on the bathroom stalls? Seriously?
I'm not going to complain too much though. There are a bunch of guys here that are stuck living in tents. That sucks! If you think it's terrible where you are or have been, imagine living in a tent with 12-24 other people in the desert. Count yourself lucky and keep those guys in mind when you're feeling sorry for yourself.
Showers are just as bad. I guess mom can be proud because I seemed to learn that the shower curtain goes INSIDE the shower, not outside. It makes me happy getting to walk through a flooded floor because a bunch of people don't know how to use a shower.
On the bright side, there are some CLUville residents that happen to enjoy gardening. The limitless individualism and personalization that I've seen everywhere I've been always makes me smile. It's also refreshing to see vegetation especially since this place makes west Texas look like a rain forest! I hope that this person doesn't mind that I captured her flower for the world to see. Note the drip irrigation from the window unit. All they need is a bicycle rack and they can sign this place up for LEED Platinum!
So...what else is interesting about Djibouti? It's going to get hot soon, and as soon as I move to a wet CLU I'll set up a weather station for everyone to see. As mentioned before, the saltiest lake on earth is here. There are hot springs that people boil eggs in, a sort of active volcano, black tip sharks, whale sharks, baboons and tree goats. I'll talk about all of these later. I don't want to go through all my material in one post!
Anyways, I'm going to have to wrap this up so I can sleep which is a little easier now that my first roommate moved out and I swapped mattresses. So, until next time, good night (or good morning to the states).
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