Hello everyone! Michael asked that I post to his blog and let all of you know that he is currently in Jordan. He was sent for a side mission and the internet is not reliable enough for him to post while he is there. He should be back in Bahrain in about a week.
Michael, I know you are out there somewhere in the Jordanian desert and I just wanted to say that I love you and miss you very much. Home just isn't home without you.
Jodi Kasprzyk
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Saudi women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia...
But there is nothing stopping them from doing it in Bahrain! I can tell you that they don't do it very well. I doubt there is much training involved. They have seen the men do it and it looks pretty easy from the back seat, I guess. Nothing like driving OJT in a 5000 lb SUV.
Driving in Bahrain is a mixed bag. It is pretty much in the middle ground between the US and Djibouti. Everyone stops at a red light but I have never seen anyone come to a complete stop at a stop sign. People pull out in front of you, change lanes without looking to see that I am already there, proceed when they should yield, etc.
There are also a lot of speed bumps on the side streets. They don't seem very effective because everyone drives around them! In some places they are unavoidable but in other areas it is just dirt lots on both sides of the road.
The bottom line is that you have to have your head on a swivel and expect the unexpected. I just chill out while I drive and let the craziness unfold around me.
So, what is the deal with all these protests in Bahrain that you probably don't even know about. Typical Muslim stuff, I'm afraid. The Royal Family and many of the policy makers are Sunnis and they are a minority. The majority of the population is Shiite. There is a small student/youth movement protesting the government. Seems many of them went off and got college degrees and are not getting the jobs they feel they are qualified for (sound familiar?).
So, at the edges of the Shiite enclaves someone will light tires or a garbage dumpster on fire. It is funny that I am made aware of where the protests are by my command via text message. Really not a big deal but the Shiite movement isn't getting any US press coverage which is pissing them off.
It is the equivalent of our "Occupy Wall Street" I suppose.
Well, just finished up my second week. I am starting to figure out where my puzzle piece fits into the big picture and who does what.
I am off to Jordan this Sunday and I will be there until the end of the month. I will be near a port city on the northern tip of the Red Sea. We are going so we can participate in a joint exercise with the Jordanian military. I will be serving as the Assistant Operations Officer and working for the Operations Officer who is a Marine Col. I think I will be plenty busy keeping this thing pointed in the right direction and it will be a great opportunity to shine early in my tour.
Also got my camera so I will be posting pics. I will have internet there so I will also be posting weekly updates.
Correction on gas. It is .10 BD which is .25 USD. That means a gallon of gas is around a dollar.
From the 9th floor,
Michael
Driving in Bahrain is a mixed bag. It is pretty much in the middle ground between the US and Djibouti. Everyone stops at a red light but I have never seen anyone come to a complete stop at a stop sign. People pull out in front of you, change lanes without looking to see that I am already there, proceed when they should yield, etc.
There are also a lot of speed bumps on the side streets. They don't seem very effective because everyone drives around them! In some places they are unavoidable but in other areas it is just dirt lots on both sides of the road.
The bottom line is that you have to have your head on a swivel and expect the unexpected. I just chill out while I drive and let the craziness unfold around me.
So, what is the deal with all these protests in Bahrain that you probably don't even know about. Typical Muslim stuff, I'm afraid. The Royal Family and many of the policy makers are Sunnis and they are a minority. The majority of the population is Shiite. There is a small student/youth movement protesting the government. Seems many of them went off and got college degrees and are not getting the jobs they feel they are qualified for (sound familiar?).
So, at the edges of the Shiite enclaves someone will light tires or a garbage dumpster on fire. It is funny that I am made aware of where the protests are by my command via text message. Really not a big deal but the Shiite movement isn't getting any US press coverage which is pissing them off.
It is the equivalent of our "Occupy Wall Street" I suppose.
Well, just finished up my second week. I am starting to figure out where my puzzle piece fits into the big picture and who does what.
I am off to Jordan this Sunday and I will be there until the end of the month. I will be near a port city on the northern tip of the Red Sea. We are going so we can participate in a joint exercise with the Jordanian military. I will be serving as the Assistant Operations Officer and working for the Operations Officer who is a Marine Col. I think I will be plenty busy keeping this thing pointed in the right direction and it will be a great opportunity to shine early in my tour.
Also got my camera so I will be posting pics. I will have internet there so I will also be posting weekly updates.
Correction on gas. It is .10 BD which is .25 USD. That means a gallon of gas is around a dollar.
From the 9th floor,
Michael
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