The Smell of this Place

Something I meant to include in my last post, but forgot, was the smell of this city.  When I first traveled to Korea the entire country reeked of Kimchee.  The Philippines, at least Subic Bay, smelled of tropical humidity and raw sewage.  The main sewage outlet from Olongapo was “Shit River”.  I think the river’s true name is the Olongapo River and perhaps they use that name now but for decades the sailors only knew it as Shit River.  Even my father called it that and he last visited was the mid 50’s.  So what is my primary olfactory sensation from Islamabad?  It is the pungent odor of wild marijuana.  Every day I notice more of it, it grows everywhere; on the diplomatic enclave, across from the US Embassy, across the street from one of our General’s houses, in the parks, in the shopping area planters, on Pakistan’s military bases.  The smell is not overpowering and I imagine most American’s don’t even recognize it, but I do.  I find it amazingly surreal to be in a capitol that has that distinct, pungent, smell ever present.

Cinco De Mayo in Islamabad

 

Cinco de Mayo in Islamabad Pakistan.  Seems odd to have a get together on this occasion.  Then again seems odd that America has so fully accepted a fake holiday.  OK, that’s a bit harsh.  It’s a real thing but a minor one to be sure.  Here we are bad mouthing Mexicans for wanting to come north for work but we gladly usurp a minor holiday celebrating a victory over the French in 1862?  OK, OK, I should not be surprised as Saint Patrick’s Day has changed from a Catholic Saint’s Feast day to an excuse to obliterate our livers through copious consumption of alcohol.  Whoa, OK how did I get here?  Oh yeah, the 5^th of May.  Today.  It was a good day in Islamabad, for me anyway.  Another hike up the Margalla Hills.  Faster this time with a smaller group of more dedicated hikers.  After that I came back and glazed the Chocolate Damnation cake I made for today’s baking contest.  We had a chili cook off and baking contest at the General’s house.  Many people, lots of entries, lots of beer, a good time.

I missed out on “best dessert” to a guy that works for me.  He’s about to depart and has always baked for events.  To be fair very few people tried my cake as the first few destroyed it as quickly as possible!  It was the first dessert to vanish.  When the winner was announced the three star general turned to me and said “I think you just got fucked”  Too funny!  Afterwards a number of us filled water balloons and then took a position on the general’s 2^nd floor while others did the same at the house across the street.  Then we used huge sling shots to stage a water balloon artillery duel.  So today was a good day.  Actually I suppose I should say I had a good weekend… all one day of it.

Pakistani Elections



Election flags in Islamabad

Another day another earthquake.  We had a 5.7 this morning.  Nothing frightening, at least not frightening to someone who grew up in California and spent time in Japan.  Still though, this is the fourth reasonable sized tremor in the past 30 days.  I haven’t been here long enough to know if this is “normal” so I suppose I should do a bit of research on that.  It’s just another thing to be aware of here.  Awareness is important for expats in Pakistan.  Even though we have reasonably free movement within Islamabad there are limits.  Hiking in the Margala Hills or attending an art show at the Marriott or Hotel Serena require a locator card from the Regional Security Office at the Embassy.  This is a way to know where larger groups of American are in case the shit hits the fan.  When hiking we are always in groups.  There are two trails cleared for diplomatic personnel.  This means they have a larger military/police presence.  Mind you, very few here have actual diplomatic status.  I am here on an “official passport”.  It is brown, not blue like my tourist passport.  It allows me to be here and do my job but does not include the diplomatic immunity that a red “diplomatic passport” conveys. 

So awareness, Pakistan has elections scheduled for the 11th (next Saturday).  Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been blowing people up in the Northwest.  They have a standing threat against Americans.  Karachi has more of a serious criminal element threat than an insurgent threat.  Here in Islamabad we have only had to deal with demonstrations and marches.  I haven’t seen any of them myself as I am at work during more daylight hours and also because we receive notice to avoid these areas.  Funny, back in the late 80’s in Korea we used to specifically check out the student demonstrations.  But back then the threat was more from teargas and police. 

Political flags and banners are everywhere.  Clearly there is a great deal of energy pent up and waiting.  We shall see what these next few weeks bring.  Still, this is one more element to be aware of.  We live in a city covered with check points and detours.  For myself and the people I work with we simply flash our blue embassy badge and have no hassle.  It is pretty annoying though to have so many road blocks.  You want to go straight up a street but have to turn left to avoid barriers and then make a U-turn mid-block and then a left back at the intersection.  All the time being aware you’re in a right hand drive country.  All the time watching out for other cars, motorbikes, horse carts, pedestrians, bicycles and anything else that might interrupt your plans.  Driving here is barely controlled chaos.  Whoever reaches an intersection first has the implied right of way.  Cars and motorbikes will pass on either side of you, or cut you off just to turn in front of you.  Driving here takes a particular degree of diligence and awareness.  You have to negotiate the road obstacles, the chaotic traffic and still be vigilant in case some dumb ass has evil intentions.  Some of my co-workers spend a great deal of time driving cursing other drivers and aggressively trying to force them to drive like someone in the US.  That is such a waste of energy and cause of needless stress.  It is much easier simply to drive as the Pakistani’s do.    

