Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hope everyone is having/had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. I myself had a great day. I woke up at 5:10 to join my friends for a 5K run the base was having. Unfortunately I didn't get a t-shirt, but I had a great time anyways. The eight of us who went to the run together went out for breakfast afterward. When I got back to my room, I goofed off for a little bit before going into work late. Nothing special, good or bad, happened at work. At the end of the day, another guy and I did a radio interview with a woman in the Florida Panhandle for a radio station in Iowa. If you figure it out, let me know because I was confused. We had a good time with it. We talked about how the State Department, Army, and Air Force are working together to work with the local Iraqis to make this area better. I look forward to hearing how it turns out. I'll post the link once it's available online. So even though there was no beer (green or otherwise) involved, it was still a very good St. Patty's Day.

For those who didn't see it on my Facebook page, I stole this from Fr. Chuck's blog, the priest at my home parish in Alexandria, VA, and he got it from a mutual friend of ours.

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, ‘Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!’ Miraculously, a parking place appeared. Paddy looked up again and said, ‘Never mind, I found one.’

Holy Cow, Yes It's a New Blog Entry

As my time in Iraq winds down, I thought what do I wish I had done during my time here. I decided it was reading and writing more (I'm feeling pretty good about the amount of arithmetic I've done). So in order to be more prolific (seeing as how I haven't written in almost 2 months, this paragraph already qualifies as "more prolific"), I decided I shouldn't wait to write an epic but instead write shorter pieces more often. Here is hopefully the start of something.

The big news today is I submitted my 2 weeks' notice to the general. No, this doesn't mean I'll spend my remaining time in Iraq kicking back at the pool drinking Mai Tais. Although that may be good preparation if my next assignment is Hawaii. What it means is I told him I need to quit one of the two jobs I've been doing for the past 5 months. I've been stressing lately that I've been messing up times two. If I tried to concentrate on one, the other suffered, and vice versa. So I did poor at both of them. The general told me I could quit the one job when he gave me the second one, so I only have my own stubbornness to blame. The rest of the day went great once I had that load off my shoulders. I also feel a lot better about my remaining time here.

I still plan on writing about the rest of my African trip. If nothing else, it'll be something to remind me when what's left of my memory is gone. Until then, I'll write about deep, introspective topics such as my front lawn. Until next time, cheers!

Africa: The Beginning

My first stop in Africa was Johannesburg. The airport is nice but a madhouse. When I walked into the main terminal, there was the usual large crowd of people waiting. There were also plenty of people offering taxi or tour services. I wasn't sure when the government would get me there, so I didn't even have a hotel room reserved yet. I stopped at the tourist information desk and asked the lady where she recommended. I looked at the list she gave me and chose the $100 a night place over the $300 a night ones. It wasn't especially fancy, but it was very nice and had a great (and free!) breakfast. It was located in a gated community among some very nice houses. So it was a safe place but nothing was within walking distance.

While at the tourist information desk, I also asked about tours. I had hoped to go to Kruger National Park, but I was told it was a 2-day trip and I didn't want to use all my time in Joburg for that. So then I looked at options in and around Joburg. I eventually decided on a driving tour of Joburg and Soweto, a visit to the Apartheid Museum, and a trip out to the area known as the Cradle of Humankind. The tours were a bit pricey (over $300 for 2 days), but I was getting personal service by a trained tour guide driving me around in his car. Desmond (that's him below) was extremely knowledgeable about the area and its history and could speak 10 of the 11 languages commonly used in the area. I learned a lot from him as we drove around the city. I was also glad he was the one driving. I wasn't ready to drive on the left side of the road in a city of over 9 million people.

