Another Posting ... I'm on a Roll

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14 April 2010
Greetings from Kuwait - Salaam Alaikum

I've been land and pond hopping quite a bit lately. To start off, Jon's been off at Graf for the past three weeks. Graf is short for Grafenwohr, a huge training area on the eastern part of Germany right by the Czech border. He comes home for a few days and then goes back for another two weeks.

So what exactly have I been up to? It all began about a week before Jon left. I was on the phone with my parents and I mentioned that I was going to be "All by Myself" (insert song by Celine Dion) for a while once Jon left for Graf. My parents, always looking for an excuse to see their favorite child, invited me to come to Kuwait for 3 weeks, to work and spend time with them. Who can resist an offer like that when one has not seen their family since October?

Off I went from Germany to Kuwait. The trip was rather uneventful, except for the first part. I couldn't find an umbrella in my home and it was PORING outside. Jon had already left so I didn't have a ride to the train station. The train station is about a 10-15 minute walk from our place so I didn't mind walking, except for the fact that it was raining cats and dogs. By the time I arrived at the train station, I was soaking wet! Thankfully I dried off during the train ride so I didn't look like I had jumped into a pool when I got to the airport.

I got into Kuwait and found out that for Spring Break the family was going to St. George, UT. "Do you want to come with us Allison?" So I was off again on another plane ride. 27 hours later, I was finally home in my beloved St. George. I haven't been in the US since June 2009 so I was excited to be back!

Spending time in St. George was exactly what I needed. I spent plenty of time relaxing, playing Ping Pong, and reading books. I saw friends and family and ate Cafe Rio, Mongolian BBQ, In-N-Out and other good 'ole American food!

The trip back to Kuwait was a little agonizing. I escorted my 3 younger siblings back to Kuwait while my Mom and Dad stayed in Utah to go to a wedding. We drove to SLC, had a quick visit with G-Pa and G-Ma Gibbs, caught a red-eye flight from SLC to NY, flew from NY to D.C., had a 9 hour layover, and then took a 13 hour flight back to Kuwait...Phew!

I'm still in Kuwait right now as I write this blog update. I've been going into Gryphon's Kuwait office to work (which has been helpful in combating the jet lag). I'm actually in the airport right now, waiting for my flight to head back to Germany (leaves at 12:40am) and will arrive in Frankfurt tomorrow morning at oh dark hundred hours...another red-eye...yay.

I'm excited to see springtime in Germany (insert song from the Producers). When I left it was finally warming up and the trees were getting ready to blossom. Sorry there aren't any pictures in the post, I left my camera home in Germany.

Until next time, Aufwiedersehen!