First Days In Kuwait

06 Oct 2009 Tue

It is hot, dusty, and windy again on the 2nd day at the base somewhere near Kuwait City. Mid afternoon, in the dusty haze the sun looked liked a full moon on a cloudless night. A few hours later after the sun set, a full moon appeared. The dust is everywhere. I woke with dust in my sinus and mouth. I am glad I brought my neti pot and I know yoga breathing techniques to clean it out.

It is hot for us but cool for the locals in the nineties Fahrenheit.

For two nights we have no had electricity. Tent City is powered mostly by huge Caterpillar generators but there are a few of another brand. Only one generator broke down. It must not have been one of the Cat generators. The is still electricity and air conditioning else where on base, just not in our row of tents.

The heat does not bother me so much. I practice Yoga daily throughout the day with brief sets of meditation, postures, and breathing techniques. I work out once or twice a day on the elliptical when I have time. I drink lots and lots of water; it seems like a gallon every hour. There are water bottles in refrigerated cabinets every where. At night, I take the natural hormone melatonin and sleep like a baby through the night even with no air conditioning and people coming and going all night long.

On Tue Oct 6 (the third day) at 5:15 am we meet to eat breakfast then leave the base and travel to the company's villa for all day company orientation and training until about 1830 (6:30 pm). Once again we were briefed on safety and General Order Number 1. GO #1 generally states that we must follow the laws of the county we are in. It is a crime to have in your possession or to drink alcohol. You can be thrown in jail. It is against the law to show affection like holding hands or kissing in public. One women was thrown in jail for kissing her boyfriend in public. The jails are not very nice - very crowded conditions, no air conditioning, limited bathrooms, and no food. Someone has to bring you food every day. No pornography. This is very strict. One man had his camera confiscated because he had a picture of his wife in a bikini. No prostitution. Any one engaging in sex for money is considered to be in violation of international human trafficking laws so the penalties can be severe. No animals as pets on base. And, of course, no drugs. Like any other country and every city of the US all of this is available on the black market. However, if you are caught you may be thrown in jail and fired from the company.

I was happily surprised when they told me I would be staying in the villa and staying in Kuwait for another week of training. I no longer had to stay in Tent City. All of us were transported back to the base. While every one else turned in their passports for processing so they could leave the next morning for their assignments, I packed my bags for the villa.

Remember, one duffel bag of 60 - 70 pounds with all my equipment, another duffel bag with all my clothes and personal times about 50 pounds, plus my back pack at about 25 pounds. I was carrying 135 pounds in three bags on my back with the strap of my personal bag broke. On the first day I purchased and set of sheets and a bath towel. This little bit of extra weigh caused the strap to break??

The villa is a beautiful, fully furnished, two story home. Two large rooms for group training, a fully equipped kitchen, three bathrooms, laundry, three large bedrooms with 4 - 6 single beds. No bunk beds, than you. Upstairs balcony. There were 6 guys staying there. Large living where we watched the newest Star Trek movie on DVD. It is really good. I had watched it at the movies. It was good to see it again.