A Taste of Bagram

Goal—Update my blog more. We’ll see how it goes. Meanwhile here are some pictures of Afghanistan I thought you’d enjoy.

When I first saw this it was right after the Koran burnings/ensuing protests. Most of those protests happened at the base I’m at, which, at least for me, means that there was no water for four days. Ish. No flushing toilets. No showers.

Thought 1—They needed all of the cleaning water too?

Thought 2—Is that the start of the overflow?

Thought 3—Time to go home.

Thankfully, it’s not overflow but rather a fly attracting concoction of sorts.

Pretty smart actually since I imagine when its no longer winter but a 100° running out of water is going to mean something else altogether.

Goodbye shredder, Hello good times.

Please note the spelling of Afganistan.

It’s wrong.

**NOTE** I did my research to avoid making a fool of myself.

This is an Afghanistan product. Someone needs to use spell check.

A guy gave me these flowers. I get more emails asking me to go grab a coffee than I do relating to actual work matters.

Someone should consider making this place into a sort of rehab center for girls/women with low self-esteem. Put them on the Bagram 1-10 scale and give it a few weeks.

I don’t have low self-esteem. When I go back I’ll probably have a huge ego.

And for this we thank you.

Someone took my waterproof boots. They were bright purple and super ugly. Plus I have child-sized feet.

The next morning I woke up to this obstacle course.

Wearing my toms. Which are pretty insensible even in America. I survived. I’m super adept at leaping puddles and mud holes now.

My army issued gear. Unfortunately, it weighs about 60 lbs. Meaning under my bed will be kept extremely safe. I did have to wear everything in order to fly on the military flight. I was the only civilian. We walked from the plane to the terminal. The soldiers in formation. Me in the front. With my backpack and hot pink Nike bag.

Most soldiers don’t like the civilians/contractors here and I can only imagine as I stumbled along more than one questioned the type/age of people allowed in country. However, being here has made me so much more grateful for those serving our country. That being said, I still don’t want my brother coming over here. This place is cray, cray. Plus the little kids throw rocks.

Bagram is gorgeous. Once of course you see over the T-Walls and other army-esque décor. I wish I could get a better picture of the mountains because they are absolutely majestic. Every time I catch a glimpse with the sun just right my heart skips a beat.

Sometimes they match the color of the sky and fade away. Mostly, they remind me of home. Or Cache Valley. This picture doesn’t quite do them justice but these mountains are huge, towering mountains. So amazing!

Milk on Steroids

The question every one seems to want to know about life in Afghanistan is whether or not the DFAC serves milk. The answer is yes. However, I won’t drink it mainly because I don’t want cancer. Or a third arm.

The DFAC milk isn’t like normal milk that goes bad in a couple of weeks. No, DFAC milk doesn’t expire for months. Also apparently it comes from cows not treated with rbST. I guess this is supposed to make me feel better since organic people claim that this causes cancer. Honestly though I kind of feel like if the milk can survive a nuclear war then it probably has enough preservatives that rbST or no rbST it won’t really make much of a difference in the cancer getting area.

How do I plan on supplementing my calcium intake? Ice cream.