Had you told me exactly three months ago that I would be drinking a Guinness at the Hard Rock in Manama, Bahrain tonight, I would have thought you were smoking crack. Of course, I would have been wrong...
Night two in Bahrain was nice – went out for dinner (Thai) with a friend from Ft Jackson (he was on same flight over as I was), and stopped back on the way from dinner at the Hard Rock. Bahrain reminds me a lot of Seoul – big, bustling, lots of construction, and diverse. OK, Seoul is not exactly diverse, but other than that – Manama is a hotter, dustier, and smaller Seoul. Though a Muslim country, it is relatively liberal. Heard my first prayer call tonight, and saw plenty of traditional folk in the expected garb. But many foreigners / ex-pats, and a lot of Western influence, including traditional Western chains (BK, McDs, Pizza Hut, TGIF, Bennigans, Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, etc etc). It may be newcomer innocence, but I felt safe on the streets as a Westerner. Mind you, there are certain neighborhoods where I would not be welcome, but those are marked.
The new job is great, though slightly overwhelming. I will write more about it as I can. Today was the usual check-in process (forms, lines, and more forms) but have already started to dig in.
Hopefully, none of my friends from Ft Jackson read this. The great majority of them rode a chartered DC-10 to Kuwait yesterday and are sleeping on cots in tents tonight, eating MREs and drinking bottled water that is at ambient temperature – no Guinness in their future for quite some time, as both Iraq and Afghanistan are dry per General Order #1. Link attached is pictures of them going through last stop in US at Bangor, ME. I feel a bit of guilt, but as I settle into my comfy bed, wash in my private bathroom, flip on the tube, and contemplate room service, I recall a line from ‘Forrest Gump’… Either way, a soft bed does not get me home any sooner – just makes the separation a tiny bit more bearable.
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