Lost in the Souq

Im sitting in Darren’s living room watching the Cowboys Vikings game. Darren is from Dallas so he’s pretty upset at the deficit right now. Its nice watching a football game with a bunch of guys. Im feeling very American right now. I had to go and buy Insulin earlier today. The hospital where I normally buy the insulin from was out of my type. So I had to go downtown to buy the Insulin. I didn’t know where I was going but I knew it was somewhere in the Souq, which is another word for the downtown market. I was trying to get directions, and the pharmacist trying to give me directions asked do you know where the Yateem Center is, No, Do you know where the KFC is? No, Do you know where the KFC is? No. I do know where Bab Al Bahrain is. Good, go to Bab Al Bahrain take the first right, then don’t turn at the next right, go by British Airways, don’t turn left, go to the street where you turn left or right and turn left and then go four stores down. So…I promptly go out and get lost. What an adventure it was. Getting lost in the souq is really something. It felt like I was driving down one of those busy alleys from an Indiana Jones movie, minus the monkey. The streets were narrow. If there would have been someone coming the other way, I would have been in trouble. There wasn’t enough room for the car and a pedestrian even. I drive a fairly small car too. A Suburban or SUV just wouldn’t have been able to make it through these winding alleyways they call streets. Most of the streets have been around for 5000 years so there just wasn’t a city planning commission back then. It was really cool soaking in all the culture. I sometimes forget that I am living in a foreign country because I have most of the comforts of home. Today’s drive was a reminder that I do live in a unique culture and it was very cool.

I did get a lot accomplished. Jenni and I are learning to talk less. So that means instead of 12 hours a day…we’re down to 11. I do exaggerate but not by much. Its just so nice to have someone you care about and can’t get enough of. She likes that I make her feel so special…which she is. All those months of loneliness are sure paying off now.

Mrs. Finland organized a practice session for our Funniest Person Contest. My whole crew is so dedicated to making this the best that it can be. What is nice is that they are rallying around each other. Im just so proud of the group. We were supposed to have a show on Wednesday, but the club owner booked the night and there are no other spots in the hotel where we can perform. So we might have to cancel the next show, which is kind of a bummer. I didn’t realize how much creative energy it took to come up with all these scenarios week after week. So the cast is helping out with adding their own scenarios. I did get some interest from the Navy. They want me to put on a special show at the US navy base. It might be a pretty unique opportunity.

I don’t have much else to say…so I’ll close it out early. Thanks for reading…I really appreciate it.