JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina-based Marine was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow Marine on Sunday as the pair argued over a football game, according to local media reports.

Cpl. Johnathon Clinton Rodriguez, 21, an aircraft electrical systems technician at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, was shot in the chest around 1 a.m. at an off-base home in Havelock, according to an air station news release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lionel Loya, 23, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to The Daily News of Jacksonville. His rank was not immediately available. Friends told authorities that he and Rodriguez were assigned to Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2.

Havelock Police Department Chief G. Wayne Cyrus told The Daily News that Rodriguez and Loya were watching the Texas-Nebraska football game at Loya’s home when they began to argue.

“It was just friendly banter going back and forth,” Cyrus told the newspaper. “One was a Texas fan and one was not.”

The bickering led to a scuffle — and then a gunshot, Cyrus said. A .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol was recovered from the scene.

Loya was arrested by civilian police and later released to military authorities. Cherry Point officials would not release any details about him, citing the ongoing investigation.

Rodriguez joined the Corps in May 2007. He served one tour in Iraq.

By Calvin Palmer

An argument between two U.S. Marines over the Texas-Nebraska college football game ended up with one them being accidentally shot to death.

Police in North Carolina said Johnathan Clinton Rodriguez, 21, was shot early Sunday after banter escalated into a scuffle at a home in Havelock.

Lionel Hoya, 23, had a gun that went off during the struggle and has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. He has been transferred to military authorities.

Texas beat Nebraska 13-12 on a last-second field goal to win the Big 12 championship on Saturday.

[Based on a report by the Los Angeles Times.]

Thanks to the trusty moped we were up at the jetty ticket office right at opening time.  There were already a handful of people queuing as if their lives depended on it – arms splayed, pressed up unnecessarily close to the person in front - the usual Indian habit.  PZ bravely stepped into the fray whilst I stood guard from the back of the line.  After 30 minutes a couple of chaps turned up at the office and sat around for another 20 minutes before opening the ticket window to let us know the island was once again without power.  As we really needed to get off the island that day to make connecting flights etc. I might have started to panic a little bit, but encouraged by PZ I managed to remain (relatively) calm.  We were told to come back in 30 minutes, so we took the opportunity to refuel.  This served us well and by the time they decided to open the ticket office PZ was at the front of the line and a little while later we finally secured our tickets off the island!! 

Adios amigos!

Today we woke as moped virgins, but ended the day as experts!  With our new means of getting around the island we decided to make the jetty our first port of call to sort out our ferry tickets once and for all.  We felt sure today was going to be the day when everything went right, we had a moped for crying out loud, how could anything go wrong?  I got a pretty quick answer when told the whole island had lost power.  Determined not to let this ruin our moped high, we set off to the other side of the island to what was reportedly the best beach around, thankfully the reports turned out to be true.  The power came back on just before the daily one hour blackout at our resort so we took refuge in the bistro where I very much enjoyed defeating PZ at backgammon by candlelight. 

Backgammon by candlelight

Click!

It seems a good idea to sort out our return ferry ticket as soon as possible so we can relax and unwind during our 3 days on the island.  With plenty of time on our hands we decide to walk back to the jetty along the beach.  When we arrive the man in the ticket office is just about to leave, presumably for lunch and it seems that this is very good timing, however when we approach the man he grunts at us and proceeds to walk away.  Not quite sure what to do with ourselves we loiter for a little while and rejoice when we see that the man is coming back.  Unfortunately the internet is down so he cannot issue us with a ticket.  We do the only thing you can do in such a situation, we smile and walk away.

Bamboo Lodge

Breakfasted, checked out and on our way to the airport in a taxi by 7:15am all is going according to plan until our driver pulls over and gets out to change a tyre without a word.  By this stage we are so far out of town there are no other available cabs and all my yelling and screaming is pretty useless but I continue regardless.  We eventually make it to the airport and a 2 hour flight later sees us arrive in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.  A nice young chap overcharges us for our ferry tickets and the privilege of being picked up at the airport and after another 2.5 hours on the ferry we arrive at Havelock.  Even though we have already completed the permit forms upon arrival at the airport, after getting off the ferry we stand in line yet again so someone else can re-write the permit details into another book.  Just in case enough paper hasn’t been wasted, we complete 2 new forms upon arrival at our resort.

Loo roll theivery as witnessed at Kolkata International Airport

Since finishing all of my ABA training around the end of September, I’ve been working with a kid in Havelock near Cherry Point Marine Base… I wasn’t the actual tutor, but I had trained with the girl who had been assigned to him, and to make it so I wasn’t sitting around twiddling my thumbs while they got the paperwork together for my kid, I was assigned to be a “data collector”, basically so I could still be working and getting on-the-job experience and all of my training wouldn’t go to waste.

