Final Thoughts...

Friends,

It is hard to believe I have been in Djibouti 6 months already.  Unlike last time, most of my time was actually spent in the Horn of Africa and it certainly has given me a new perspective on Djibouti.

As you can imagine, I have had some pretty good experiences here but have also grown tired of camp life.

LIKES:

1.  Driving in Djibouti.  I love driving in Djibouti as much as I like driving in Germany but for the polar opposite reason.  In Germany, it is very orderly and everyone follows the rules.  In Djibouti, the rules are really just guidelines.  Here, everywhere is a passing zone.  The city streets are 4 lines wide and all dotted lines.  I have seen cars running 3 wide moving in my direction.  Stop signs mean stop unless you think you can keep going and not get rear ended.  This morning on the way to the fishing port where we meet our dive boats, traffic stopped to allow 6 camels to cross the road.  In short, there are no rules which is my kind of place.  Oddly enough, you don't see all that many auto mishaps here. 

2.  Weather.  The weather in the winter months is great!  Lows in the mid-70s and high in the mid-80s.  I announced to Jodi we were going to buy a house here for the winter months.

3.  Cigars and Texas Hold'em.  Smoking cigars by yourself sucks.  Tues and Sat night the poker club gets together and I have plenty of people to smoke cigars with!  Sunday night, a small group of us cigar smokers get together to light up.  I made some new aquaitanances and been introduced to some brands I have not previously tried.  My poker play has improved a lot too.

4.  SCUBA Diving.  I deployed and gained a new hobby.  Not bad.  I have seen a lot of interesting things underwater and meet some really good people.  Turns out that I am a pretty good diver too.

5.  Old West Town character of Camp Lemonnier.  Hard to describe in words.  This place is like a small old west town with a cantina, barber shop and general store.

6.  Chow Hall.  The food?  Really?  Well, the do offer a wide variety on their salad bar and the fresh fruit selection is also very good.  The chow hall is also blessed with some very good cuts of steaks, lobster tails, crab legs, lamb chops, and fish such as trout, halibut, and salmon (probably farm raised but still good).  They also serve made to order eggs/omlettes every morning.  The chow also lists grams of fat per serving of everthing available.  By eating a low fat, low carb diet, I have lost about 12-15 pounds.  An hour of vigorous excercise also was big factor.  Now, I just need to bring those good habits back with me. 

7.  Djibouti.  This place has a really raw feel to it.  Maybe this is what Europe and, increasing, America needs.  What I mean is that it is every man for himself here.  There are no safety nets.  No handouts.  No bailouts.  You eat, you stave, you live, you die.  In the end, people figure it out for themselves.  We need to be more self relient. 

8.  Djiboutians.  Last time I left this place in Nov '09.  I really had a bad taste about the local populace.  Having spent a solid 6 months here, I have a totally different perspective.  The Djiboutians I have meet have all been friendly and have a great deal of pride in their country.  Most of them know 2 or 3 different languages. 

Next up...what do I dislike about this place?

Until then,
Michael