Sunset Safari

I have been looking forward to this day, almost since the first day I got here. A- I can finally go off base and B- it's time for the safari. Saturday morning I finally got to sleep in again. Without an alarm and being pitch black in our room I can sleep all day, but I decided to get up around noon. Putting off doing laundry I went to the monthly bazaar on base and proceeded to be heckled for not wanting to buy knockoff purses, electronics, or strange emirati trinkets.

At 2:30 it was finally game time and we went to the bus to take us off base. Wen we arrived 4 land rovers were waiting for us (and the bomb sniffing dogs before we could get in). Our group leader, Titus, chose "skeletor" as our driver- mainly for the blacked out rims and tinted windows. After about a 20 min drive we exited the highway and just turned into the desert- no signs, no exit ramp, nothing but sand. After meeting up with about 10 other land rovers the journey began. Skeletor started by driving as fast as he could directly at a fence, before turning sharply to the right and over a sand dune cliff. I now realized he didn't mess around and I better hold on to the OS (oh shit) bars attached to the roll cage inside the car.

Seeing a car 15 feet in front of you is not only exhilarating, but since you cannot see what is on the other side of the drop, it is also terrifying. After quite a few "what the hell is he doing to us" moments, I decided to put my seat belt on and convince myself that either the seatbelt or roll cage will save me. The worrying was for nought and having an hours long roller coaster ride was the best adrenaline rush I have ever had.

We stopped every 30 minutes or so, so the engines could cool down before taking another try at flipping the SUV. The first stop was at the top of a very high sand dune, where we were able to take pictures and finally feel how fine the sand was.

The next stop was at a camel farm. And by farm I mean a place that had no rules, fences or way of keeping the camels together but for some reason they only ran around when they caught sight of a person wearing a bright shirt. After a few close calls of camels charging us, I decided to brave the spitting and kicking and actually get up close to pet one of them. 

After the camel farm we traveled for a while more before getting to a high point of the dunes, where we stopped to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful night and we could see for miles. It was the first time I actually remember seeing the sun physically go below the horizon.

After watching the sun set, it started getting fairly cold and we had one more leg of the trip before dinner. Reaching the camp we were greeted by locals offering camel rides, ATV rides, tea/coffee, henna tattoos, or the chance to put on traditional outfits.

I eschewed (I did not have to look that word up, don't worry) those activities and grabbed a snow board. After using a lot of energy to get to the top of the dune, I needed to empty my shoes, which now had more sand than foot in them.

After finally getting settled in the board and getting to the edge, I leaned over and started going down the hill. After about 30 seconds going down the hill I hit a flat spot and came to a stop. Did I say seconds? I meant inches. Talk about the ultimate let down. After giving it another try and not going anywhere a second time (and everyone else failing as well) we decided it was now a futile effort so we all just posed as we were going down the hill instead of actually going down the hill.  After a few minutes of milling around, the dinner bell rand and we went to sit down on pillows preparing for a traditional meal. For not knowing what anything was (besides the pita bread and sodas) the meal was pretty good. After dinner they had a belly dancer (not what you are picturing in your mind- think George Lopez in a skirt and bra then add a few pounds).

Once the dancing mercifully ended, they turned off all the lights in the camp so we could see the stars. It was not only an extremely clear night but it was amazing to see so many stars at once. My camera failed me, but it was a beautiful setting, and something that is extremely tough to see back in the US. Once they turned the lights back on it was time to go. While it was a great day I was happy to get back home because I was exhausted, and like usual was asleep in the car before we even got to the road.

-SITS

Week 1

After getting settled in and doing my best to get my sleep schedule back to normal, I actually got some work done. While I am still awaiting my GPC to be able to make the purchases myself I have done everything else for several buys. I got in a nice routine until...

Alarms started going off and I was jolted from my sleep. Obviously having no idea what to do I followed the lead of my two roommates. Having just got my body armor the day before I rushed to put it on, not knowing which way was front/back or even how to secure it to my body. Putting the gas mask/canteen/IFAK on was a whole other story and I eventually ditched the IFAK to get done quicker. Donning 30+lbs of gear is no way to have to walk to work in the morning, especially wearing it incorrectly. I tried my hardest to not have to go to the bathroom or even eat because that would mean having to go outside and into the danger. Before the attack was over I was able to snap this dark picture:

Ok, maybe it was just an exercise and there was no danger or alarms at all but the body armor was a pain in the ass and I cut my water consumption down tremendously so I wouldn't have to go outside. Sitting in a chair/eating lunch/going to the bathroom/even getting a pen from the ground was extremely difficult and I don't know how anyone does it for extended periods of time. After work, as a civilian I was able to take off the gear and wear just civilian clothing- going to the BX and dinner in civies made me stick out like a sore thumb and I'm sure everyone wasn't happy with me since I was no longer taking part in the exercise and they had to wait until midnight to end their exercise.

On New Years Eve I had my second and final drink of my deployment. There was a lot planned for NYE but nothing could've surpassed the Michael Jackson impersonator. Mr. E-Cassanova had the moves, the voice, the look of 1980's MJ. Even though I missed the moonwalk, it was a pretty good performance and if he had dangled a baby out of a window, no one would have known the difference.

I went into the city for the first time to pickup a MSgt returning from leave and while I was trying to figure out where we were going instead of looking around the city, I can tell it is a very wealthy and beautiful area. We drove by the Grand Mosque and I hope to be able to tour it at some point.I have signed up for a sunset safari in a few weeks, where we go over the sand dunes, ride ATVs, see falconers hunt, and other activities- I am extremely excited for it and can't wait for a little bit of action off base.

-SITS