Day 1 was spent driving around Joburg and Soweto. Joburg is, at best, a mess. Many businesses left the city in the early 90s after apartheid was lifted because of fear the country would descend into anarchy. So the downtown area is a collection of abandoned buildings. People from other African countries are now squatting in them, have set up stalls along the streets, and walk everywhere with no regard for vehicle traffic. There are some areas of downtown that are flourishing because the government has cleaned them up as part of a concerted effort to look good for the 2010 World Cup. Still, most of the businesses are in the northern suburbs now. Soweto, a township of Joburg, is another area the government is cleaning up. Desmond grew up in Soweto, so he knew the area well. First he showed me a 4-room house that was built by the government and is the most common lodging for the locals. Our next stop was what used to be the most common lodging for locals, a shantytown (now euphemistically called an informal settlement). Even here the government is doing what it can to make conditions better by providing electricity and water delivery. After that we went to a Catholic church, the only church that remained open during the Soweto Uprising of 1976, an important step in the fight against apartheid. You can still see bullet holes in the ceiling from when police went into the church to break up peaceful gatherings. Our last stop of the day was the Apartheid Museum. I was amazed how they justified the reasons for their policies and the measures they took to keep them in place. There was a section on Nelson Mandela. He is quite a man to go through what he did and still believe in a non-violent solution. I am inspired by stories like his, Gandhi's, and MLK's. It was a long but very interesting day.

The second day was a drive out into the countryside to visit an excavation site and museum that are part of the Cradle of Humankind. The drive out from Joburg was about an hour and a half through very pretty countryside. Desmond continued educating me on South Africa. We went to Sterkfontein Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the so-called Cradle of Humankind (I say so-called because Kenya also claims to be the Cradle). Many fossils have been found in the caves, including Mrs. Ples, the earliest human ancestor fossil found. Walking through the caves was a good time. I joined up with a group of accountants on a field trip. The ladies were giggling anytime we had to crawl under or over rocks. I'm surprised some of them made it, it was 200 feet down into the caves and not your basic walk in a park. The next stop was Maropengo, where other fossils have been found and there is a museum about the Cradle of Humankind. The museum has many hands-on displays and would be a great place for kids, but not so great for adults. Another benefit to having someone else drive--I slept on the ride back to Joburg. I took it easy the rest of the day, even going clothes shopping at a mall near my hotel.

All-in-all, Joburg was a good way to ease into my vacation. Two days was plenty of time. The only reason I would go back would be to see Kruger. Next stop: Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls.

Out of Iraq

I've been back for over 3 weeks, so it's past time I write about my trip. My first priority was to post my pictures from the trip and that took much longer than I expected. You can find them either on my Facebook page or at http://picasaweb.google.com/weissx4. I'm still working on the captions for them. So beyond posting the pictures, I'll just blame it on writer's block. Now that I've started, I'm finding a lot to say. This entry is all about getting down to South Africa. I'll write another two or three blog entries about my time in Africa.

I had a fantastic time on my trip, even better than I hoped. My luggage never got lost, every place I stayed was terrific, I didn't get mugged as I anticipated, none of the food made me sick (well, not for long), and every location was beautiful. I intentionally didn't worry about any money I spent while I on the trip. I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and not the time to be counting nickels and dimes (or South African rand even). After I got back home and checked my credit cards, I figured out I spent about $8,000. It was worth every dollar and I have no regrets about the cost.

When someone does a 1-year tour over here, the government pays for an airplane ticket anywhere in the world for the person's mid-tour leave. So the good news is the government pays for it. The bad news is you are dependent on the government to get you there. My travel to the continent took a little longer than I expected. The morning I was flying out of Iraq was very foggy. So I spent an extra 4 hours hanging around the passenger terminal, reading, and standing in Army formations. Apparently it's a natural instinct for Soldiers to fall into formation when standing in a group. Not quite so natural for an Airman, but I did my best impression of a Soldier. When we eventually did get to Kuwait, there was more standing around and formations. After some time, I got my commercial ticket and a cot in a large tent. The cot had a lovely green plastic cover, like you would have for a kid who wets his bed (no comment), but no linens. I was told a lieutenant colonel doesn't rate linens. Thankfully the BX was still open so I could buy a travel pillow and fleece blanket.

