Let's see...
A few weeks ago, some friends and I decided to take a dive trip off of the coast of Oman. It is amazing. The landscape changes from sandy desert to rocky mountains in a matter of a 90 minute drive. Crazy.
The diving was really great and the water clarity was very nice. The water temperature was actually quite cool and we had to wear wetsuits.
We saw all sorts of fish and wildlife. It was really nice.
I have spent the last two weeks in Turkey. I was there for work, but was able to go to a Lenny Kravitz concert. It was awesome. It was a pretty small venue with only about 2,500 screaming people. The concert took place right on the Bosphorus and the view was breathtaking. The pictures aren't great because they are from my blackberry. Sorry.
I was there for a week of work, then spent some time in "the village" with some friends. This part of Turkey is not like Istanbul at all. It was lush countyside and everywhere I looked there were sunflowers. It was really nice.
Oh, and no one spoke a word of English. It was very relaxing. We barbequed and at great Turkish food, hung out with old men and played backgammon. In Turkish villages, they customarily have a place where all of the men sit and drink tea (chai) and coffee (mostly tea) and play card games or read the paper while talking about gossip and the local news (I think). It was really great. My friend Shaun and I went and drank tea and played backgammon. Good times.
The house in which we were staying did not have air conditioning so we kept the windows open at night. For those of you who know me, you know that isn't a big deal. I can sleep just about anywhere and don't mind the fresh air...unless there is a rooster involved!!!!!! I managed to pick up a new nemisis while I was there. Not cool. At 5:30 every morning, my good friend would do his thing. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is a biological thing and he couldn't help it, but this was no ordinary "good morning" cock-a-doodle-do. This was a "I am being strangled by the neighbor's dog and am screaming for help" cock-a-doodle-do.
When we first got to the village on Friday, we sat down outside to have dinner. We sat down for soup, beans, and rice with chicken. As we got to the rice, Devrim (my friends 3.5 year old son asked a simple question. "Mom, what happened to the rooster that was being mean and chasing me around last weekend?" His grandmother, who doesn't speak English, said (in Turkish) "You got the last laugh!" As he raised a piece of chicken to his mouth! It was really funny!!! The food was obviously fresh and homemade. It was wonderful! This is a picture of me and Devrim.
After the weekend in the village, we made the journey back to Istanbul for another week of work. I am now back in Dubai and have TONS of laundry to do!! More soon!
