The travel started again.... Stuck in Paris now

So the wardroom had a hail and farewell Saturday night and that was a good evening. The day had been hot and humid with rain and it was a busy day and right after the wardroom function was over I went straight to the Air Terminal and headed to the Djibouti International Airport,,, what a treat that was. If you've never been to a fourth world International Airport, let me tell you about it.... When you pull up a frenzy of local individuals swarm wanting to help you with your bags so you can pay them. DON'T LET THEM TOUCH YOUR BAGS!

Then you go inside to the HOT HUMID place with no A/C and go through some semblance of security and I'm being generous when I say that. While waiting in the terminal for the flight there was some horrible looking black cat with injuries that was crying and meowing in that place.... This is the fourth world so animals all over the place is common I suppose..... That stupid cat was screaming I swear it was and I just wanted it to get out of there. It was almost creepy like pet cemetery or something out of a horror movie.

Please bear in mind that while it's necessary to hydrate in this climate,,, you must also process the hydration which means you'll be visiting the restroom....... Not a good idea. I think I would have rather used a Port-o-John. The urinals were covered with garbage bags so that was a no-go,,,,, on to the stalls,,,,,, water standing on the floor ( I hope), no seats on the toilets which is pretty typical, no toilet paper but a handy hose for those unfortunates who needed to use the full facilities. Not an ideal setup and a good reason to always keep that spare roll of emergency tp in the backpack just in case of such an emergency.

After that it was back to the waiting area which was like a sauna. Between the sauna like atmosphere and the habit of the locals to not use deodorant you can formulate a picture. Finally we were able to board the aircraft and I have to say Air France does a nice job. As soon as the aircraft was loaded a flight attendant went up and down the aisle dispensing aerosol fragrances making the cabin much more pleasant. The flight crew was surprisingly attractive, well groomed and looked very nice in their uniforms and provided great service in an incredibly clean aircraft. And then two meals were served and dinner was paired with wine if you wanted it. I was able to take in a couple of new movies during the flight and didn't get any sleep on the way to Europe.

So the flight had quite a bit of turbulence and by the time we get to Paris it's pretty rough. I swear when we landed we were only on half of the landing gear and I thought the plane was going to flip over. We sat on the runway forever with the plane shaking in the wind because it was not safe to deplane. Off to the terminal we went to get our connections and of course some croissants..... The croissants were excellent but not so much for the connections. We spend the entire day in the airport going back and forth, claiming bags then rechecking, getting new boarding passes then cancelled flights again. Between the weather and the suspected pilot strike we did not leave Paris.

So I'm thinking,,, I have a three day class and now I'll miss a day or at least half of a day.... but on the positive side I'm stuck in Paris. I know,,, Boo hoo for being stuck in Paris. It could be alot worse. Hopefully we'll get to Naples tomorrow by noon and get a half day of classes in.

Finally found my camera

So for two days I've been without my camera. I took it out on Thursday to the office to take some photos and could not find it since. I thought for sure it had fallen out of my cargo pocket or backpack. I had looked all over the place and took another look around my office today and there it was on the desk I had been using earlier this week. Needless to say, once I get back from Italy and France, I'll be doing some office cleaning. My workspace is not up to par as far as cleanliness and organization like I'm generally accustomed to having. You know how I feel about proper housekeeping and leaving a clean desk at night....

Right now I'm sitting in the base air terminal waiting for the shuttle to take me to the Djibouti Int'l Airport. I'm heading to Paris tonight and then on to Naples, Italy for the next week. I'm looking forward to getting that class under my belt to help me understand the job I'll be doing for the next year or so. Also the possibility of sightseeing and making it to Pompeii is even better.

Today and yesterday have been a little rainy and HUMID. It's so thick in the air here you can just walk out and get soaked from the humidity in the air. Nothing real eventful has gone on this week but last night there was no off base liberty allowed most likely due to some elevated terror threat in the area but I did not inquire as to why..... no plans to go out into the town so it didn't really matter. We stayed on base and had some drinks at the 11 degrees MWR facility (waters for me). I'm going to have to learn to like beer this year I suppose.