Other than shivering through the night, I didn't mind spending a day and a half in Kuwait. 1. I wasn't in Iraq. 2. I had time to make more of my travel arrangements (planning ahead is for wimps). 3. I didn't have a care in the world. It was a nice break from the usual frenetic pace of Iraq. The evening after I arrived in Kuwait, I took a 1-hour plus-long shuttle from the base to Kuwait City International Airport. So what did I do there? You got it, more waiting. My flight wasn't for another 5 hours and I couldn't even check my bags for another 2 hours. I went to Caribou Coffee, a place I frequent often back in the States, and enjoyed more time to relax.

From Kuwait I stopped in Dubai before making my way to Johannesburg. I was flying on Emirates Air and they are based in Dubai, that is why I stopped there. Dubai airport is huge! The bus ride from the airplane to the terminal was 20 minutes at least. During the ride, I saw the world's largest building that has been in the news lately, Burj Dubai. No surprise, it's big and it towered over the rest of the city. Inside the terminal was a multitude of stores and restaurants. The stores were the usual electronics, books, and clothes but there was even a grocery store. If you ever have the chance to fly Emirates Air, I recommend them. Every chair has its own entertainment center. I watched a couple of movies, including District 9 (it's set in Johannesburg, so I figured I had to watch it), during the flight down to Johannesburg. If you have money to burn, I recommend flying first class on Emirates. They have the newest chairs, the ones that lay completely flat and have a curtain you can put around yourself. My government-paid ticket wasn't nearly that nice but it did the trick, it got me to Africa.

During the next week (I promise I won't take another 3 weeks), I'll write about Johannesburg, Victoria Falls, Kenya, and Cape Town. If you have any questions or if there is something specific you want to know, please let me know in the comments.

Thanksgiving in Iraq

Let me say up front, I had a great Thanksgiving. If I can't be with my family for a holiday, the next best place is to be deployed with my Air Force family. This Thanksgiving was definitely better than my two Thanksgivings in Virginia. It's just not possible for it to be better than last year's Thanksgiving though. Last year I was with my mom, Terry, John, Henrik, and David for Thanksgiving, mom and Terry's wedding, and mom's birthday. Nothing could top that.

This is my third deployed Thanksgiving. I don't remember much about the last one in 2004. I fondly remember the one in France in 1994. My unit had a small corner of a French Air Force base. People in the unit set up tables and decorated the central room of the building where our offices were. There was quite a selection of food spread out over the tables. I filled up a plate and took it back to the office I shared with two enlisted Airmen. We had our fill of some very good food and great conversation. Yep, that was a good one too.

I worked on Thanksgiving, but it was a slow day so I mainly worked on getting ready for my upcoming trip. At lunchtime, a group of over 20 people from work went to the DFAC together. The DFAC was all decked out. There were streamers all over the place and Thanksgiving-themed paper decorations everywhere. What was really impressive though were the decorations made from food. There was a life-size turkey made from potato chips. A 5-foot long alligator made from pineapples and a watermelon for the mouth. Bread baked into different shapes, 4-foot long sheetcakes, a gigantic cornucopia, and a huge eagle that I have no idea what it was made from. There were even more decorations, such as a Statue of Liberty and Taj Mahal (I guess for the Indians at the first Thanksgiving?), but you get the idea. Why don't I have a picture of all that? That's a story in itself.

I'm watching people run around at lunch taking pictures and wondering why I didn't bring my camera. I decided I would stop by the DFAC at dinner, whether I was hungry or not, with my camera to get pictures then. So after work, I went to my room and grabbed my camera. I decided to go to the BX to pick up a few things before going to the DFAC. I got all the way to the entrance of the BX before I realized I forgot my ID card. You need it to get into the BX or DFAC. I went back to my office, grabbed my ID card, and returned to the BX. When I got back to the BX, it was closed because there had been a fire inside. I stood around for about 15 minutes before giving up on it opening soon. I headed over to the DFAC to take pictures and grab something to eat. I went inside the DFAC, took out my camera, and...dead battery. UGH! Oh well, I had a second Thanksgiving meal (ham instead of turkey this time) and went back to my room to watch the Lions lose. The picture below is from a coworker who took a picture of the lunch group.

Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving!