First Week of July 2013

The first week of July went by extremely fast and was extremely busy with many activities planned during my off hours.

On Tuesday, July 2nd, we went on a MWR trip souvenir shopping downtown.  I'm having fun buying little trinkets and souvenirs as I go and using them to decorate my room.

On Wednesday, July 3rd I celebrated my 38th birthday. By the request of my husband, my birthday morning started with a video call home.  I was surprised to find 14 or so people at our house gathered to wish me a happy birthday and eat some cake.  The cake was from Aggie's and looked amazing.  I wish technology was advanced enough for me to reach out and grab a piece.  At lunch my coworkers and friends sang happy birthday to me in the galley.  Then in the evening the Camp was having a 5K for Independence Day.  I was already planning on running the race, but one of my new friends made me a "Birthday Girl" crown to wear to let everyone know it was my special day!  I always had to laugh to myself though when somebody would ask me if it was my birthday after seeing it on my head.

For the Fourth of July I went on an all day snorkeling adventure.  The boat ride out to the prime snorkeling spots took an hour to get to. I enjoyed the ride and the fresh air.  I didn't see anything super exotic while snorkeling, but the fish and coral reef were really pretty.  I always feel like I'm swimming in an aquarium when I'm snorkeling and I absolutely love it.  After about an hour we moved to our second snorkeling spot where the crew then served up lunch.  We had an amazing salad, rice, chicken, and beef skewers.  The food was so delicious.  After letting the food settle just a bit, it was time to get back in the water and do some more snorkeling.  The water was so warm and clear.  I loved the whole day of being in the sun and wind.

On Friday, July 5th, the whole office went out to dinner to a pizza place for a going away for two people who will be re-deploying soon.  The pizza was served as a buffet, but what that really meant was the staff would just keep bringing different pizza to our table.  My favorite was a white sauce pizza with ham and onion.  Again delicious!!

On Saturday, July 6th, I had to work and didn't leave camp, but I did get notice that a Wet CLU had become available for me and Saturday night turned into moving day.  I loved my CLUmate Val a ton and am gonna miss coming "Home" and talking with her, but having my own CLU with a shared bathroom with just one other person is so nice!!  It only took a couple of hours to move and it's nice knowing that this is my "permanent" home for the rest of the time I'm here.

Sunday, July 7th brought another Sunday funday adventure.  This week we were off to Lake Assal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Assal_(Djibouti)).  Lake Assal is the lowest point in Africa and is one of the saltiest lakes in the world (even saltier then the Dead Sea). Before we got to Lake Assal, we stopped to view the Djiboutian "Grand Canyon".  Although not quite as spectacular as the U.S.'s Grand Canyon, it was still impressive.  After some photos we were on our way.






Right before we got to the Lake we stopped to explore a hot springs.  Some people who were with us that had last been to the area in February, had said the landscape had changed quite a bit since the heavy rain Djibouti received in March. It was a nice little hike with interesting rock formations.  Once at the lake our bus driver drove out onto the hardened salt and parked the bus.  It was time to go into the lake!  The water was very warm and quite shallow.  After wading out quite the distance, I finally sat back in the water to feel the crazy sensation of water being too "thick" to go under due to the salt content.  I have to say, the Dead Sea was much better for that feeling and that is mostly because it is deeper.  I think it was just too shallow to truly feel the effects.  I did however, enjoy walking along in the water and looking at the salt deposits and formations.  Seeing as it was 125 degrees at the lake we only stayed for about 45 minutes and then headed back to camp.  We did stop however at a
restaurant that Leah had recommended call La Mer Rouge.  This is a seafood place that looks terrible from the outside, but once inside is a beautiful gem.  Once again I had another delicious meal!!  If I'm not careful, I might actually gain weight while I'm here!!