Kuwait

We are FINALLY in the Middle East!! But still not yet were we are supposed to be. Right now we are in a purgatory of sorts in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait. It is not a rather small Air Base that we flew into yesterday. Now we have to wait until tomorrow to get a flight into Iraq. But let me back up a little.

Friday we flew out of Georgia an a DC-10, the largest aircraft I have ever been on. It was ten seats across and had three big screens. We also got to watch four movies: Avatar, What Happens in Vegas, Tooth Fairy, and GI Joe. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep for most of the flights. Our first flight took us into Bangor, Maine. Josh was very excited about that because I guess Stephen King lives around there. We looked for him but didn't see him unfortunately.

After Maine, we had a seven hour flight into Leizpig, Germany. Sadly enough, my first trip to Europe consisted on nothing more than the inside of an airport terminal. And a very small one at that. We had one more four hour flight into Kuwait. And if I have one word for Kuwait....it would be....HOT. At least 120 degrees. Insanely hot. But you don't actually sweat in this heat, so oddly enough I am handling it better than the nasty sticky heat of Georgia. It is hot enough though, that you walk a little faster so you can get your hiney into some air as quickly as possible.

Ali Al Salem is made up of hundreds of tents. Most of the tents to have cement floors, but some do have plywood floors. But thankfully, every indoor area is constantly blasted with air conditioning. We got on base about 2000, had a briefing, and signed up for a flight out. Balad is pretty popular, so that flight filled up fast, and we had to be put on a waiting list. After we got everything squared away here, it was almost midnight, but only 1700 back home, so neither Josh or I were tired. Instead of going to bed, we walked around base. There is a PX, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, calling area, MWR (a wellness and recreation center) and much more, all open 24 hours a day. Everything is busy too, even at 2 in the morning. Ali Al Salem is a lot like Las Vegas in that respect....but only in that respect.

The flight to Balad left at 0400, but we were so far down the list we didn't get on it. So we had a formation at 1000, just to make sure we were still here, and now we sit and wait until tomorrow's flight, and see if we can get on that. We don't have anything to do, so at least we can catch up on our sleep, and movie watching. Someone said we could be here for a week waiting for a flight. I am praying for tomorrow. I'm not a big fan of tents.

I did take pictures of our flight and layovers, but the computer connector thing is in my other bag, so once we get on Balad, I'll post them.

Keep praying!!