It was so amazing to see the progress *Brian made in a little over a month. He learned so many things, and some of the little things we were teaching him began to leak over into his everyday life (which is the goal, of course), but I just wasn’t expecting to see it happen so soon, and so easily. Things like asking for things instead of just grabbing them, and learning to tolerate unexpected change much better, down to more basic things like turn-taking when playing a board game.

When I started on my Bachelor’s in Social Science last July, I was just going for a general degree so I could be a teacher, and I was hoping to become a high school art teacher, since with all of my art credits, I am able to have a “concentration in Art” on my Bachelor’s.  It wasn’t that I didn’t *want* to work with younger kids, I’d just never given it any thought. Growing up I was never really a babysitter and never really interacted with kids enough to think that it was what I would want to do. Even when I thought about being an art teacher, I wanted to teach high school kids, because they would (maybe) be more serious about art, and I could help foster the ones who might have wanted to make art a career or go to art school.

I’ll be finishing up my degree in July of 2010, and I can’t decide if I want to add a minor in Child Development. It would only be 6 classes… so, 30 weeks since each class is only 5 weeks. I think having the knowledge would be extremely useful and probably helpful in future jobs, I just don’t want to hold up my Bachelor’s. So, I need to call my advisor and ask some questions. I wish I could already be “granted” my Bachelor’s, so to speak, while working on my minor. I’ll find out.

The other option is instead of the minor in Child Development, I could simply go out to Craven Community College and get my credentials in whatever age group I’d like to work with. These decisions are so difficult to make on my own. I wish I had someone to talk to. Maybe I can go out to Craven CC and talk to someone out there as well.

I really need to weigh my options.

And the whole point of this entry was to say I am no longer “merely” a data collector, and tomorrow I get to meet the child that I will be tutoring. I’m excited & nervous! Wish me luck.

*names changed.

For anger management classes in North Carolina visit www.masteringanger.com or call 704-804-0841.

For anger management classes in North Carolina visit www.masteringanger.com or call 704-804-0841.

Manzara is TravelPod’s Local Expert for Turkey. He’s always got a funny street sign to share with us or an interesting travel news update. Besides that, of course he is well versed in all things Turkey. He took the time to answer some questions about living in Turkey for me.

David Chadwick is TravelPod's Local Expert in Turkey

Why did you become a Local Expert?

Travel is very important to us. We usually plan a four-week ‘long-haul’ holiday each year, in addition to exploring Turkey where we now live. We research our holidays in deadly detail and for a number of years have been offered excellent advice from forums such as TravelPod. Becoming a Local Expert, allows me to help ‘pay back’ the superb help we have received in the past and which has ensured our holidays have been enjoyed to the full.

What are the best and worst things about living in Turkey?

There are so many good things about living here and we have had no regrets following our decision to abandon the UK Rat Race. We now enjoy a much simpler and more relaxed lifestyle; live in a safer environment; eat more healthily with so much fresh food on offer; and, of course, living in a small fishing village on the tip of the Çeşme Peninsula, we have a choice of so many spectacular beaches with crystal-clear waters for relaxation.

After living in Turkey for over twelve years, what we would have considered the ‘worst things’ in our first few years, are now considered simply ‘minor irritations’! Turkish bureaucracy, for example, can often try your patience. We used to miss some of our favourite foods but the choice of products here has grown tremendously in recent years.

What are the top five things for travelers to do outside of Turkey from your personal experiences?

(In no particular order)

1. Snorkel in the Red Sea
2. Visit Jordan and include Petra and floating in the Dead Sea on your itinerary
3. Spot a tiger, leopard and other exciting wildlife at Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan
4. Swim and snorkel off Elephant Beach, Havelock, Andaman Islands
5. Explore the paradise beaches of Zanzibar (such as Pongwe Beach) and find time to visit Jozani Forest to see the Kirk’s Red Colobos Monkey, Zanzibar being the only place in the world to see this rare, endangered (and very playful) species.

What are some of your best and worst travel experiences?

As we plan our holidays so carefully, we haven’t had any really bad experiences. The reason I spend so much time researching them is that although we don’t mind surprises on holiday, we don’t want any bad ones!

Probably our best experiences have been the superb snorkeling in the Andaman Islands (especially Havelock) and in the Red Sea, and the sensation of floating effortlessly in the Dead Sea during a visit to Jordan earlier this year was quite amazing!

I suppose the worst experience was in Sri Lanka when, on the penultimate day of our stay. We had arranged for a car and driver to take us from our hotel in Unawatuna to the capital Colombo for our flight home the following day. Looking at the map, it looked as though we would have plenty of time to visit (not enough research here, David!) Sinharaja Rain Forest – Deniyaya entrance. I think the problems began when our driver couldn’t find the Deniyaya entrance and consequently the experienced guide we were supposed to meet there. Anyway, our driver who wasn’t to be beaten ‘picked’ up a passing wood cutter and ‘employed’ him as our guide. To be honest, we didn’t see a great deal of exceptional flora and fauna apart from a few purple-faced Langur monkeys high up in the trees. But there were the leeches of course – always included in abundance in any respectable rain forest.

