July 2, 2008
When I flew into Doha on my "lengthy" 47 hour turn-around before running off to Greece I was struck by just how dusty and devoid of color this country really is compared to such a tropical paradise as Indonesia. Now after flying in from Greece last night at 11:00 PM…it was 95° with 1000 meter visibility due to a sand storm, today it is 115°…I am so glad to be back…(you can tell I was kidding…right?)
After dropping RD off at the hospital I ran over to the mall to pick up some meat and fresh produce. I stepped out of the car and had a 100 meter walk to the door. It felt like someone had turned ten blow dryers on high, pointed them straight at me, and thrown in a handful of sand just to top it off. God I love this place…
July 10, 2008
The week has been busy washing clothes, repacking suitcases, organizing my next trip to Gili (yes, I’m going back…) and touching base with a few people here in Doha. Turns out my neighbor has been struggling with debilitating back pain and of course waited until today to tell me...gave her a quick once over and taped her with Kinesio-tape to get her through her flight to England tomorrow. Also ended up treating one of the doc’s this week as well. At least it gives me a chance to maintain my “touch”.
Tomorrow we fly to Chicago for RD to start a board review course and we have flown the kids in to spend 3 days with us there. We are so looking forward to seeing everyone and RD is beside himself at the prospect of getting to spend time with Bridger (who is now 11 months old!).
July 11-15, 2008
We landed in Chicago (after about 26 hours of traveling) and were immediately struck by the feeling of being home. There is something about the United States that makes itself felt even if you are in a place that is not familiar. You just “know” you are in the USA. Is it the space, everything being so big and wide-open? Is it the smell? Is it the organization of infrastructure (so sorely lacking in many of the countries we have visited)? Whatever it is it is a welcome feeling.
The moment I laid eyes on Bridger the first word that popped into my head was “Bob”…oh my God, that kid could not possibly look more like RD’s father. It really is quite remarkable. Unfortunately he is in that hopefully short-lived phase of only wanting “Mommy”…RD is devastated. I think he had expected to hold him the whole three days and that just isn’t going to happen.
RD’s calendar dyslexia reared it’s ugly head…he thought we would have all day Saturday and Sunday to spend with the kids but as it turned out his course started Sunday so his only full day was on Saturday. After that he had to be satisfied with taking us all out to dinner in the evenings. (I took us all out to lunch during the day).
It was really nice (but too short) to spend time with the kids.
July 15, 2008
I left for Montana today with the kids…it was really hard leaving RD behind. He has a few more days of class then will fly out to Washington, D.C. to spend time with our friend Walt (I suspect fishing will be involved) and then he will take his boards before flying back to Qatar.
I landed in Helena at nearly 11:00 PM and both Bob and Barb (RD’s parents) were there to greet me. It felt so good to be home and with people who love me.
July 16-17, 2008
I spent most of the two days just hanging out with Bob and Barb, telling stories and generally just relaxing. There was a gift of a new computer waiting for me at the house (from RD, he does not have a poker face so I cannot believe he was able to keep this a secret!) That man is so good to me!
Steve had gotten my little Audi out of storage for me and after a brief search for paperwork and a trip to Boulder to get it re-registered I had wheels! What I was not prepared for was the $52 tab it cost me for ¾ of a tank…I don’t think we spend that much in a whole month in Qatar! (I know…you’re all weeping big crocodile tears for me…)
Steve called me earlier today and suggested a sunset ride. Lynna (my horse) was too far out to round up but he offered me one of his. We did a two hour ride through forest service land just to the east of the ranch ending with a seat in the grass on a hillside overlooking the ranch watching the sun go down…it was pure heaven to me. The smell of the woods, the color green (so lacking in Doha), even saw a few deer! I do miss the woods…I guess RD did turn me into a “mountain girl” after all.
July 18-21, 2008
Drove to Missoula this AM. First thing I noticed was that it was really hard to go 75 mph! The top speed in Doha is 100 KPH which is about 60 MPH. It took me about an hour to get comfortable with 75! I really must be getting old.
Once in Missoula (which also was a welcome familiar sight) I ran a few errands and then headed for the lake to spend the weekend with Bev and Clancy Cone. They were gracious enough to put up with me for the whole weekend and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was so nice to just relax and be with good friends. It is definitely one of the things I have missed while living in Qatar.
