Arrival

     On November 9th, 2010 at 9:45pm Jeremy and I left Norfolk, Va. headed for The Kingdom of Bahrain. Bahrain is a tiny island in the Arabian Gulf, right off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Jeremy was stationed here about 10 years ago but me, I've never been out of the country!
     The first leg of the trip was a 6 1/2hr flight to Rota, Spain. I must have been too excited to get any sleep. They played a few episodes of "Cheers" and then we watched "Salt". I was nervous for the flight at first. I don't like take off and I don't like flying over water. It's not so bad at night though because you can't see the water. I don't pay much attention during the presentation about "in case of a water landing" because let's face it there really is no such thing as a "water landing". A crash landing in the water yes, but I don't expect that any of us will be utilizing floaties, life vests, etc. because we will die. There will be no miracle on the Atlantic!
     Jeremy nodded off a few times during the flight but he really wasn't able to sleep either. We watched movies, listened to music, and played Angry Birds on our Ipods. Awesome game by the way! We were fed dinner and breakfast with a few snacks in between. The food was not that bad.  I watched the sunrise over the ocean and at the first site of land I was so excited. My first glance at a new country. When we landed in Rota we all had to get off the plane for re-fueling. It was about an 1 1/2hr layover. It was warm outside and there was a strange, thick smell in the air. Not a bad smell but not so pleasant either. I have nothing exciting to say about Spain because all I got to see was the tarmac and the inside of the airport, the little area we were confined to. It was the final destination for some people and then a few new people boarded the plane for the next stop which was Sigonella, Sicily.
     We got back on the plane and again I could not sleep. This leg of the flight was about 3 hours. We watched "Dinner For Shmucks" and had some lunch and a few snacks. It seemed like they were feeding us every 2 hours which was nice. We again got off the plane for re-fueling and again nothing to see in Sigonella except the tarmac and the airport. I changed my shirt and brushed my teeth and we were back on the plane for more movies and food. Our final leg was about 4 1/2hrs. Jeremy was finally able to sleep for a little bit but not me. I wanted to see the places we were flying over. On the plane there is a screen that shows where the plane is so I could see what cities and countries were were flying over. I was so excited when I could finally see Bahrain. For me this was like being a child and seeing Disneyland for the first time. Jeremy, not so much. I think he was just excited to finally get off the plane and get in a comfy bed.
     It was a little after 1am on November 11th when we arrived and about 78 degrees or so. Our sponsor was there to greet us, holding a little sign with our name. A sponsor is a navy guy that you get connected with a few months before your arrival and they take care of temporary living arrangements and make sure you have the things you need when you first arrive, helps you feel welcome, etc.  We will probably act as someones sponsor while we are here.  Somebody in uniform gave a quick brief regarding rules. What not to wear and other stuff like that. We were all outside under a tent. We waited there while our luggage was taken off the plane. No baggage claim. They just lined it up on the cement. Surprisingly, we located our stuff pretty quickly and went right through customs which was just a guy manning 1 x-ray machine. Our sponsor took us to the Marriot were we would be living for the next month and a half or so. We arrived there at about 3am and at first the guy wouldn't let us check in because check in is not until 3pm. Now, it's not like they don't do this often so maybe he was new or something. He was a nice guy but not quite understanding the situation. He said he would have to charge us for checking in on the 10th which was fine since technically we weren't paying for it. After showering and settling in we finally went to sleep about 5am. We were up at noon so our sponsor could take us to the base to get a few necessities and check in.
     The first day was interesting. We at lunch at Bennigan's and I was very excited that I could get sweet tea! We picked up our new cell phones at a kiosk on base, got a tour of the base, and picked up a few things at the NEX. We were ready to crash by 4pm. Later that evening we met up with Willie and had dinner at Dublin's bar.  Interesting that my first food experiences in Bahrain were Irish restaurants!
     It's come full circle now with Willie and Jeremy. They met here in Bahrain 10 years ago. I'm surprised they are allowed back here considering the muck they ran the last time they were here. They were back in San Diego together and now back to Bahrain! It was a long first day and I was up till 4am the next morning. They say it takes about 2 weeks for your sleep schedule to get sorted out. Nothing too exciting about our arrival. Everything went very smoothly and we are excited for this new adventure.
     I started this blog after a few people suggested it. I can write a lot more on here than I can post on Facebook so I think it's a good idea. I will try to update this blog at least once a week and post pictures as well. I hope you all enjoy it!