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[RC] My WEC was different than Steve's ;-) - EventXC

Hey, Steve (and others)...we seem to have had totally different experiences, 
except for the rank camel and bouncing all over the desert as you were driving 
(people, do not try this at home).  It was fun but I got out of that 4 wd 
with an arm bruise from whacking it either on Andi's head or the back of the 
front seat.

Anyway, I didn't have any problems with the pricing and haggling...maybe 
because I learned 'please' and 'thank you' in Arabic and used them right off 
the 
bat - saying 'min fadlak' with a bit of a whine and batting of the eyes seems 
to have worked quite well for me.  The haggling involved for Iranian saffron 
and Yemeni honey was over quickly and I thought the prices were great.  You 
were 
right about the maps, though.  They were an issue...we too found ourselves on 
a road, actually in Dubai city, that wasn't on our 'new' map.  Oh well, at 
least the building construction has made it safe to drive on Sheik Zayed road 
to 
the Hard Rock...locals told me that as little as 4 years ago, you could risk 
hitting a camel near the restaurant (boy, it sure is surreal to think about 
that - dodging camels at the Hard Rock).

The only problem we had (Lynn, Harriet and myself) was fending off the 
too-friendly locals at the Al Ain livestock souk and finding a place to eat in 
Al 
Ain that had women in it too...we ended up eating at Pizza Hut my first night 
in 
the Middle East.  They spoke English, had women eating there and had a menu 
that we could understand.  Yes, I am embarrased to admit we ate there, but I 
did go native after that....except for one visit to a Starbucks.

I have tons of pictures from within the team - the gallops in the desert, 
team meetings, the race, crewing, etc.  I don't have emails and snail mail 
addresses for CDs.  If crew folks (eg Lynn, Harriet, Cindy Brown, Lisa S., Andi 
M., 
Mike, Martha, etc) and/or riders would want copies of photos and/or CDs, 
please email personally at this email and let me know.  I can get them to you 
when 
I get back from vacation (the real one in HI this time)...the only thing is 
that they are copyrighted and for personal use only.  I have great pictures of 
both Michele and Becky during the race.

It was a great time, but a warning to people who may want to ride with Steve 
Shaw in the US....wear hockey pads and a helmet!  ;-)

And thank God Pal is alright - that was a scary and helpless-feeling night.

Kim Henneman, DVM, CVA, CVC
Park City  UT  USA
eventxc@xxxxxxx

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