Tracker Elaine (always prepared for everything, clever so and so) placed plastic bags over her socks which stopped the leeches dropping down the sides of her shoes and attaching them to her feet. I didn’t and the result was typical. I had leeches all around my feet and legs. Then a long drive – five hours less would have been a bonus – to Colombo and our overnight stay. Not one of our better days out!

What is your proudest accomplishment?

I hope I am allowed to substitute the word “accomplishment” with “experience” on this occasion. Call it writer’s license. I have to go back to the mid-1970’s. I was traveling through India with a colleague monitoring foreign aid projects on behalf of UK voluntary agencies. We were fortunate enough to arrange two meetings with Mother Teresa at the Missionaries of Charity convent at 54A Lower Circular Road, Calcutta.

We met in her modest office and although a tiny, almost frail looking woman, her spirituality, gentleness and quiet determination filled the room. I shall never forget spending time at the convent, meeting the other sisters, joining them in the chapel for early morning prayers with the whole group singing “in our honour” their hymn ‘Something Beautiful for God’. A truly amazing experience.

Where are you planning on traveling in the future?

Well, we always seem to adding to the ever-increasing list of places we plan to visit. Malaysia is certainly one and possibly one or two of the South Pacific islands if our budget will allow. However, some travel decisions are suddenly being made for us. With a son now living in America and a daughter moving to Western Australia in January 2010, another two destinations are now in the pipeline!

What do you do with most of your time?

Elaine would say I spend most of my time at the Laptop! It’s not strictly true, but I keep up with the TravelPod Forum (of course!), I am Destination Expert for Çeşme on Trip Advisor; SuperMod (think that’s a misspelling of SuperMAD!) on Turkey Central; and complete the occasional questionnaire on behalf of Lonely Planet’s Travellers’ Pulse. Oh, and there’s always the next holiday to research, of course! We also enjoy quiet socializing with friends at our house or theirs. Only very rarely does this involve a bar or restaurant. Our social spending is on our overseas trips and enjoying different food in hotels and restaurants on our travels – and ensuring our shared children and grandchildren enjoy their holidays with us here in Turkey.

What’s a typical day like for you?

The answer to this depends whether it’s summer or winter. In the holiday season, we welcome guests to our two self-contained apartments in the picturesque fishing village of Çiftlikköy, close to the resort centre of Çeşme in western Turkey. Elaine is busy preparing the apartments for arrivals and ensuring the change-over day cleaning is carried out to her (very high) standards. I sort out the administration and communications concerned with inquiries and bookings, carry out airport transfers personally and offer a varied selection of full day and half day trips to places of interest – the usual’ must see’s’ of this area such as Ephesus, for example, but also visits to places well away from the usual tourist spots. The summer is also a busy time for family visits, too.

The winter months are much quieter. A time to relax, do some exploring ourselves around the region and beyond. Visiting friends or welcoming them to our home for quiet socializing over tea, coffee and home made cake. Maybe a game of ‘Rummikub’ (English version of the popular Turkish game ‘Okay’) or Triominoes. We really know how to enjoy ourselves here, you know!

Winter or Summer, I pour myself the first glass of wine at around 6 p.m. – sometimes even a gin and tonic (living dangerously now you see!) – followed by a lovely meal together and just a couple of hours television or DVD. Hope the excitement of our lifestyle isn’t too much for you all!

What’s your favourite part of the TravelPod forum?

It’s the exciting and ever-surprising variety of topics, questions and information which invariably receives such friendly, helpful and often comprehensive responses (can’t say that for all forums, you know!). However difficult and sometime bizarre the question may first appear, there’s always someone out there with something to offer.

So, to get back to the question (off topic again!) my favourite part of the forum is appreciating the wealth of knowledge and travel experience of members, complemented by the added ingredient of regular humour. Although it seems rather clichéd to say so, TravelPod Forum does achieve the feeling (for me certainly) of being part of a huge international family.

Ask David about Turkey in the TravelPod forums

What a day! What a rare day! Ever since we came to these islands, it had been raining… all the time. For the first time in days, the sun was out and all the colours changed. We reached the port early in the morning to board the boat (MV Rani Lakshmi) that will take us to Havelock via Neil Island.

The map of Havelock will put my later ramblings into a lucid context. I hope!

Boats lined up on the docks at Port Blair. All of them are run by the government and are subsidised for the locals. While we paid Rs 235 per head for the journey from Port Blair to Havelock, for locals its Rs 25.

Jetty lights against the clear blue sky!

Thats the colour of the sea when the sun is shining. Port Blair recedes to the distance as the boat starts its eastward crawl towards Neil and Havelock

North Bay. The entire region is surrounded with coral reefs and forms the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park. When you look at the back-side of a Rs 20 note, you will see an island with lots of coconut trees and a lighthouse. Thats the north bay island and the lighthouse (which is just left of  this photo’s left limit) is known as Wandoor.

