Day on the town

Well, Saturday was a very enlightening day for me.

We left the base around 11. After some driving around, we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel here in Doha around 12:30. I have got to say that the drive to the hotel is amazing. Doha is an incredibly city that has a very bright future ahead of it. The architecture is a reflection of some of the other countries in this region, but not quite as earth-shattering as Dubai. None the less, it's just something you need to see in person to fully appreciate.

After arriving at the hotel, we all head into the locker rooms to change and head outside. The hotel has a VERY nice pool with a swim-up bar and tons of space to just lay around in the sun. As nice as that sounds, my main focus is the beach. It's just so relaxing to lay by the gulf and hear nothing but waves and the occasional creeking noise from my chair as I reach for my drink. It gives one a lot of time to think with a clear head and just appreciate where you are in life.

I'd have to say the most eye-opening experience of the day came while I was sitting on the edge of the pool later that afternoon. Upon arrival to Qatar, they brief us that we shouldn't look at any of the muslim women, that they are very strict here, and that American's should just keep to themselves. I've been following those rules, and at times it is very tough, the women are beautiful. However, one thing I made an exception for was the child of a Muslim family at the pool. The mother was dressed in the traditional burqa, and the father was wearing a swim suit. Their son who was playing around where I was sitting had to be maybe 5 or 6 years old. He came over to me and started saying a few words in Arabic and held out his hand for a hi-five. I just kind of looked over at his parents expecting to see some sort of angry glance, but instead, they were smiling at me.

Now, assuming that this child wasn't saying "We're going to slice you open," I was both confused and enlightened. I gave him a hi-five, he smiled, and said a few more words. His father came over, and asked if the child was being an annoyance. Of course I said no, and he smiled and walked away. Now this is where the enlightenment comes into play.

I was thinking about how if I was alive in the 60s and brought a black girl home to my parents, the reaction I would get from them, our neighbors, my extended family, etc. Scary to think about, eh? Now it's really no big deal with most families. I think the girl I dated with Vietnamese descent was my moms favorite one out of all of my friends. I started to think about in maybe 10 years or so it'll be different between Muslims and us westerners. Until a few years ago, this place was nothing special. Now, over 20,000 Americans live in Doha, and that's not including the thousands of Aussies, Brits, and other folks from Asia and Africa who live here. With an increased presence, the children who live here are now growing up with ties to all of us, as opposed to their parents, who just kind of saw us walk in out of the blue. It gives me hope for the future, as cliche as that sounds.

I understand this is Qatar, not Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or Afghanistan, but it's certainly a start.

In conclusion, I'm learning that despite religious, racial, and any number of other differences we have, people are people.

I'm a lucky man

Well, it took me nearly three years to realize this, but drunken anger and childish sarcasm aside, I'm a happy guy.

No. I don't really show it all the time.

Yes, I've got hardly any tolerance for things that get on my nerves, and yes, the list is quite long.

Yes, I do act out when I'm not enjoying myself.

...That's not what I'm talking about.

With my third anniversary of enlistment coming up in roughly one month, I've had a lot of questions on my mind. This is going to be the half-way point for me. In another three years, I can hang up my boots (although it doesn't seem practical, seeing as how they fit just perfectly under the bed) and leave the military for good. But is that what awaits me? I'm not sure.

Anyhoo, this epiphany of my happiness came to me as I was sitting on the beach in the middle east. I realized that I'm fortunate I've got a great assignment full of unique experiences back in the states. I realized that I have a family that cares about me back at home, despite the fact I try to deny they exist sometimes. I also realize that while I may be friendly with hundreds of folks, I've got 20 something people in my life that I consider good friends. If it wasn't for me joining, I wouldn't have met over half of them. All of these things combined make me think I've got a pretty fair hand in life.

My friends in DC are incredible people. There aren't many people out there who would make you waffles the morning after you throw up on their husband on your 21st birthday. There also aren't many people who would offer up free tickets to DC United matches frequently, or simply look after the young naive boy who just kind of showed up one day and never left.

I also have a good group of friends back from Pennsylvania. While most are still at home, many have scattered throughout the world in the past three years, which is awesome. It makes me glad that I'm not the only one having all of these crazy cultural experiences, and that I'll have someone to share my experiences with, and they can counter me with their experiences. I'm also grateful I had two good friends to travel through England with.

But back to my original ramble about the military. Nearly three years ago, I was another recruit standing in a line getting my head shaved getting yelled at by a scary bald man with a silly hat, ensuring me that I'm not going to amount to anything. I would have been a fool to believe him. I have realized that in the past three years, I've done more and experienced more than I ever thought I would in the first 30 years of my life. I've been to Europe, I'm currently in Qatar, I'm stationed in the nation's capitol and work with the Presidents plane. I'm also getting ready to have my own apartment. This isn't meant to be bragging. This is just me in pure disbelief that the goofy lanky kid with a strange awkward sense of humor is slowly becoming a decent member of society. I really don't think I'm me sometimes, if that makes any sense. It makes sense to me, and that's quite ok.

This is just me realizing that I made the right choice by skipping college right out of high school. I finally feel free from every doubt that I've had of myself in the past 6 years.

So will I re-enlist in three years? Leave the military? Get a job? Go back to school? I can't say yet. If I've learned this much in three years, I can't imagine what I'm going to learn in the next three.