Our group has been into Casablanca lately… Besides being a great movie, I like the fact that when it was filmed and released, it was early in the days of WWII, when the outcome was far from certain. That, and many of the actors had escaped from the Reich…sort of forget that now.
Just came back from Aden, and we were joking that it is sort of like Casablanca in the movie. There is one main hotel there, and while we were there, were people from a dozen nations there, all on different business. Not a lot of secrecy or skullduggery, mind you.
On the good news front, I have been in the Middle East for 300 days now (minus, of course, leave and travel to the US), and what is even better, only 50 to go!
A friend from USCG visiting from the US. I sent this pic to his wife – she was digging out their house in DC from a third snowstorm in two weeks! He was in Yemen after spending time working on Haiti – my only guest who thought Yemen was pretty nice!
Yemen oddities – passed an actual street sweeper (truck) today on the road – usually they have Somali men working the side of the road with brooms. To add excitement, they often work at dusk or at night, and they rarely wear anything reflective… keeps your reflexes sharp!
Also see police stopping people for riding motorcyles without helmets, yet on the next block you will see a family of FIVE crammed on to a little motorcycle, including small kids – no helmets. The way people drive here, that is INSANE!
There is also no EPA here. My personal fave is the ‘smokescreen’ – will be driving up a big hill at night and a big truck will be climbing it in front of me, and a combo of it belching smoke – literally laying a smokescreen – and no working tail lights make it a surprise to suddenly find yourself quickly approaching the back end of a big truck… Again, reflexes are key.
Interesting little situation – huge lines at gas stations yesterday. The government raised prices a bit a couple of weeks ago (I paid 1300 Yemeni Riyals for 20 liters of gas – which works out to about $1.16 a gallon – it used to be $1.07) Apparently most of the gas stations here are owned by a few families, and they were mad that the government did not give them a cut of the increased price, so they went on strike as a protest… Price does not seem like a lot, but much lower standard of living here, and it is the principle. However, lots of outside pressure to reduce subsidies…
Also met an exec from the local Coca-Cola factory. We discussed the cans – they use the old-style pull tabs here – not the style in the US where you push in the cover and drink. It was a deliberate decision – cans here get dirty apparently, and with the kind we have, the top gets pushed into the soda when you open it – here you pull it off. Of course, it is more stuff to litter with.
No comments:
Post a Comment