The seating area of the boat.

Once the boat reached the high seas, there was nothing to do on the deck so i sat down and caught up with a couple of episodes of SCRUBS. The photograph was taken by ma while i was busy in the aforementioned fashion.

The deep, blue sea!

The boat makes the first stop at Neil Island. On the background is one of Neil’s beaches while the lighthouse in the foreground, a tiny lighthouse marks a coral reef so that the ships and bigger boats like the one we were on,  stay clear.

That, they say is the real colour of the sea around here.

These pillars too, mark the coral reefs. All these pics were taken when the boat was approaching Neil jetty.

One more

Men relax on the jetty, suspended above the glassy waters.

Boats around the Neil island shoreline

The jetty at Neil Island

While you wait for the boat to pick up and drop passengers and begin the next leg of the journey towards Havelock, you can chill with some coconut water at the jetty

or with some paan and cigarettes!

The sea, painted a million shades of blue!

Approaching Havelock

Near the Havelock Jetty. Look at how crystal clear the water is

What can i say!

This is at the jetty. All these fishes were in a large school and were circling around the jetty pillars.

And then there were smaller fishes!

Just like people have cars in cities, people in Havelock and other islands have boats and this is how they park them!

Thats the view we enjoyed sitting at our resort!

The wall was put up so that the high tide water cannot rush in.

Why do people rave about Thailand so much. Are they not aware of these places in India itself?

The resort lawns

There you go! half a day of sunny bliss coming to an end. The rain clouds start rolling in… that too when i had just finished renting an Enfield! Damn you rains!

Thats the red Bullet i rented. It was called Red Bull for the day!

And thats Andaman’s finest Brew! The fact is, if you are wet and you are sitting in a shack on the beach and waiting for your shirt to dry, any brew is good brew!

Havelock’s prime attraction – Radhanagar Beach. This 3 km long stretch of white sand is considered to be one of the best in the world.

And it attracts not only loud Bengali tourist and bikini-clad westerners, but also the canines.

I wish i knew how to swim…i wish i knew how to surf!

Have you ever seen a beach this large so empty?

Just to stress on the point i just made.

framed with forests…

Driftwood on the beach

HA HA HA! Crabs are the best. These little fellows are barely two inches across. Whenever the waves go back, they appear for seconds, only to disappear into the sand in the wink of an eye. If you happen to catch one of them, like i did, they just play dead! the moment you let them off your hand, schoom…they are off!

The beauty of this beach! The trees look as if they have been planted according to a plan. They grow naturally in a neat row across the length of the beach

Just like this…

And like this…

At times there are rocks that jut into the sea. The rocks are covered with algae and they can be very slippery. I found out the hard way and to this day, more than a week after i am back, there is still a bluish black patch on my butt!

The sand in this stretch of the beach was rather soft. Your entire foot disappears with every step.

Ma being a little girl!

I like this pic!

The sun says Good Bye!

I will definitely come back here one day. May that day be very soon and may the company be right!

For anger management classes in North Carolina visit www.masteringanger.com or call 704-804-0841.

Hey foolios,

Alright finally going to finish up blogging about my break this time. Following a night back in Wesport, we ventured to the Nelson region, “the NZ sunshine capital”. Well, it didn’t live up to its name when we got there. Torrential rain was the name of the game as we set out on the Abel Tasman Track that is characterized by turquoise bays meeting golden sand beaches and verdant green forests. It was gorgeous in spite of the rain, especially when we made it to a secluded bay and all that we could hear were the waves lapping upon the beach and the patter of rain on the sand. After an equally drenching walk back to the car, we managed to throw on some dry clothes before heading over to Nelson for the night.

Even though its the capital of the region, I can’t imagine the “city” having more than 10,000 residents but it certainly was endearing. After chilling at a stellar backpackers, Tasman Bay Backpackers, we grabbed somegrub at a pub in town before heading to the cinema to check out “District 9″.

Gonna chat about the movie for a bit. In summary, it was awesome. Directed by a newcomer Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson,it made me happy they still make movies. The story wasn’t totally original (taken mostly from Blomkamps short film “Aliens in Joburg”) but it was a taut sci-fli flick with some pretty powerful social commentary. My only qualms with it would that Neill seems to use the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach in terms of shooting styles plus there are some gaping holes in the story and how it is told that just need to be ignored to enjoy the film. Even with this, this film is a triumph of shooting a sci-fi/action movie on a budget (putting sand in the eye of Universal execs for canning the “Halo” movie) and Neill found a fantastic actor who plays the protagonist who is endearing to the audience in some instances and strange/despicable in others. If you haven’t seen it, check it out…it will certainly get you talking.

We left the next day for the Queen Charlotte Track, stopping in Havelock to try to get a water taxi to pick us up later that day so we didn’t have to walk back the same route only to be stopped by a boat captain “You guys are the one’s filming salmon right?”

