I'm back!

After a brief hiatus, I am back!  My last post was from New Year's Eve.  Since then, quite a bit has happened so I will try and fill you as much as possible.  At least I will write about everything I can remember! ;)

Early January brought some unwanted activities to Algiers.  Terrorists attacked an oil base in the south of Algeria and took hostages.  We had 3 Americans killed.  Our embassy was working non-stop to get as many Americans out alive as possible.  It was a very stressful time and we worked crazy hours.  I didn't see daylight for many days.  It was a very emotional and difficult period.  The senseless death of those people was very hard for me to deal with.  I was angry and sad.  It helped to talk about it but it took many weeks before I could finally be at peace with it. 

On top of dealing with that, we also had threats of Westerners being kidnapped so our safety posture was tightened up.  We were basically on lock down for over a month.  The people with young children we on ordered departure (which means they had to leave the country until it was cleared for them to return).  The rest of the family members had the option of authorized departure (which means they could leave if they wanted to but had to stay out of the country until it was cleared for them to return).  Kirk opted to stay here with me.  Thank goodness everything quieted down so that those who did have to leave were only out of the country for 30 days.

The rainy season has been in full swing so the weather has been rainy, gray and cold.  We have had several bouts of freezing rain/sleet.  This country is definitely not prepared for snowy/icy weather!  The roads are super narrow and winding.  It is extremely hilly and driving up a hill in an armored vehicle without snow tires was quite an experience.  But I have to give kudos to our motor pool drivers because they got the job done and I arrived safely at work! :)

Because of all the things that happened at the beginning of the month, we had lots of people who came to Embassy Algiers to assist us with things.  That increased my workload and things stayed pretty hectic until mid-February.

So, that brings us to our first R&R (rest and recuperation) in mid-February.  We booked a 12 day Mediterranean cruise.  Details on that adventure to follow soon!  We have to go up the fruit & vegetable market and the butcher before we head off to a BBQ today.