Approaching 1,000 with only 500 left....Huh?

Greetings from Dubai, where the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same. As most of you know, one of my college Majors was Political Science. I have been fascinated with American politics and history since my pre-teen years. I love maps, and understanding the history of a region. Well, coming to the Middle East strokes all of those senses.

I can remember as a child, spending time at my late Uncle Clarence's house looking at a raised map of Southwest Virginia. I would run my fingers in the grooves, studying the valley's and mountain peaks that Southwest Virginia is known for. I would find places on the map that I had been, and then look for interesting places that I would like to go. Now 40 years later, I am in the Middle East and this regions maps are also exciting.

Now the map is not quite as exciting as my Uncle Clarence's topographical map (no sexy grooves and peaks) but, the Maps of this region are interesting because of the similarities of the peoples and lands and resources, yet the tremendous differences. I think one of the sad comments that ring true about Americans is that in general we don't understand the world and the way people act in it. This region is a powder keg of politics right now (has been for years, but the fuse is especially short right now).
So February will be a little Mideast and North Africa Map 101 in the Great Adventure blog. Maybe when you hear about Americans being killed in Libya or Jihadest seizing oil fields in Algeria, or French military attacking extremist in Mali (with US military logistical support) or the Iranian's causing havoc in the Persian Gulf where one of our fleets are permanently harbored you will be able to visualize the region and what it may or may not mean to you. For those of you that are a little challenged to find me on this map, all the way to the right, on the south side of the Persian Gulf.

This week, Joseph and I had business in RAK.

On the map, Ras Al Khaymah is on the coast very near the Straight of Hormuz. The hotel we were visiting has a beautiful view of the Persian Gulf, and yes on a clear day you can see military ships and oil tankers sailing the straight. The waters are clean and crystal clear. I now have been to all 7 of the Emirates and Oman. We will see what is next. We did see many camels on the 1 hour trip to the coastal City - How some can be offended by the Coke/Camel Super bowl commercial is maybe just a little too politically correct.

Good news bloggies! My picture download feature has been repaired. There is a picture to follow this little tale. One of the things that a few of us do when you have downtime here is play "Word Mole" on our Blackberries. I like to think I am proficient on this game compared to my colleagues. I have a fairly extensive vocabulary and English is my native language. My high score is a little over 5,600 and one would think I could play circles around my friends Kumail and Vinny. Well Kumail decided to test me and said he thought within a month he could make a score of 7,000. So I did what any gambling fool would do....I made a wager. I offered Kumail 200 Dirahams ($55) against his 100 Dirhams that he could not top 7,000 points as a high score within a month (This was in early December). Well of course the very next day, Kumail topped 7,000 and I forked over 200 Dirhams. Kumail felt bad (he took candy from a baby) so he of course gave me an opportunity to win half my original bet back. The new bet was 10,000 (now that's a sure thing - I even checked to make sure his word mole version was in English not Hindi). Well Kumail's score is now over 15,000 - Mine is still at 5,600. Kumail pocketed 400 Dirhams from me. Now my sweet friend Vinny (Pooh to his gal fans) decided he hadn't got an opportunity for a slice of the American pie (ie my wallet). Vineet made the same wager with me, and this past week he showed up to pay his 100 Dirhams.

Now things seem back to normal for this old American, back to taking advantage of the Indians, as God intended (please no angry letters - this is humor - as Rodz would say, "I love the Injuns!).

Today marks day number 943 since I arrived in Dubai with Bob back in July 2010. That seems like a lot of days. I can confidently say I am over half way through my journey, no definitive exit date yet.
If you look back at my blogs in 2011, one blog was about Q-tips. I have never found the good, sturdy cotton stemmed Q-tip here in the UAE. I finally got a box of 500 and at the same time my old pal Richard Ashlock brought me another 500 pack box from the States. Well, yesterday I opened this gift from Richard. I remember saying something to the effect of when the Q-tips run out, I will run away from here...well, there are 499 Q-tips left (a few in my travel bag also)...So - We will see...

Lot of harsh weather back in the states, here more of the same...highs around 80, lows in the 60's. February is the wettest month in the UAE...we will see. My mother came through her surgery with flying colors, I have talked with her several times in the past week, she is in good spirits and was actually going to drive on Thursday for a follow up visit with her Doctor.

See you here next week, God willing....