Um maybe…I guess we looked like film makers? We might have been able to snag a free ride (since it would have ended up costing us 300 bucks) but alas common sense got the best of us. We hit the track for about five hours (complete with gorgeous clear and sunny day plus a massive bull standing in the middle of the track) then went to Picton and stayed at a money hostel called The Villa (complete with hot tub filled with rubber duckies, golden lab, calvin and hobbes comics, bowflex, free apple crumble and a treehouse named after me…standard). There we met an American girl, Colleen, who was taking a sabbatical and on her last bit of cash as well as an awesome German dude, Michael, who also was on a sabbatical from working in a hospital near Stuttgart. We chatted with them for an hour or so before heading into town to get a few beers (somehow Michael got asked about his opinion of Nazism and Germany’s 20th century history, could have been super awkward but he was great about discussing his thoughts with us). Capped off a good day by playing cards with those two plus two others Germans and teaching them how to play A**hole, which we got handily beat at.

For our last day on the island we set off down the east coast towards Christchurch and I can tell you that I have never driven a more beautiful stretch of land than that. A rocky coast meeting brilliant blue water on our left with tall cliffs and mountains lining the right made for quite a drive. We made a stop at the beachy town of Kaikoura and drove out to the peninsula where we ended up just walking along the rocky coast since it was low tide, chatting it up with the sunbathing seals and marvelling at the hidden coves.

Since we were ahead of schedule, we decided to take the long way to Christchurch and stop at Hanmer Springs up in the mountains north of the city for a long soak in the 100 degree natural sulphuric pools. GREAT decision except they almost ruined my silver ring, whoops.

We capped off the night at an uber authentic Japanese/Korean restaurant (no english on the menus), enjoying a microbrew at a hole in the wall bar and settling into the Jailhouse for the final night(yes the hostel was a jail, only decommissioned five years ago and was by far the sweetest hostel I’ve ever crashed in).

And so ended an awesome adventure that I praised the Lord everyday for allowing me to be on it. I just need to make sure the praises never stop.

For affordable anger management nationwide Click Here

For anger management classes in North Carolina visit www.masteringanger.com or call 704-804-0841.

I keep getting the urge to update, and then I either forget or really have nothing of value to say, so I change my mind. I feel more of an obligation now that I want to keep our friend’s updated on our lives, but that would be me assuming that they are reading this.
So, let’s assume they are and actually want to know what Todd and I are up to… oh, and Ben. And Woodstock, too. And all I have are pictures of the cats right now, being sent to me by Andrew, since they are kindly being kept by a friend right now. (Which I appreciate so much, but I miss Jake and Mazzy Moon so much sometimes it physically hurts my heart. I never thought I could feel that way about a cat.)

We just got back from taking Ben for his nightly walk, which is becoming his “thing” now. Every evening after dinner, he starts acting like he has to go out, but if I just take him outside, he won’t go to the bathroom. He wants to walk up the street and back. So, we take him for a nice walk, and tonight we went around the entire loop/block/whatever, which is probably about a mile or so. I’m enjoying it, it’s great exercise, and Ben has all these leg muscles. What a stud.

Speaking of exercise, Sylvia’s (Todd’s mother) sister Linda suggested that we try that Acai berry juice stuff. Now, of course, I can see and hear, so I am aware of the online scams surrounding the product, and Crystal’s myspace status can vouch for such, because apparently she lost tons of weight on the product. But apparently, Linda got some of the juice from GNC (not an online scam) and she simply drank 2 tablespoons (or two sips in my case) every morning, and the weight pretty much fell off of her. So, we were in the mall the other day and I saw a GNC and figured, what the hell, I’ll give it a try. Sylvia and I have been taking it for a few days now, and it could simply be placebo affect, but I do feel slightly more aware/alert, energetic, and eager to move physically. I know that sounds weird, I just want to… walk, stretch, sit right. Sounds retarded, I know, but I’m even trying to have better posture and when I take Ben on walks, getting the most from those walks by “flexing all the right places” or whatever. Let’s leave it at that. Point is, it may be working, may not, we’ll see.

Yesterday, we had (in-person) job interviews for positions as ABA tutors for autistic children, here in New Bern and Havelock. I think it went extremely well, and we should hear something within the next week or so. There’s a lot of training, and the pay is good, even though the position is only part time. But it’ll be good while I finish my degree, and if I do get this job, I might consider adding a minor to my Social Science degree in Child Development. It would be a big advantage for when I want to become a teacher. I could possibly become a special education teacher, or just get a job with children. Usually I hate to post about things that I’m not sure about, but I need to stop being so paranoid… If I don’t get it, I don’t get it. You won’t judge me. Right? RIGHT?! Anyway…

I do feel a bit disconnected. It’s one thing not talking to your friends for a few days, but knowing that you won’t be seeing them sucks. It sucks that I get a text message from Andrew tonight saying he and Lance are at Wings and Rings, and me and Todd should come out. Yeah. Love to, but I doubt we’d be worth much after 2.5 hours in a car to GET THERE. Come on, Drew. Brains? And then earlier in the day, Crystal posts a message that she’s out to lunch with Lance. I miss our friends.
Well, I think I’m gonna pull up our next episode of Lost and see if Todd wants to watch with me. It sounds weird, but all of the characters so are familiar to me now, that when I go a night or two without watching an episode, I start to miss them. They are my sick and twisted pseudo-friends since ours are far away.

