In less than two weeks in May, I have…
Had coffee and tea with a Sheikh (younger brother of the king) (actually the coffee part, for those who know me well, might be the bigger adventure for me, as I went 32 years having never having had a cup of coffee until I took this job — a good guest does not turn down coffee when presented by a Sheikh)
Had lunch with senior leaders from former Soviet republics and an African nation about
the size of Rhode Island
Toured a Navy ship
Been in 9 civilian airports and 4 military ones
Drank beers at the world’s most famous bar
Visited a castle and a waterfall
Danced on the table to folk music in a language I do not speak then sang along with the
lead singer in the language
Had beer spilled on me in a club that only played techno in yet another language
Sang karaoke and later mistakenly voted to give the bar owner’s wife the gong when it
was her turn
Ate dinner with conscripts.
Places I have spent the night in:
A tent
A trailer with 3 other people
A hotel with a view of the Persian Gulf
A shipping container
A hotel walking distance from the world’ s most famous bar
A Hof with views of the Alps
A hotel with a view of the Mediterranean
A plane
5 foreign countries
Transportation:
An Opel on the Autobahn
A convoy in the open back of a Humvee down IED alley holding a weapon I have never shot
(and thank God did not have to)
The door of a helicopter
A C-130
A lear jet
An armored BMW
An armored van
An armored suburban
Eaten
Mexican on the Persian gulf
Lamb kebobs on the Med
Chow hall food
Jaegerschnitzel
A pretzel from a fraulein
Hummous and eggplant in a wine cellar/vineyard
Not slept much.
The other good news is that these two weeks are just a snapshot in a much longer adventure (until sometime next summer probably), and a new trip/adventure starts all over every week or two.Lucky me — I realize it every day.