Ziad and I
I finally made it to the Villagio Shopping Center and had chance to take a look around before I was to link up with Ziad. The mall is very new and not all the stores are open yet nor are the restaurants in the food court. With the painted sky above, the second floor facades lit and the architecture of the stores it really looked like one was walking down a European street. The mall was a mix of Santana Row with the design and Valley Fair with the stores, except for several small kiosks the stores were of a mix of the usual mall stores, plus some upgraded stores, ie Zara, Lacoste, Massimo Dutti, etc. The gondolas floating down the canals was a nice touch. Ziad showed up right on time and we both made the comment that we basically looked the same, he hadn't aged since I last saw him in Kansas, I unfortunately had mostly white versus the light grey hair of 7+ years ago.
We decided to go and eat and that was the probably the best way to get caught up with our lives. He took me to a Syrian restaurant and we ordered lots of small plates and then a main entree. It was quiet a sampler and I got a chance to try lots of Syrian food, grape leaves with rice and meat inside, artichoke pieces with garlic and olive oil, eggplant with some spices with garlic and olive oil, chickpeas and yogurt, pita with small pieces of lamb, some empanadas with lamb meat, marinated lamb brains, some meat rolled up in dough and fried-I called it Syrian Sushi because that is what it looked like. The main entrees were skewers of lamb, chicken, beef and mixed vegetables. We ate to our hearts content and talked about everything, kids, our better halves, work, politics, soccer (who would have guessed) and what's in our plans for the future.
Unfortunately all too soon it was time for me to head back to the bus for the ride back to post. We got the kodak moment picture which is above, said our goodbyes and if all goes well I should be here one more time before my year is up and we'll get a chance to see each other again. I reminded him that next time it's his turn to see me back in California. We'll see what happens.
On the way back there was a major accident on the road heading back to base so we got to see Doha au noit as we drove through neighborhoods which I don't think the driver even knew existed as he was trying to get to another road which would take us to the base. The trip lasted almost an hour. I hit the pub for my ration of beers and then spoke to Carmen and hit the sack.
This morning it was sleep in and do the laundry since I will either be leaving late tonite or sometime tomorrow and depending on how long I will be in BIAP waiting for transportation, it is better safe than sorry when it comes to having enough clean clothes to last for 3-4 days if necessary. I then headed off to the PX to take one last look at some souvenirs and then it was a visit to my favorite place the swimming pool. I was there for about 3 hours and took a well deserved nap laying in the shade. The water was nice and felt great each time when I got in. I ate a late lunch wolfing down a Chile Mushroom Burger and fries, not knowing when I will get another chance to eat something like that. Funny thing is that even though they have a DFAC here I have avoided eating there like the plague since when I get back to Taji that will be the only game in town!
I headed back to the room, showered got all my things on the bed ready to pack tonite if I leave late tonite, if not then I'll pack the ruck tomorrow when I get up. Right now I am at the MWR site chilling out reading my personal email, blogging and in a few minutes will grab a beer and some dinner here. In about 90 minutes they will post the departure formation time so I would rather eat so if I have to pack and clear quarters I can do so quickly.
That's it for now, if I don't leave until tomorrow I may post something but more than likely I will update you all when I get back to my temporary home sweet home Taji Iraq.
The Colonel
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