I also miss my parents and Jerry and I need to call and check on my mom. She had surgery last Thursday on her shoulder. I haven’t talked to her in a week and she’s probably angry. Oh no.

In closing:

I MISS HER SO MUCH.

I was obviously sobbing in misery.

I feel like I’ve totally lost sight of the original purpose of this blog.

Oh well.

For anger management classes in North Carolina visit www.masteringanger.com or call 704-804-0841.

A Military Family Appreciation Day Havelock NC

The Walter B. Jones Park in Havelock will be the site of a Military Family Appreciation Day on July 18, 2009 from 2 p.m. to about 6 p.m.  This annual event is sponsored by the Victory Chapel of Havelock. This is the 4th event the church has organized.

According to Pastor Gary Monnens, the family oriented event will have something for everyone including games, food, music and fun.

PEDRO will be there as well as working military dogs. You can see the classic car show and participate in various drawings.

A presentation honoring military families is scheduled at 4 p.m. Various bands will perform starting at about 4;30 p.m.

Food tickets are 4 for $1.00 and you can get hot dogs, snow cones, cotton candy and drinks at very affordable family prices.

Proceeds from the car show and the gas grill raffles will be donated to the “Wounded Warriors” fund.

Last year over 600 people were in attendance and this organizers are planning for a larger crowd.

Come and enjoy the fun and fellowship with your neighbors and friends.  The public is also invited to this tribute to our military families.

For anger management classes live and online avaliable to North Carolina residents CLICK HERE or call 704-804-0841

Heritage Farms New Construction

Please join us at Heritage Farms, Havelock, NC
Only 10 miles from Main Gate at MCAS Cherry Point
Time: 10:30 to 2:30
Date: Wed. July 1st, 2009
Lunch and Dessert Provided by Liz Nowell with Wells Fargo
Directions: From Havelock, Turn on Hwy 101. Go Approx. 8 miles. Turn Left on Blades Rd., Turn Right on Godette School Rd. New Homes on your right.
New Construction Starting in the low $160’s. $4,000 closing cost assistance offered to buyers. (some restrictions apply)

Don’t Forget about the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit!!! Ask your lender or Accountant!!!

Charlotte en ik kwamen weer bij elkaar in Bangkok. Charlotte vond een betaalbare vlucht vanuit Düsseldorf, en ik ging er van Penang naartoe. Daarvandaan zouden we via Calcutta naar Port Blair kunnen vliegen, en daar lag ook onze duikuitrusting opgeslagen. De mijne al meer dan een jaar… Die duikuitrusting wordt intussen meer een last dan een lust, we zouden ofwel meer moeten duiken, ofwel ervanaf moeten zien te komen. Eerlijk gezegd is het reizen met alleen een handbagageformaat-rugzakje me goed bevallen.

In de week die we in Bangkok doorbrachten speelden twee dingen: Songkran zat eraan te komen, het Thais nieuwjaarsfeest dat valt in de tijd van het jaar wanneer de droge, hete periode overgaat in de natte moesson, en de protesten van de roodhemden tegen de regering waren opnieuw verhevigd en zouden tijdens ons verblijf naar een (voorlopige?) climax toegaan.

Die protesten waren in eerste instantie ludiek genoeg. Onder de demonstranten die ik op donderdag bij het regeringspaleis zag luisteren naar toespraken van de actieleiders waren veel vrouwen en oudere mensen. Sommigen waren verkleed of hadden mascottes, iedereen was in het rood. Er werd veel gelachen. Op vrijdag werden wegen afgezet door kleine aantallen roodhemden; de politie liet het toe. Op zaterdag waren de wegblokkades weer opgeheven en trokken veel van de demonstranten naar Pattaya, waar zoals bekend de zaak uit de hand liep en de ASEAN-top moest worden afgelast. Zondag waren we met Thais en buitenlanders het Songkranfeest aan het vieren op en bij Khao San Rd, een natte gebeurtenis waarbij mensen bakjes water over elkaar heen gooien of elkaar met waterpistolen en –geweren beschieten. De sfeer was prima, en niemand wist kennelijk dat, terwijl we aan het vieren waren, elders in de stad gewelddadige incidenten plaatsvonden en dat om die reden de noodtoestand werd afgekondigd. De volgende dag, maandag, werden bezette kruispunten ontruimd en vielen er twee doden en meer dan honderd gewonden. We vroegen ons af of we de dag daarop bij het vliegveld zouden kunnen komen om naar India te vertrekken. Dat bleek geen probleem.

