More new experiences

Not a week goes by where I do not get to experience something new here in Libya. This week was no exception. Again, the Indiana DOT could learn a few things from the folks at the Benghazi road department.  It turns out that if the road crew needs to close down a section of the street in order to fill in a ditch they do the following. You put up barricades to block the street, then on each side of the intersection you pour a large pile of dirt along the sidewalk curb line so that cars can drive on the sidewalk in order to bypass the closed intersection.

You guessed it, Ali my driver took us up over the curb down the sidewalk and once we got passed the blocked intersection we went down the curb on the other side of the street. No need for traffic cops or any extra expense, after all how much can a little dirt cost.

I got the opportunity to go to a seminar today that dealt with making Libya more accessible to disabled residents. There were about 40 or 50 people that showed up for the session. The specific workshop that I attended dealt with “Accessible Tourism”. I thought that might be an appropriate one since I am working on the new hotel project. The information was good but the session lasted about twice as long as it should have since they would present part of it in Arabic and then had to repeat it in English. It was a long day……….

For some reason we are experiencing a number of power outages in the neighborhood today. Two one-hour sessions since 5:00 p.m. this evening. I had better get this blog posted before the next one hits. 

Upcoming seminar

At what temperature do mosquitoes stop flying around??  Evidently it is still warm enough for those pesky insects. I wish they would stop coming into my apartment. I thought I had all of the windows shut and even put a rug against the back door to block them out. Now I find that my exhaust fan to the bathroom has a direct opening to the outside. I will have to look into some way of blocking that passageway.

Another week is finished and just that much closer to the day that I fly off to Indy to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. I know I am counting down the days, so I am sure Carol is too.

Next week we have lots of high level meetings with our client. Then on Monday and Tuesday I get a chance to attend a seminar in Benghazi that deals with designing for Libyans with disabilities. Sort of an ADA seminar they are having here in town. Apparently President Gaddafi’s daughter is the chairperson for the organization that helps disabled people, single mom’s and low income residents. The seminar will be in Arabic, but they are going to have translators available for Americans that hang out in Benghazi. Should be an interesting event. I will give you an update next week.

Old Man Winter

December 8th and I had to break out my light jacket today. It was nearly 14 degrees C (57 F) here in sunny Benghazi. I have been able to wear my short sleeved golf shirts up until now and it is a good thing that Carol brought me a light fleece pullover for today. I will admit that I did not go overboard like one guy downtown today. He had on a quilted winter coat and a knit ski cap. That was a little much. If I stay in Benghazi too long, maybe I will think that 57 degrees deserves a snow suit too.
Things are moving along on the hotel project but at the rate we are completing things I do not think we will make the January deadline. Looks like June or July for a grand opening if you ask me. Keep your fingers crossed. My round-about way of getting to Indy for Christmas is as follows:
Benghazi to Tripoli on Wednesday the 22nd
Tripoli to Rome on the Thursday the 23rd
Rome to Chicago and Chicago to Indy....it will be a long day. I think I will sleep in a bit on the 24th.
I hope everyone has a fantastic Merry Christmas. Hope to be able to chat with a number of you during the Holidays. Don't worry, I will try to post up a few blogs before I fly out. Just got in the Christmas spirit this morning when I thought I saw my own breath.....bbrrrrrrrrrrr

Brotherly Love

I have noticed that different countries and different cultures are not so different. I was waiting the other day for my driver, so I was standing out in front my apartment. I noticed that a Libyan neighbor down the street has a couple of boys living there. The younger brother evidently said that he was going to ride in the front seat with his Dad. The other brother ran out of the house sooner and got in the front seat instead. You should have heard the little brother yell and scream and kick the car door. My Arabic is not too good yet, but I got the distinct feeling that he was telling his big brother off and saying it was not fair that he has to ride in the back when he called for the "co-pilot" seat earlier. Dad tried to calm him down, but he was not a happy camper to have to sit in the back seat. Hmmmm......reminds me when I had to sit in the back seat of our family car.......just teasing Craig.
My highlight of the weekend was when I went to the "WaterWorld" restaurant and saw three non-Libyan guests at one of the tables. When I heard English come out of all three guys, I thought I might have found some new friends. After awhile, I heard a strange sound in the way they were speaking.....every so often I would here, "eh". Sure enough, they were Canadians. Oh, well, that is pretty close to being an American.
They are working on some oil rig project in Libya. So I might meet up with them in the near future.

Internal promotion

I think that it is odd that time can go by so quickly when your eyes are closed for a split second and when they are open, time can almost stand still. My alarm went off this morning and I thought, "I will just lay here for a couple of minutes and then get up and get ready for work." When I woke up the clock had some how jumped forward by about 30 minutes. I thought it was impossible, my watch must be broken.....just my luck, I had to get ready quickly before the driver starts honking his horn and waking up the neighbors.
Speaking of honking horns. I asked one of my co-workers if there is any chapter in the Koran that deals with patience. He said, "Yes, we have a number of chapters that deal with patience." I said, "well I do not think that many Libyans have read those chapters, because the way they lay on the car horn after one second has passed at the stop light, indicates that they are not remembering what they read."

I got an internal promotion today. We have meetings every other day at 10 a.m. Our office boy brings in coffee for the meeting attendees about 10:30. Everyone gets a small cardboard cup of coffee or tea. Today I was promoted to a china cup and saucer for my coffee. Usually that level of service is only provided to the client and the project managers. In his eyes, I have moved up one more rung on the corporate ladder. That might be my early Christmas present. We will have to see if I maintain my new status level at the next meeting. I will keep you on the edge of your seats until Monday's blog.

American Football vs. World Football

Just got back from my favorite restaurant on my side of town. The place where the waiters would rather watch "WaterWorld" than give me my dinner check. I enjoy watching soccer (world football) but not every day of the week. The weekends are for football anything from high school on Friday, to college on Saturday and Pro ball on Sunday and Monday, but not every day of the week and on multiple channels.
Come on people, get a life. Tonight the entire broadcast was about Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup Games. For nearly an hour they showed the people of Qatar driving up and down the streets of Doha with flags waving and people standing and poking thru the sun roof on their limo. Is this going to go on for twelve more years......come on.....we are talking twelve years from now. It is exciting news but let's come down to reality. If I were a soccer player and I was fortunate enough to make it to the finals, I might want to reconsider. Doha is near Abu Dhabi and if the games are in the summer time, it will be pretty HOT to be playing soccer. Maybe the Qatar World Cup committee is going to have an open air-conditioned stadium. They have enough oil money to figure out how to do it..........Here is hoping that the hype will die down a bit so that I can get my dinner check in less than twenty minutes.

Time for reflection

Sorry I have not posted anything to the blog for the past few days. I am not sure if it is the jet lag or the difference in temperature between London and Benghazi, but I have really been tired this week. Maybe it is the fact that I had to work four days this week. I have only been working three days a week for the past few weeks. That extra day is a killer. Oh, well, at least I have Friday of this week to rest up.

I have been thinking about the past month or so and with Thanksgiving just passed, I have a lot to be thankful for. I have friends and family that are praying for me, I have a good job, I have been given opportunities to travel and see parts of the world that not many people get to see and I have a wonderful wife that keeps me sane when I hear her voice on the phone and when the internet is working I can see her face on Skype.

I am a lucky guy. A year ago, I was out of a job and now I am sitting on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea watching a new five star hotel go up with my help. Pretty cool…..

Thanks everyone for your support and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.