swim... and hello from bahrain...

swim graduation...

getting her "medal"

showing it off...

his "medal"

jamey's class

jamey...

i was talking to my mom about mail being sent to her house still (there are some things that are just easier not to change!).  she mentioned that my registration renewal just came.  i asked, "what state?" and she laughed, telling me what a commentary on my life that was.  i asked, truly not sure what state it might be! (well, i ruled out hawaii, since i had just gotten my registration renewal here!)  

Salaam Aleikum from Bahrain!  Sorry it has been a while since I have posted, and sorry also that this post contains no pictures- there have not been many good opportunities to take any.  The next post will have some more decent photos.  Since my last post, we leftSasebo, Japan, and sailed south to Singapore, where we stayed for almost a week to get some emergent repairs done on several areas of the ship.  I would have liked to have sent some pictures of Singapore, but unfortunately I did not leave the ship due to the fact that me, and about a third of the crew, had been recently vaccinated for smallpox, and were denied liberty by U.S. Seventh Fleet Policy- bummer.  Not to worry- I have been out in Singapore before. 

After that it was through the Straits of Malacca (busiest waterway in the world)- and through the Indian Ocean all the way to the Persian Gulf.  We are now here at the headquarters of the U.S Fifth Fleet- Bahrain.  This is my first time being in the Middle East- and to be honest, I am not a huge fan so far.  Everything is oppressively hot- it regularly rises to 110 degrees and above in the middle of the day, and they tell me here that it is not even truly “summer” yet.  Night is a more manageable 95 degrees or so.  The thing that is most difficult to get used to is the sandy, dusty haze that covers everything- our ship is coated in a layer of fine sandy dust, and you cannot see all the way to the horizon- more like 5-6 miles on a good day.  Such a contrast to the clear, open ocean steaming I am so used to. Bahrain is an interesting contrast- there is no grass, or really anything growing to speak of that is not artificially watered.  There is a beautiful, modern city of Manama, contrasted with numerous slums.  The Kingdom of Bahrain is about 1.2 million people- about 2/3 Shia Muslim and 1/3 Sunni Muslim (the ruling family is Sunni)- and recently wracked by sectarian violence.  We have seen several instances of protests and counter-protests by both opposition and supporters of the government.  Oil is everything here- the engine which drives all else (no hybrid cars to be seen- I think that would be sacrelige!).  Few side streets are paved, or even really laid out- just a random assortment of houses in alleyways of packed sand.  And there are no street signs!  I guess you just memorize where you go- I am not sure how directions would work without a map/GPS.

We have had a couple of fun nights here- one evening we attended a “rug flop”- in which a rug merchant will throw a party at a house and roll out numerous rugs that he has acquired from all over the Middle Eats and Central Asia- rugs from India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and of course Iran- it is widely acknowledged that the best rugs come from Iran, particularly the area of the holy city of Qom.  Some of the rugs were truly breathtaking- some with over 1,000 knots per square inch, which can take a family 3-4 years to complete.  Trade with Iran is illegal in the United States for merchants and companies, but it is OK for individuals, including service members, to acquire and ship rugs individually.  We heard numerous stories of rugs being sold in the States for 4-5 times what you might pay in Bahrain, Qatar or the UAE.  A potential lucrative side business…but truly breathtaking craftsmanship. 

The food has also been absolutely delicious.  From “Shwarmas”- meat and veggies wrapped in a pita-like bread- to kebabs, prawns, lamb and “hammour” (a local fish)- I have stuffed myself a couple of nights.  We said farewell to couple of our officers who were transferring here, and welcomed several new ones.  It was interesting to reflect that my own farewell to O’Kane will likely be here, inBahrain, in a couple of years. 

Thanks again to all those who have been praying and thinking about me- I miss all of you.  Your packages, emails and love have been much appreciated!

Thanks also for the wonderful binder that Michelle sent with me with contributions from all of you- again, I still have not even gotten 1/3 of the way through, so there is much left to be uncovered.  But I love so far Mom’s cards with old pictures and goofy poems, and the encouraging quotes from the Presleys, and Taylor’s corny cards.  And of course the touching letters and pictures from Michelle.  All fantastic!

Love,

DYH