India… incredible India. De laatste keer dat ik in India was moet een jaar of achttien geleden geweest zijn, en de laatste keer in Calcutta ligt achtentwintig jaar terug. Maar de geuren en taferelen die ons bij aankomst begroeten zijn meteen bekend. Het is of er niets veranderd is. De taxi waarin we instappen om ons naar een in de buurt liggend hotel te laten brengen is een Ambassador, net als de meerderheid van de rondrijdende auto’s, en al worden ze waarschijnlijk nog steeds gemaakt, de meeste wekken de indruk dat ze bij mijn vorige bezoek aan Calcutta ook al rondreden. Het verkeer is nog steeds een heksenketel waarin iedereen die geluid kan maken dat ook doet en regels gelden die meer te maken hebben met het recht van de sterkste dan met verkeersreglementen. Als we ‘s avonds rondlopen in de buurt van het hotel waar we de nacht doorbrengen voordat we doorvliegen naar Port Blair duiken op de schaars verlichte straat constant onverlichte schimmen uit het niets, zoeven met veel geclaxonneer langs ons heen en worden weer opgeslokt in de achtergrond. Het zijn fietsriksja’s, de bestuurders staand op de pedalen, de passagiers bestaand uit mannen in kostuum en met aktentas of vrouwen in sari en met kinderen. Ze kijken voor zich uit alsof ze doodnormaal vinden wat hier gebeurt. Wij springen iedere keer net op tijd opzij, ons er al snel van bewust dat het recht van de sterkste niet in ons voordeel werkt.

De volgende dag vliegen we door naar Port Blair. Het wordt een dag vol kleine verrassingen. Voordat we inchecken laten we onze bagage door één van de vier röntgenapparaten gaan voor een veiligheidscontrole. Wanneer het personeel ons ticket ziet blijkt dat de vier machines van vier verschillende luchtvaartmaatschappijen zijn en dat wij de verkeerde genomen hebben. Of we nog even de machine ernaast willen gebruiken. De vlucht wordt vertraagd, zonder dat er iets over wordt meegedeeld: er wordt gewoon niet ingestapt. Bij aankomst in Port Blair wordt de eerste landingspoging meters boven de grond afgebroken. De tweede eindigt in een landing die zo hard is dat verschillende passagiers om ons heen spontaan overgeven.

Bij de formaliteiten rond een verblijfsvergunning die nodig is om de eilanden te bezoeken krijgen we niet de verwachte dertig dagen, omdat we geen retourticket hebben, maar wordt ons volgens een onnavolgbare logica niet meer dan vijftien dagen gegeven. Als we meteen ter plekke een ticket kopen kan dat meteen ter plekke verlengd worden tot dertig dagen, maar degene die de tickets verkoopt is er niet, die is de vlucht aan het afhandelen en we hebben geen tijd om lang te wachten want de laatste boot van de dag naar het eiland waar we gaan duiken vertrekt vlak na onze aankomst. Eerst maar met de boot mee dus, later verder nadenken. Bij aankomst in het resort waarmee we gemaild hadden wordt ons verteld dat we niet, zoals beloofd, kunnen kiezen uit verschillende onderkomens en dat alleen nog een triestig hutje over is, en dat de duiktrips de komende drie dagen volgeboekt zijn. Aan dat laatste is wel een mouw te passen, want hier blijkt het feit dat we onze eigen duikspullen bij ons hebben van alles mogelijk te maken. We willen wat gaan drinken en vragen om een koud biertje. Ze hebben geen bier. We kijken op de kaart wat ze wel hebben. Lime soda? Hebben we niet. geen limoenen. Wat heb je wel? Cola en Sprite. O.

We moeten even slikken en vragen ons af of we niet gewoon na twee weken weer zullen vertrekken. Alleen… wanneer we een werkende computer vinden met een inbelverbinding en proberen een terugvlucht te boeken lukt dat niet, geen enkele vlucht kan geboekt worden. Vreemd.

Intussen beginnen we met duiken en na een niet spectaculaire eerste dag komen twee dagen die erg de moeite waard zijn. Helder water, mooie sites, zowel klein spul als grote scholen en goeie duikgidsen. We beginnen ons goed te vermaken en verhuizen bovendien van ons hele eenvoudige hutje naar iets groters met een hangmat voor de deur. Het gaat al beter. Wanneer we tegen het eind van de derde dag het nabijgelegen dorp ingaan om bij een soort reisagent een ticket te boeken voor het eind van onze toegestane vijftien dagen knaagt het al een beetje: zullen we niet toch langer blijven? We worden bij die beslissing geholpen door de constatering dat er op de datum waarop we willen vliegen geen plaats is. Vier dagen eerder nog wel, en vier dagen later ook, al zijn dat dure plaatsen. Om weer betaalbare tickets te krijgen moeten we vanaf 10 mei gaan kijken, en dat betekent dat we naar Port Blair zouden moeten gaan om toestemming voor een langer verblijf te vragen. Even over nadenken.