I feel like I have something of an advantage having grown up in LA during the violence of the 70’s and 80’s.  Having big city street smarts is quite helpful in places like Pakistan. 

 

Life in Islamabad

 

I feel I should apologize for these posts being so few and far between.  The work load has picked up considerably.  As the lead logistician at a time when moving hardware to Pakistan is job #1 I am pretty busy.  Add to that the other areas I am in charge of, vehicles for all the personnel assigned to the Security Assistance Office, housing, and generally providing stats and answering questions about all of these processes I stay pretty busy during the six day work week.  Today is Sunday, for me it was another work day.  I owe an updated brief on vehicles to the one star in the morning.  This was my one chance to tackle it interruption free. 

 

The one thing keeping me grounded is Tai Chi Chuan.  I wake up and practice for a half hour every morning.  It keeps me from having allergy attacks, keeps me from stress, and generally makes me feel amazing.  I find that the more I practice the more it feels as if my feet are anchored to the earth.  The only struggle is trying to learn the remainder of the form from my teacher’s CD.  I miss the classes.  If anyone in the LA area wants to learn Wu style Tai Chi properly let me know and I’ll put you in touch with her. 

 

Life here is not bad.  I was a bit worried as I recalled the animosity between State and DOD at the embassy in Kabul.  Luckily this is an entirely different scene. This embassy is much nicer.  Lots of trees, hills, it has a college atmosphere to it.  None of the twisted Sci-Fi feel of Kabul.  Of course I do work in a welded steel building without windows.  That bit is a bit odd I suppose.  It is likely the safest building on the campus though.  Oh wait, there is one other surreal aspect to our Embassy in Pakistan.  It is in the large diplomatic enclave, a closely controlled and guarded area.  Coming from SoCal it was a bit weird to see thousands of marijuana plants growing like the weeds they are right across the small road from the main gate of the embassy.  It is an endemic plant in these parts. 

We work long hours but are being paid well for it.  I will contribute a fair amount of my pay to the local economy I imagine.  Tribal rugs and hand carved furniture are dirt cheap by western standards… but let’s put this in perspective.  A driver makes about $6,600/yr.  My usual lunch at the Handi Shandi costs less than $1.40.  I am one of the few who routinely eat with the locals who work at the embassy, curry chicken, dall, briani, naan, it’s all cheap and tasty!  Pakistan has had a deteriorating economy for years now and it shows in the prices.    

Margala Hills and… the Pakistani Weight Loss Program

There are no true certainties in Pakistan.  I’ve been here just 3 weeks but that much is apparent already.  One near certainty, if you have allergies Islamabad will remind you of it.  I found this truth right out the gate, day 7.  Went for a hike in the Margala Hills.  These look similar to the Santa Monica Mountains of LA… only different, different dirt, different plants, same general shape and height though.  Seven of us hiked, a mix of State Dept. and Military.  We went up trail 3 and back on 5, about 5 or 6 miles total.  At the top of the hike are a pair of restaurants where we hoped to buy some frozen yogurt.  Alas, the yogurt place opens at 10 and we were there at 10:05… so no luck.  Oh, I suppose I should explain that in Pakistan, just because a business opens at a specific time does not mean you can shop at that time.  10 was simply the time the workers arrived.  The yogurt would take a half hour or more before they could sell any.  So, back down we went.  It was a nice day, a good hike amongst the scattered goats and cattle. Seemed an odd place to forage cattle and goats but then who am I to judge?  This is the same area I hope to do some rock climbing in.  Apparently some of the Brits have bolted a number of sport routes in the hills.  Good news for me and once my rock shoes, harness and helmet arrive. 

The haze the day we hiked was also reminiscent of the LA basin.  Well, OK, the LA Basin of the mid-70’s.  Visibility was only a few miles.  Apparently this wasn’t smog so much as dirt, moisture and pollen.  At the end of the day I developed a sore throat that lasted for days.  No stuffy nose, just an inflamed airway.  Not too pleasant.  So I began getting back into my Tai Chi practice, half an hour daily first thing in the morning.  That quickly helped.  We shall see how it works over the course of the next year.       

Another near certainty in Pakistan is that, as a visitor, you will experience the unique Pakistani diet regime.  Or, as the professional medical types refer to it, an intestinal issue.  Be it traveler’s diarrhea, tape worms or whatever.  (Gee, I guess this post is going downhill faster than usual).  It’s now been a week since I properly digested anything.  Great weight loss tool I must say!  So anyway the usual treatment of antibiotics didn’t touch it.  I need to head back to the clinic when they open Monday and see what my next option is.  In the mean time I am beginning to think differently about food.  I do like the local Pakistani fare but at the moment nothing sounds remotely appetizing.  This must be the adventure part the Navy used to advertise!        

Here we go again.... off into the void!