July 21-24, 2008
Suffice it to say my time in Missoula flew by in a blur. I squeezed in as many friends as I could and apologize to all those I did not have time to see. (I will be back in October I promise!)
On the 24th I drove back up to Helena to ride with Bob and Barb to RD’s nephews wedding. That turned out to be a great way to see a lot of people! Rick and Jane were up from Tennessee (on their motorcycle no less!), Bev had driven over from Oregon, Gary and Deb were of course there because it was their son Kail getting married and then Steve and Laura and their kids and grandkids. I was the only one representing the “RD Marks” side of the family so it was nice that I could be there.
July 25, 2008
Tried one more time, unsuccessfully, to get into the gun safe (my gemstones are in there). I was hoping to bring some back to Qatar so I can resume my hobby of making jewelry but it was not to be. I’ll just have to make a larger haul in October. At noon I flew to Scottsdale to spend the weekend with my childhood friend Deb. It was intriguing to note that July in Scottsdale didn’t feel nearly as bad after experiencing July in Doha…I remember when I thought she was nuts to live in that heat! It felt like “Springtime” in Doha.
It is so awesome to have a friend that you have known for 40 years who you know in your bones will always accept you no matter what. We sat and talked for hours on end!
July 28-August 6, 2008
Flew to Houston (another hot and muggy spot that still felt cool compared to Doha) to spend time with Kathleen and Gene, my dear friends I met in Beijing (they still haven’t been able to shake me 12 years later).
We ate, drank, talked and shopped until we dropped (I had to buy a new suitcase to get all my purchases home). To put this in perspective I did buy all new scuba equipment, 5# of pepperoni and 8 packages of Margarita mix. I realize this sounds like an odd shopping list but consider this; my old scuba gear finally died on me (and I am going back to Indonesia on August 16th to dive some more), you can’t get a decent pizza in Doha (and what’s a pizza without pepperoni) and the Margarita mix is self explanatory…
August 7-8, 2008
After leaving Houston and arriving in DC I had a 7 hour layover to kill. It’s amazing what you can find to do in airports these days. I had a manicure, a pedicure and a half hour seated neck and back massage!
Finally it was time to get on the plane for the 14 hour flight to Doha. The woman sitting next to me had the most overwhelming body odor, I actually gagged when she sat down next to me. I was on the aisle and she was up twice in the first half hour…this was going to be a very long flight…but then miraculously she never came back! Thank God the flight was not full.
14 hours, 2 naps, 2 movies and 2 meals later we finally arrived. It was such a welcome sight to see RD walking up to the door of the airport to greet me. We have been apart way too long. I stepped outside and almost fainted. The air is so hot it feels like your lungs are burning when you breath, and by the time we walked across the parking lot to the car I was soaked with sweat.
August 12, 2008
I am currently struggling with a body clock that does not know what country it is in. Since I have been unable to sleep I have chosen to stay up 36 hours and then try to hit the sheets tonight at a reasonable hour. I guess that’s what you get from all the traveling I’ve been doing. So far I’ve just been holed up in the villa, washing clothes and packing two suitcases. One for Indonesia and one for Montana.
We leave for Indonesia on the 16th and will stay in Bali until the 22nd then take a boat to Gili Trawangan where I will be doing my Divemaster internship (couldn’t do it before because I was already booked for Greece and the US). The last week of August will be spent diving with the local guides to refresh my memory of the dive sites because starting September 1st the regular guides (who are all Muslim) will not be able to dive for the entire month due to Ramadan. (Along with not being able to eat or drink during daylight hours they can’t get water in their ears or mouth…don’t ask me I don’t have a clue). So during the month of Ramadan I will be helping out and guiding tourists (it’s the high season for tourists). I’ll be staying there until October 5th and then will fly to Spokane, WA (via Taiwan) so that I can run over to central WA and visit my parents. RD is returning to Doha on August 29th then he will be going to Montana in mid-September (while I’m still in Gili) so he will get to spend a lot more time there than I will (along with pining for a Grandbaby fix, he has already rounded up a ticket for the Grizzlies Homecoming game, and he walks around mumbling names of his favorite trout streams trying to decide where to go first). RD is of course in charge of our wilderness plans but I suspect we will be spending at least two weeks in the woods and then have about a week to visit with friends in Missoula and family in Clancy. 
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