Djibouti - Week 1

Greetings from Djibouti!

In response to requests for information and in an effort to keep you all informed on the life and times of Brian Gates, I have decided to start a blog. The internet access here is shady at best so there is no guarantee how often it will be updated, but I thought I'd give it a try.

For those of you wondering what life is like in Djibouti, the following are my thoughts on week one.

I guess we should start with 1st things 1st. I am stationed at Camp Lemonnier (pronounced "lem-oh-nay", like “lemonade” without the "duh" at the end. I left a winter blizzard in DC on 30 Jan (yes, my birthday) and arrived in Djibouti 1Feb. I think the best way to describe Camp Lemonnier would be to compare it to summer camp when you were a kid. It's a lot like that. To get from one place to the next, you walk on a gravel road. It's warm outside and meals are eaten in the galley. You have to walk outside to get from your living quarters to the restroom. You get to call home once in a while and you are encouraged to drink plenty of water.

I sleep in a container living unit (CLU) pronounced “cl-oo”, like the board game “Clue”. All the CLU’s are clumped together in one general spot on base called, “CLUville” like in Dr. Sues. Currently my CLU is on the east end of base. My office is on the west end of base. It’s about a 12 minute walk from my side of CLUville to work. The CLU is basically the same thing that you see on a semi-truck. It’s split in half with two beds and a desk on each half. There are lockers, lights, power outlets, an AC, and a ventilation fan on each side of the CLU. I live in a dry CLU with no bathroom. I should be able to move in to a wet CLU soon, once the number of base occupants decreases.

We have wardroom (officers) PT on Wednesdays. Last Wed. we played ultimate Frisbee. That was fun. Temperatures have generally been in the 80s during the day and 70s at night. We are located 11 degrees north of the equator, hence there is a rec. center on base called, “11 Degrees North”.

I’ll try to post some pictures later. Right now I only have a Flip which takes video and I thought it took still pictures as well, but it’s a bit more difficult than I anticipated.

Ok, that’s all my info for now. I hope all is well with y’all!