Christmas Time in Indianapolis

Christmas in Fishers is great this year. Got to see lots of family members and close friends. I think I have been able to have some pork in one form or another each day of the week. Hard to believe that it is the end of 2010 already. I will be heading back to Libya on January 1st. Can't wait to figure out how to spend more time with Carol and the rest of the family. Now I just have to do some quick calculating to figure out how many vacation days I can put together for some quality time with family.
I will update the blog when I get back to Benghazi.....until then, I hope everyone has had a very Merry Christmas and I hope 2011 will be a great one too.

Back Home Again in Indiana

Just thought I would update everyone and let you know that I made it safe and sound to Indiana on Thursday, December 23rd. It was a long day but I made it without a hitch. I was up for nearly 32 hours from the time I woke up and went to work and then caught a flight from Benghazi to Tripoli. Then I stayed up all night in order to go to the airport for my flight to Rome. The flight from Rome to Chicago was a little over ten hours in the air. I will try to update my blog later, but for now I am having too much fun with family and friends. I hope you understand that the blog will be down for a bit until I catch my breath. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I hope that 2011 will be a great New Year for everyone.

God's Artistic Hands

Time for a moment of reflection again. Today the Mediterranean Sea was beautiful. The waves were coming into the shore and yet the wind was blowing from the land side out to the Sea. As the waves would crash on the shore the wind blowing over the waves would make the mist linger at the top of the curl and it looked like diamonds were flying into the sky. It is hard to describe and it is even harder to figure out how God can make such beautiful scenes like that everyday. Lots and lots of people are driving by and don't see the wonders of this fantastic world that we live in. I am so lucky that I got the chance today to see His marvelous handiwork. So while I am looking at diamonds in the Sea, everyone in Indiana is looking at white diamonds shimmering in the snow. Looks like a White Christmas this year. Can't wait......

Rainy Season

I love it when I get to extend my weekend beyond a one day weekend. Yes, we had a little wind storm again at the job site, so we got to leave the job site before the trailer lifted off the ground. The wind was really whipping up on the Sea and heading right into the hotel. Someone said the winds were hitting 50 MPH. It was strong enough to make the sand from the beach come over the four lane highway and land on our sidewalks in front of the hotel. You could see white caps all the way out to the horizon.  With that type of weather we do not have a very good internet connection which then plays havoc with getting drawings uploading to the folks at the Intercontinental Hotel Group. Even though the air temperature is about 55 degrees, a wind factor of 50 MPH makes things a little chilly.

The wind had calmed down in my neighborhood, so I thought I would walk to dinner. Had a great serving of spaghetti while I watched RAW WWE wrestling. Libyans seem to like that sort of entertainment. When I left the restaurant, it started to drizzle then the sky opened up and by the time I got home,  I was soaked.  Hopefully I will not catch a cold right before I fly out to Indy next week. I will keep my fingers crossed. 

Power to the People

I mentioned in my last blog that we have been having some power outages.  The power went out last night right after I ordered my pizza for dinner. I thought to myself, “well I wonder how long this is going to take just to get a pizza. “I could see into the kitchen from where I was sitting and I was pleasantly surprised to see a gas fired brick oven. So I got to eat my pizza in the dark. Actually by candlelight. The waiters went around and put candles on everyone’s table. Now mind you, the dining area that I was eating in is the men’s restaurant. The family restaurant is upstairs and men are not allowed up there unless you have your wife or girlfriend with you. So there I was  in the men’s dining area with romantic candle-lit tables. It just did not feel right for some reason……..

On the way home, I noticed that the elementary school near my house was having their school program. Can you imagine being in the middle of your first graders concert/program and the lights go out for about an hour.

I also discovered that when the power goes out, then the electronic strike on your exterior gate tends to not work with your key. I had to call my landlord and have him let me back into my apartment. He even gave me some candles and matches in case this power issue happens more often. I asked him if these power outages are common and his immediate response was “Welcome to Libya”. So I guess so.

So if it appears that my blogs are very short in length, it is not that I am tired of typing, it is so that I can get them completed before the power goes out. Maybe I should invest in an Amish generator.

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.