A bit of a break

Am on a bit of a break  from The Yemen and am relaxing in a hotel in Bahrain.  Am here to cover for someone who is on leave for Thanksgiving, so am working in the old office again.  Sort of strange to suddenly be back in the old job, but at the same time a bit has changed since I left.  After 10 weeks in Sana’a, Bahrain is a pleasant treat.  It is sooo nice to walk to work again, and to be able to shop and dine without issue.   I am in Juffair – a new neighborhood in Manama, Bahrain that was mostly reclaimed from the sea in the last decade and is currently a mix of new 10-15 story apartment buildings plus restaurants and stores – that or cranes building new complexes.  On the other hand, Sana’a is all older buildings, with a bit of new construction and modernity, but it has been settled for well over 1500 years…

 I lived in this building during most of my stay in Bahrain.  You can see a newer building going up behind it, and the open lots in the foreground will soon host construction as well.  A decade ago, this was all ocean.

Sana’a - a mix of worlds – the latest cell phone billboard and a bunch of men with picks and shovels hoping to be hired for day labor 

I love this building – a mix of classical Yemen architecture and modern conveniences

The small USMC det at the embassy (they guard it) threw a USMC Birthday ball recently – celebrating the 234rd B-day of The Corps.  It was the social event of the season, and was a really good time.  It was professionally catered, and they even found a DJ who had western songs.  (NOT Country Western…)  It was a good time.

 Dancing the night away at the USMC Birthday Ball. 

I read a really good book called ‘The Candy Bombers’ a few months ago, is a good story about the Berlin Airlift and how the experience transformed the relationship between the US and Germany.  One of the pilots took to dropping candy to the kids of Berlin, and it eventually expanded to a large scale, organized operation.  My tiny version thereof is to give Lego kits to kids here.  I bought 25 kits (<$5 each), and then for some reason Lego shipped the order twice…  (Since shipping them back from Yemen would cost more than the value of the order, I opted to keep the second order as well.) I have been handing the kits out to kids on the street – especially the ones at work selling bottled water, etc.  They are generally confused by the gift – English writing and they probably have never seen Legos before!  Am just hoping they don’t open the kits on the sidewalk and lose all of the pieces…  Mind you, they probably need other things more, but it is my very little attempt to improve the lives of a few Yemenis. 

Lego kits for distribution

That’s about it – not a lot of new and exciting stuff to post.  A few more days here, then back to the Yemen for a bit, then 17 days of R&R leave at home over the holidays!  Then I come back to Yemen and will have about three months left before this is year of fun is over.   Though not quite at the 2/3 point, it is nice to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel!