Kuwait a minute...

Hello again friends!

To answer a few questions you may or may not have been wondering about...   Yes... I am still alive, I still like long walks on the beach, and I have been somewhat busy over the past month.  If you want to keep reading I promise to update you all about the latest Desert Lizard shenanigans and maybe even throw in some good ol' Christmas cheer!

Life here in Kuwait has been interesting since my last post about a month ago.  (Actually it was more than a month ago, but I'm trying to make myself feel better about the fact that it's been a while... so bear with me.)  Let's see, I escaped from my camp to play in Kuwait City, had the chance to volunteer at an animal shelter, we celebrated Thanksgiving, I went to Germany for a week for training and hung out with my brother in law, Army lost again, I hung out with Josh, and am now getting ready for Christmas.  Well, there you have a summary of the past few weeks so you don't really have to keep reading if you don't want to.  However, if you keep scrolling down I promise there will be really cute pictures of puppies!  And everyone likes puppies!!

Since this post will be full of lots of adventures, I think I might break it down into a few different posts.  Plus, it's also getting pretty late here and I'd like to try to get some sleep tonight.  November saw the approximate half way point of this deployment and preparation for the upcoming holidays.  It was a quiet celebration of the 4 months down and about 4 to go mark,but still felt like I almost accomplished something.  It was a welcome point in the midst of being far away from home.

Our medical family

Thanksgiving here was an interesting experience.  We had a huge feast for lunch and they really went over the top with decorating and good food.  It wasn't the same as being home, but we really did have good roasted turkey with most of the trimmings.  The broccoli cheese casserole and some more of our usual homemade dishes were missing and it was really odd to just show up and eat.  I'm used to being in the kitchen most of the day either cooking or helping, so it felt a little weird to not do that this year.  We all ate with our units and families here and enjoyed the hard work of the many people that work in the dining facility.  There were amazing decorated cakes, ice sculptures (!!), and carved fruits that made the DFAC (dining facility for you non-Army types) seem like home.  There weren't any leftovers for dinner though...

Decorations everywhere!

Lots of carved fruits and veggies

Thanksgiving rolled right into the aforementioned trip to Germany which was absolutely amazing.  I really hope that our next duty station sends us overseas there.  It was the perfect time of year to visit to really feel like I was in a Christmas wonderland.  There were cute quaint villages all over, snow on the ground, and Christmas markets in every city.  I had the chance to spend some time with Joseph (my brother in law) and visit Europe for the first time.  Oh... and I actually did some Army training while I was there.

Leaving on a jet plane... to Germany!!

To be continued....  Bedtime in Kuwait!

And as promised...
Armfuls of puppies!!! 

4 months down.... Still more to go?!?!?!

Wow... So I've come to the realization that I'm pretty bad at regularly updating this blog.  At least I am adding some more to it now, but the last one was almost a month ago.  Time really flies by when you're having fun, right?

Anyway, I've reached the magical milestone of 4 months down and about 4 months to go.  Yes, you did read that correctly.  I will likely be here through March sometime.  There once was a time in the past where I was told that this deployment would be short, but I've learned not to trust anything unless it's written down and already happened.  I can't say that I'm not surprised that I will be here a little bit longer than expected, but it could always be worse.  I have a roof over my head, real bed to sleep in, hot meals everyday, and no one is trying to hurt me here.  

I am lucky enough to work with a great group of soldiers and have made some good friends here.  I miss my family and friends, but Josh is here with me and we get to spend time together even though we are far away.  So, with all of that being said.... It wasn't the best news to find that out, but it wasn't the worst.  Josh loves me enough to extend his tour here so we can be together in this half of the world.  We both hope to be back around the March/April time and will have lots of traveling planned to catch up with family and friends.

We miss you all and love ya!  Thanks for all of the kind thoughts and words on Veterans Day this week. We are proud to serve and wear the uniform!

One of the prettiest sunsets I've seen here...  The picture doesn't even begin to show how beautiful it was.

Random Desert Ramblings

 I know... I know... It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post and I promised I would get better about updating this more frequently.  In my defense I have been quite busy and without full internet access for a few days.

 Anywho, here's my random desert ramblings for today.  Enjoy!

The past few weeks have been full of all kind of Army fun.  I had to travel to another camp for some meetings and other stuff which is always interesting since you pretty much have to arrange for your own ride here.  I will never take the ability to hop in my car, drive to where ever I want, at any time I want, for whatever I want... for granted ever again.  You just keep your fingers crossed that someone else is heading where you need to be and start asking around for rides.


I had to go to a different camp from where Josh works that is several hours from here.  Lucky enough there were a few others heading there, so I was able to tag along.  But, the idea of spending a total of 4-5hrs in a car for a 2hr meeting wasn't all that much fun.... So, I was able to catch a sweet ride there courtesy of the US Army.  Any day that I get to fly in a Blackhawk is a good day :)

Flying in a helicopter never gets old... I still sometimes wish my eyes had been good enough (before laser surgery) to branch aviation, but then I probably wouldn't have gone to medical school and would likely be flying a desk right now.  Never the less, flying is a ton of fun.  The Blackhawks flew with the windows open... so you could feel the breeze and see everything on the ground.

Sweet ride :)

There are tons of camels everywhere and herds of them wandering through the desert.  Apparently there are small plants that grow in the sand, but I've never seen anything growing except dead animals.

Camels!!!

There are also a bunch of small cities that seem to be out in the middle of nowhere.  It's amazing to think that people are living in some of the more inhospitable environments.  Everything has to be brought in- food, water, etc.

Random desert city with absolutely nothing else around it

Pretty sky with some small housing settlements

I caught a ride back in a vehicle as it would have been quite a wait for the helicopter to fly again and went back to work the next day.  I then had to head back to the same place over the weekend for a few more days for some more meetings.  This time around it wasn't so easy to find a ride and it took me about 3 different false starts over the course of about a week to finally sort it out the night before I was supposed to leave.

Brigade HQ

I hung out there going to meetings and seeing some friends I hadn't seen for a while for a few days and then took an night flight back.  Kuwait City is pretty from the sky and everything is lit up like the 4th of July.  It's a little different as there really aren't sky scrapers here, but you could see the lights reflected in the sea.

A little blurry, but Kuwait City at night

Other than that, I've pretty much been doing more of the same.  Our days have been pretty busy which helps the time go by quicker.  The flights left from Josh's camp, so I was able to spend some time with him.  We really are lucky and blessed to be here together.  Life would be pretty sad without him here.

Visiting Josh at work

Lots of fun stuff planned for the next few weeks including Halloween, so I will actually have some more stuff to write about.  And yes, this is a picture of a recent sandstorm we had here.,,  I really enjoy the sandblasted sensation on my skin.  A friend here described it as free abmicroderm abrasion...

No filter...  Those are supposed to be trees in the background

Oh well, time to finish this out and head to bed!

I miss you all :)

PS- It actually rained here for about 15 minutes and it was exciting.  I haven't seen rain in over 4 months and may have stood outside like a little kid :)

 

Photographic evidence of raindrops on the ground to prove that I wasn't crazy

Date Night in Kuwait

Hello hello!!

So this whole trying to write more often thing only works when I'm not too busy and forget that it's been a while since my last update.  Oops... I guess this will be a personal goal to work on while I'm here.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading this blog.  I'm sure I will have more interesting things to talk about now that the MWR trips into Kuwait City have restarted and the weather is starting to cool off.  And by cool off... I mean it was only a balmy 110 the other afternoon, but early (very early) that morning the thermomemter said 75!!!  Now, I'm not too sure if I believe it... but it was a very good morale booster.

Today I've decided to talk about the really exciting topic of date night here in Kuwait.  Just a quick reminder why I'm lucky enough to have date night here.  Josh and I both here in Kuwait, although at different camps.  We get to see each other about once a week as I travel to Josh's camp to provide sick call for our soldiers at his camp.  It definitely makes the time go by faster when I get to count down til the next time we get together.

First time we were able to see eachother in Kuwait after 4 long weeks!

Even though we are only about 30 minutes from each other it is a little more complicated to get to together.  We have a shuttle van that runs between our camps on most days, but recently had to turn it in for maintenance.  That made life a little harder to get back and forth, but luckily enough I know a few people here so I was able to jump on rides back and forth.  It was a long week or so without the van as we also have soldiers that need to go to the other camp as well and arranging rides can be somewhat difficult.

Date nights in Kuwait can be very exciting... and by that I mean we pretty much wander around and find stuff to do.  We are a little more limited on options as we can't really leave, but we still try to have fun.  Dinner with friends, MWR events, and movies are usually on the list.  There are 2 movie theatres that show newer movies and you can get popcorn from the MWR.  There is stadium seating in one theatre, but there are 2 rows to each level... so if you're short like me, you have to make sure you sit in the front one.

Aren't we cute?!?!

We saw the movie "One Hundred Steps" and it was good, but pure torture as they were cooking amazing looking food and we then had to go eat at the DFAC.  Sad day!





We also have spent a good bit of time at the pool as well.  Yes, you read that correctly.... POOL!  Josh's camp has a really nice pool with refridgerated water, so it's always cool.  We usually swim some laps for a work out first and then hang out.  I'm enjoying rocking my Army approved Speedo, but apparently bikinis are allowed as long as they are "tasteful."  Hahaha.... I came prepared with a one piece, so I just wear that.  Plus, it makes laps easier when I don't have to worry about my swim suit.

Pool Party

Well, exciting times in Kuwait await me as I finish this entry.

I promise to do better and update more often!

Kuwait City

Yes... that is a picture of me in regular clothes... I escaped from Camp Patriot!!!


 I forgot what real clothes were like!

Actually, I was lucky enough to go on a visit to Kuwait City with some other Army people.  We do get to leave sometimes on MWR trips.  We headed out to the city to visit some of the sights for the day.  Plus... it was an awesome excuse to wear real clothes again.  We aren't allowed to wear "civilian clothes" now, which means I get to rotate between sweet PT shorts/t-shirt, ACUs, and my somewhat illegal PJ pants.  Going out in Kuwait City requires that women cover their knees and elbows and men cannot wear any t-shirts with writing.  No head scarves are required for women though.  Men can wear long shorts, but they need to have a collared shirt.  We are usually more conservatively dressed than most of the Kuwaiti people (if you are confused... see the above picture for appropriate attire).

Enough complaining... time to see the sights!!

Kuwait City

One of the most dangerous things you can do here in Kuwait is to get on the road and drive. The drivers here are legitimately crazy without much interest in following traffic laws. Even if you end up getting pulled over by the police and get a ticket, the government pays for it. Whenever we drive around, you see all sorts of interesting things that make the average American driver seem amazing. People have cell phones glued to their hands and heads, texting like crazy, kids not in car seats bouncing all over the car, people reading books and flying down the road, and trucks pretty much doing whatever they want. Speed limits are minimal speed suggested and lanes are just pretty markings on the ground.

Kuwait Towers

After we survived our ride downtown, we first stopped at Kuwait Towers.  They were first built in 1977 (thank you Wikipedia) and the large tower contains a large sphere with a water tank in the bottow half with a restaurant and cafe in the top half.  The smaller sphere is another cafe that supposedly rotates around.  The smaller tower is a water tower.  They have been closed for renovation since March 2012, but were still interesting to look at.






Looks nice... I still can't read it.

We then went to the Tareq Rajab Calligraphy museum.  It opened in 1980 and contains tens of thousands of beautiful calligraphy items, manuscripts, miniatures, ceramics, metalwork, glass, jade, wood, and stone-carvings.  And yes, that it directly stolen from their website.  I can't read arabic, but everything was very nice to look at and makes you appreciate all of the artistic skills that went into making it.



I tried to take this home with me, but it was too big to steal from the museum



Bird made completely out of calligraphy verses from the Qur'an

Pegasus

Lunch was at an amazing Lebanese restaurant Mais Alghanim which overlooked the Arabian Sea.  I don't think I've ever eaten so much or felt so full in my life.  Kebabs, hummus, fresh made Naan bread, and mango juice so thick the straw stood up straight.  Delicious!!!



We then spent the afternoon exploring the Maritime museum which had tons of old ships, pictures, and other sea life adventure things.  It was quite interesting to see the ships which had to bring fresh water to the Kuwaiti people as there was no other drinking water available.

A replica of some old boat

 

The guy on the right is His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Not too sure who his friend is, but they are all over Kuwait.

One of the last places we visited was the Al-Hashemi-II, which is the largest wooden ship in the world.  It is a dhow that cost over $30 million to build over 4 years.  Interestingly, it is part of the Radisson Blu hotel and will never sail in the water.  It is a museum, restaurant, and banquet hall that could probably hold over a thousand people.  We were there on a Saturday (the Kuwaiti weekend is Friday/Saturday), so no one was around at all and we were able to explore everywhere.

The last stop of the day was at Starbucks.  And for those of you wondering, Starbucks in Kuwait is way more expensive than even airport Starbucks.  But it was a sweltering 125 degrees outside and a cold drink was well worth the price.

Stay tuned for the next adventure!

 

I wish these were real camels... but supposedly real camels
carry diseases so we aren't allowed to play with them.

Create your own caption.... Sweet mustaches!

 

Clinic Visit

Welcome back!

I thought that today I would give you a quick tour of the clinic and show you where I spend majority of my day.

We actually have it pretty good here compared with some of the other camps.  Our clinic is in a real building complete with real walls, floor, and roof as opposed to a tent (which is what they have up at Camp Buehring).  The TMC (or Troop Medical Clinic) takes up about 1/3 of the Kuwaiti medical building, but is completely separate from their facilities.  We think it may have been part of a hospital ward at some point.

Check In/Waiting Area

We have all the normal things you would seen in an American clinic including a check-in and waiting area, treatment areas, pharamacy, and work areas. 






Fortunately/Unfortunately, all of our work is also done on computers and AHLTA here in Kuwait is just as frusturating (if not more) than back in the US.  In order to see patient's records from appointments in the US, we have to log onto a completely different system that may or may not work.

Desks, desks, and more desks!
(Mine is the one with the flag- America!)

Treatment Areas

We have a total of 3 treatment areas separated by curtains, similar to a lot of Emergency Rooms, any of which can be a trauma bay. There is a fully stocked crash cart, AED, and all other necessary supplies.




Sink, charts, and lab

Yay medical supplies!



Looks like a pharmacy... or is it a bathroom?

Our pharmacy is pretty well stocked, but is in an interesting location. It used to be a bathroom a long time ago and now has shelves over the old bathtub and built into the shower stall. It's pretty funny to actually think that all of our medications are kept in an old bathroom. At least there wasn't a toilet in there....
We have quite a few medications to treat almost anything, but I don't have all the same ones I have access to back in the US... so that can change how I have to treat my patients.  I'm learning a ton about reordering supplies and medications, which is something I don't really worry about back in the US.
 
There is indoor plumbing here (Yay!), but there is a creepy looking bathtub straight out of a horror movie in it....  It's the type of thing you might wake up covered in ice with your kidneys missing.  Maybe we should set up a haunted house here for Halloween.

Creepy....

Anywho, this one might be less interesting than previous entries... but this is where I spend most of my days :)

Critters and Creatures

Wow... Time flies when you're having fun (or doing the same thing every day).

I didn't quite realize how long it was since my last post.  I promise to try to get better and post more frequently...  Try is going to be the key word here.  I'm somewhat working backward and foreward simultaneously so that eventually we will end up in the present time.

You had a tour of the Camp last time I wrote, so now I think I'm going to introduce you to some of the critters and creatures of Kuwait.

When we first arrived in Kuwait it was quite hot (and it still is...) which I thought would help keep the bugs away.  I didn't realize how wrong I would be.  Let me take the time to introduce you to Mr. Cricket.  Unfortunately, he is not the Disney type Jiminy Cricket who offers good advice to wooden boys.

Mr. Cricket approximately real size...

I know the Bible specifically mentions locusts as a plague, but I think crickets should be added to the list of plagues to hit the Middle East.  They were everywhere here during the first month.  Somehow they managed to find their way into every single building, closet, floor space, and bed here in Kuwait.  At least they don't chirp like the ones back home.

And yes, I said bed...  Lucky for me I didn't end up sharing my bed with crickets regularly as it only happened once, but other people here were attacked every night.  At least they don't bite, right?!?!?!

I continued the daily cricket body count as I swept my room out daily.  Sometimes the morning count was lowish and only around 10 or so, but most afternoons it reached upwards of 25 or more.  I was also rearranging the storage lockers and bookshelf in my room during this time--> BAD IDEA!!!  I moved the bookshelf and found over 100 dead crickets and similar numbers underneath the lockers.  I have a pretty strong stomach, but it made me almost throw up.  Yuck!

Luckily the cricket season ended about a month after we got here and that seemed to be the end of the biblical plagues.


Now onto other critters here...  The desert lizard met a desert lizard who decided to come to visit.  I ended up having to chase the silly thing around my room to rescue it.  It was tiny and I really wanted to keep it as a pet, but I did let it go.  I got some strange looks from a few people outside, but watched it for a bit as it promptly ate some ants and licked its eyeball...  I know, very exciting... sometimes we are starved for things to do here...



We have a ton of cats all over the place here that are supposed to help with rodent control.  The vets are supposed to humanely catch, neuter/spay,  vaccinate, and then re-release them and they are marked as "safe" animals.  However, I've really only seen a few ones that have been vaccinated.  They are used to being fed and played with from all of the soldiers that have been here and are decently friendly.  However--> cats can carry rabies... so if a soldier gets bit, then they have to come see me for rabies treatment.  No fun for anyone involved, including the cat.

 

Not a real Kuwait stray cat (I found this picture on the internet),
but looks pretty close to the one that hangs out by our building.
Look deeply into its eyes... it will steal your soul!

I recently came across a group of soldiers that looked pretty guilty (like toddlers) as they were walking to the bathroom trailer.  I said hello and they then told me that they were off to go wash their hands as the should because they were playing with the cats...  I'm definitely more of a dog person and am not a huge fan of cats, but there were some cute kittens here.  However, I stayed far away as I don't really want to treat myself for rabies.

I went to visit Josh a few weekends ago and had the chance to play with a friendly dog.  The vet services at his camp bring a civilian dog to come play about once a month.  This one was a yellow lab mix that was obsessed with playing catch with an empty water bottle.  He was pretty cute and made me miss our puppy Emma back home.

Cute dog with its water bottle... I miss puppy playtime!

So far we haven't really seen any scorpions or camel spiders here.  I have seen plenty of camels though that graze in huge open areas on the side of the roads.  It's somewhat crazy to see them wandering around underneath huge power lines.  The baby ones are particularly cute and I thought it might be fun to bring one home as a souvenir once we leave, but Josh said no.  Oh well...  Maybe I can talk him into it over this deployment or the next one.  Anyone think the city of El Paso allows camels?