I am sitting in what appears to be a 3^rd world airline terminal.  We landed on a runway with only about a mile of visibility due to the ever present blowing sand.  It’s really more like brown talcum powder than sand, but whatever.  The runway looks unkempt, weeds growing through the concrete on the shoulders of the taxi ways.  Now inside, the terminal is under construction, I think.  Welcome to Kuwait!  I have never been fond of Kuwait but thought that might be because I had only been on military facilities here.  I can’t say this terminal has helped my perception.  My fellow passengers milling about or slouched in chairs are a mixed bunch… many American’s looking like military of contractors, a fair number of Arabs in traditional Bedouin garb and about a hundred Chinese in cheap suits all seated together.

This is the start of my five hour layover.  I am waiting on Kuwait Airlines to find and weigh my checked bags so I’ll know how many dollars I need to convert to dinars for the excess fees.  I kicked off this portion of my trip at noon on 23 Mar when I departed St. Robert, MO.  If you take that as my start point I will be traveling for about 31 hours when I finally reach my new residence in Islamabad’s Diplomatic Quarter tomorrow morning. 

It’s been a busy 2 ½ months since I came back on active duty.  After a week of initial processing and uniform issue in San Diego I flew off to Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.  That was for a course in Foreign Military Assistance.  After OH I few to Camp McCredy, Fort Jackson, near Columbia, South Carolina.  That is where the Navy goes to learn how to fire and clean M4 carbines (a short M16) and M9 pistols (9mm Beretta’s).  We also received training in exiting rolled over vehicles, battlefield medicine, crew served weapons (machine guns)… all fun stuff.  Most of the time we were wearing full body armor, in the mud firing on the ranges while the temp hovered in the 40’s and heavy drizzle soaked us.  That is training all Navy receive before assignment to CENTCOM, even those heading to Tampa, FL!  I’ve been through it twice now, both times during winter.  From what I have heard you definitely want to attend this training in winter as wearing full armor on a South Carolina summer day is not much fun.  Anyway, my last course was an evasive driving course two hours west of St Louis.  That was the best course I have ever taken while in the military.  They specifically asked we don’t post anything about the course online so I won’t get into details here.  Just know that I now have some skills I have wanted to learn since I began driving! 

Now I am nearly finished with my ramp up to this new position.  Early tomorrow I will finally be in Pakistan.  My predecessor leaves in a week so the turnover will be a bit intense.  It will be nice to get started.  It will be nice to finally have my pay fixed so I get the proper amount and no longer have to juggle finances.  Funny, those whose only knowledge of Pakistan is Fox News or the film Zero Dark Thirty think I am nuts and worry I will be in grave danger.  Since getting these orders I have met a half dozen or so people who have been posted to Pakistan in the past.  Every one of them tells me I will love it.  I am heading in with an open mind.  It is part of the land Kipling wrote about.  I enjoyed my time in Afghanistan I see no reason I won’t enjoy my time in Pakistan.  I’ll find out soon enough.

 

DEPLOYING FOR UNCLE

Funny thing, I began blog entries for my most recent foray into the “Stans” way back last fall.  I didn’t post them as I’ve been struggling with what I want to say and how I wish to say it.  Also, last fall I was updating my government clearance, a very obtrusive affair.  Many of my neighbors and friends were questioned by FBI agents to determine if I was a candidate for blackmail or inclined to sell my country for some coin.  During that process I thought it wise not to exercise my 1^st amendment rights.  While most US citizens have the right to speak as they please, that does not apply to the military.  We must be more cautious.  We can get in trouble if we speak out of turn.  All you civilians out there should take time to thank the military for the right to speak as you please.  It is a privilege we do not enjoy so freely.

Anyway, I now find it’s the beginning of February.  I am in training for a deployment of a year… or two.  I write this from an air force base in Ohio.  I am in training for Security Assistance.  You may ask what that means.  A friend of mine told me “oh, you’re going to be a runner”… meaning gun runner.  Much as that may sound adventurous and sexy the truth is a wee bit more complex (like everything in life).  I will be part of an office that helps nations prevent wars.  How does that work you may ask.  After all won’t you be helping nations arm up?  The mission we will do does involve selling arms but also involves training the host country’s military to be a more professional force.  The hope is that by assisting our friends to be properly protected and able to interact seamlessly with our military forces we will make wars less likely. 

OK, OK, I know what you may be thinking… friends like Iran, Libya, Iraq, South Vietnam, gee those did not turn out so swell.  True enough but the most important aspect of our mission is building relationships with our foreign counterparts.  The military in many countries is extremely influential.  If we are able to build close ties we improve the chance we can have a positive impact on regional developments that help forestall wars.  I’m heading to a crucial part of the world that could devolve and end quite badly.  That would be a shame and I am happy to be part of the effort to keep that from happening.  So while you enjoy the opportunity to protest, speak your mind, to spend time with family and friends, I join the large number of military and state dept personnel stationed in faraway lands.  It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it.  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1g9PFtSCKw