Stay tuned for photos and updates about France and Italy. Pictures of Camp Lemonnier to follow as well.

Some more traveling...

So I found out this week that I'm off to Europe for class.... a week earlier than anticipated. I've only been here five days but it feels like I've been here forever, but in a comfortable way rather than something bad. I've adapted to the routine and other than not being able to sleep through the night, which is also pretty normal, things are good. I'm still pretty clueless about my job but I'm still confident that I'll be able to manage to meet expectations.

So I'm headed off to Italy and get to spend some time in France as well. I guess the old slogan, "Join the Navy, see the world" still holds true. It's a beautiful night in Djibouti again. Once the sun sets the temperature is perfect and tonight the breeze is coming in from the sea so it's just nice and reminiscent of some of those good nights back in Hawaii minus a few friends along for the ride. However there are some new acquaintances that are making this tour a good one and I expect it will improve.

More to follow later and hopefully some good photos from Europe.

Sunday trip to Lake Assal and Djibouti's Grand Canyon

So this being my first weekend on Camp and I had the opportunity to travel to some local sights in Djibouti outside the city. MWR was running a trip and my staff was going as well so they offered to let me tag along to see Lake Assal and Djibouti's Grand Canyon. Lake Assal is a salt lake and also the lowest point on the continent of Africa (515 feet below sea level). The white in that picture is not sand or snow like I left behind in Norfolk, it is crystalized salt. Lake Assal is also the saltiest body of water in the world with the exception of places in Antarctica. Swimming in the lake was a great experience, great warm temperature, even in February. It is so salty you can barely manage to stand upright after floating. The only downside is once you get out all of the sudden you fid yourself caked with dried salt crystals all over yourself. I also found myself a little over-exposed to the sun and should have used some sunscreen.

On the way to the lake we stopped at the Djibouti's Grand Canyon. The landscape here is covered with volcanic rock scattered everywhere, it somewhat reminded me of Maui's dry side of the island in spots.

Arrived in Djibouti

So I'm in Djibouti. Arrived at 4:30 in the morning and it was a pretty ugly place. I suppose the few posted pics online made it look nicer than it really is. On the upside, It's 8:00 at night with a great breeze and in the low 70's probably. In a word the daytime weather was HOT and very sunny. Good thing I packed a couple of pairs of sunglasses. The camp is over capacity and luckily I got a shared living container temporarily. Due to who I'm replacing hopefully I'll get a new permanent living assignment of my own where I just share a bath with one other officer. I think it will probably be a long year in this environment. The internet is VERY slow and my magic jack probably won't work during peak hours for sure.

The only nice looking green spot with flowerson base is the sewage treatment plant,,,, the flowers look nice but you can imagine the odor. I haven't experienced the burning trash and dead animals yet but I understand it's not pleasant. I haven't gotten my travel dates yet for Europe but I suspect I'll enjoy the break. Food is pretty decent here and there appears to be plenty of it available. My pants are still snug so I have begun avoidance of the sweets. Saturday is only a half day of work and Sundays are off. So I have to go get weighed in at 1:00 tomorrow and then off to the office at 2:00 for a meeting. I'm not sure low late the afternoon work schedule will be. I'm really hoping for that new living assignment quickly so I can set settled and try to regain some normalcy, including not having to get dressed to go to the bathroom which is about six unit away outside. Base rules restrict going outside in towels or robes and without shirts,,, Don't ask me to explain that one.

I'll try to update this with some pics of what I can over the next few days.

My address is:

LTJG David Rassenfoss, USN
PSC 831 N4
FPO, AE 09363-9998

Left Spain earlier today; sitting in Sicily now.

So we're out of the States now and have been to Rota, Spain and are now in Sigonella, Sicily. Nothing of consequence other than just basic traveling. I have to give the flight credit, I've never flown on Ryan International but they give great service.

1am

So I'm in my room quietly minding my own business,,,,, I got one of those calls that someone needed to be checked on... the options were to take custody or somehting less pleasant. What an option considering we have a flight leaving tomorrow...... Did I sign up for this??? Suddenly I have become responsible and accountable for a 21 year old. I feel like a parent all of the sudden.