Arrival

I checked into my hotel and headed out to find some food. Ahh - McDonalds.... Went in and saw a menu with a "Shwarma Value Meal" [???] and one with a "McRoyale With Cheese" - just like the guy says in the movie. I played it safe with the "Chicken Big Mac," at least that's what I thought. Because of either that or the six shots, including anthrax and small pox they gave me before my trip sent me into a two-day flu-like nightmare.

When I was finally able to emerge from my quarters, I realized the bar scene was not the only Star Wars parallel. A unit member said she felt like an Ewok from all the dust - and the dust is so bad that you can't even see the sun on a normal day. And the town has all the beauty and achitecture of Tijuana, except for more dirt and construction and no Chicklet kids.

I stay right a couple blocks from the main mosque. Really freaked me out when I heard the call to prayer for the first time. You just stop, look around and wonder what's going to happen next, then wonder if you are supposed to do something.