De duikgidsen zijn etnische Karen. Hun grootouders werden door de Britten vanuit Birma naar de eilanden gehaald om er de bomen te kappen. ‘En dus zitten wij hier nu vast’, zegt een van hen lachend. Om er meteen aan toe te voegen: ‘maar er zijn ergere plaatsen om vast te zitten’. Zo voelen wij het ook een beetje.

Een paar dagen later. Dagenlang geen internet, want geen enkele vaste telefoonverbinding werkte.

Intussen hebben we ‘ontdekkingsduiken’ gemaakt met een groepje duikgidsen op hun vrije dag. Nieuwe plekken ontdekken, zoeken naar diersoorten die nog maar weinig of zelfs helemaal niet gezien zijn in de omgeving. Leuk werk, en we kunnen ons steentje bijdragen door de ervaring die we op andere plaatsen hebben opgedaan. Ook hebben we nagedacht over later teruggaan en zo, en we besluiten het te doen. Wel horen we verontrustende berichten van mensen die proberen een terugvlucht te boeken en daar problemen mee hebben, dus we willen zo snel mogelijk onze vlucht boeken. Tja. Vluchten op de tiende en de elfde zijn vol. Op de twaalfde moet kunnen. Doe maar dan. Helaas, die kan niet bevestigd worden, kennelijk toch geen plaats. Eerstvolgende vlucht die plaats heeft: 17 mei. Maar als we een extensie op onze verblijfsvergunning halen loopt die af op de veertiende, dus dat gaat niet goed. Toch maar geboekt, wat moet je als alles vol is? Misschien kunnen we de datum nog veranderen, we zullen in ieder geval naar Port Blair moeten gaan om te kijken wat we kunnen doen. Daar zijn twee dagen mee gemoeid, één dag heen, volgende dag terug. India is best te doen, maar je moet niet met authoriteiten te maken krijgen…

Weer een week later. Al die tijd is er geen telefoon en dus geen internet geweest. We zijn eergisteren naar Port Blair gegaan voor de extentie. Gisteren eerst bij het vliegveld langs om te kijken of er een andere terugvlucht te vinden was. Haha. Alles vol, de hele maand mei. Vervolgens bij de immigratiedienst langs. Daar zat iemand ongelovig te kijken naar onze papieren, naar het feit dat we een verlenging vroegen die een verblijf van niet dertig maar drieëndertig dagen zou betekenen. ‘Not possible’. Ja, dat begrijpen we, maar we hebben geen keus. ‘Not possible’. Wat moeten we dan doen? ‘Cancel your ticket and buy a different one’. O, ja, dat is een goeie, als we dat doen komen we niet weg voor juni. Hij schudt het hoofd, bedachtzaam. ‘Not possible’.

Er zijn wat andere ambtenaren mee gemoeid, die eerst nee zeggen, dan bellen met een reisagent om te vragen hoe vol de vluchten zijn. Anderhalf uur later wordt een kast met een sleutel geopend en krijgen we twee formulieren voor het aanvragen van een speciale extensie voor uitzonderingsgevallen. Niet dat we nu al onze extensie krijgen: degene die de aanvraag moet goedkeuren komt morgen. We blijven dus een dag langer in Port Blair. We maken van de gelegeneid gebruik om een internetcafé in te gaan. Terwijl ik probeer bovenstaand verhaal op het weblog te zetten en bij te werken geeft de computer de geest. Een andere is snel gevonden, maar de eerste heeft de usb-stick waar het verhaal op stond geïnfecteerd met een virus dat de usb-stick onbruikbaar maakt. Later willen we in een belwinkel de telefoon gebruiken, maar de stroom is uitgevallen. ‘Over een half uur’. De laatste keer dat dat gezegd werd was er anderhalve week geen telefoon. We gaan naar het enige restaurant dat meldt wijn te hebben, Charlotte kan wel een glas gebruiken. Lastig werelddeel als je wel van wijn houdt maar niet van bier. ‘Do you have wine?’. ‘Sorry’. Het is een beetje veel voor één dag, het lijkt wel of niets goed kan gaan.

De volgende dag, nu net, begon alweer beter. We waren om tien uur, zoals afgesproken, bij het immigratiekantoor, en om tien over tien stonden we buiten met onze nieuwe vergunningen, geldig tot en met 17 mei, de dag van onze vlucht. Wow. Meteen naar de haven, ticket kopen voor de tocht naar ons duikeiland. Lange rij buiten het reserveringskantoor, maar als buitenlanders gaan we voor. Binnen ook lange rijen, maar er is een loket voor buitenlanders waar bijna niemand staat. Ook hier tien minuten, en we staan weer buiten. Wow.

En nu maar terug naar ons eiland, terug naar het duiken, gewoon geen zorgen meer. Het warme water in, glijden tussen koraal en vissen, liggen in de hangmat, geen zorgen. Pff…