Can anyone see Kabul?

Our journey from Bagram to Kabul was filled with a scenery that many of us only see in the Rockie mountains or on the movie, "The Sound of Music". That is, the mountains were sprinkled with a fine layer of white, heavenly snow. Now, the countryside did not match the beauty of the rising rocks in the backdrop. Most of the homes along the way were either inside a mud wall compound that reminds me of a small fort while others lived in homes that we label as condemned or not safe to enter. Large dogs, maybe the size of Greyhounds, were seen lounging on dirt piles or sitting outside the entrance to the homes. Electricity did not appear to be available in this area, many did not have vehicles but there were bike riders traveling to and from work. And the wonderful little boys!!! How could I forget their innocent, dirt-smudged faces as they ran from their homes towards the road as we approached and offered us a hearty wave as we passed by. I snapped photos during this trip and will get them onlin soon.

As we approached the city of Kabul, the sun disappeared and a thick haze covered the blue sky. It looked like low lying storm clouds but the smell gave away the fact that these were not going to produce rain...they were there telling a sad tale of a city that knows nothing about "saving the globe." My first glance out the window onto the side of the road showed weather-beaten tin roof shacks with no electricity, men dressed in soiled "man dresses", women in an array of attire from the conservative burka and full covering to the modern pants and sweater, and glooming stares on most of the faces followed our vehicle as we passed by. Further into the city, we noticed older shops, billboards advertising cell phones, military vehicles (go figure?) and apartment buildings with large groups of children playing in a dirt field. The trip ended as we arrived safely at our base, one that offers 24/7 electricity, heat, running hot/cold water, internet access and a phone that can reach every country in the world. How fortunate we are to have such a safe, stable home in the U.S.

The average life exspectancy of an Afghan is on 47 years old. That would mean I only have another 13 years on this earth. The most shocking part about this statistic is that many of them look 70 years old when they die. The air here has high levels of toxic chemicals that cause respiratory problems, over 80% of the water in this city is non-potable, which means they cannot distill the water to make it safe for consumption, and many Afghans don't have anything to set their minds on except the thickening smog and prayers to Allah.

But, with that said, I was almost in tears as I witnessed a Muslim man setting out his towel-sized rug in a muddy field to pray to Allah, facing his holy land of Mecca. This man was smiling, peaceful and full of God's graces. The only thing that mattered to him was to thank Allah for the gift of air in his lungs, legs that allowed him to work and a heart to help others in his tribe. Sounds like he is my new go to person the next time I start to feel sorry for myself.

Oh...and there are more cats here at my base in Kabul and I know where they hang out so I can go by at random times to pet them!!

Good night Afghanistan and may Peace be with you:)

Snow-capped Mountains

Hello, Afghanistan! What a beautiful sight as we stepped off the Air Force C-17 airplane in Bagram, Afghanistan. 360 degrees of snow-capped mountains!! At first I thought I was in Telluride, Colorado or at Vail. But, I couldn't find the ski lifts or any people gliding down the slopes. I finally made it here on Thursday, 22 Jan 09 and the flight was only 4 hours from Kuwait. The air was crisp and clean, and the morning temperature was in the 40's. So, here's what has stuck in my mind so far:

1. If we could get rid of the terrorists and replace them with tourists, we could turn this into a vacation spot.
2. I went for an 8-mile run around the perimeter of the base today and saw an older Afghan man riding his camel onto base. I also saw a beautiful black and white bird that looked like a crow but made a unique twirping sound.
3. This base has a Dairy Queen, Burger King, Coffee shop, North Face clothing store, Pizza Hut and a Massage Parlor.
4. The main street down the center of the base is named "Disney Avenue".

So, I'm glad to be here in this country and am now awaiting travel to Kabul tomorrow. The convoy will take about 1.5 hours and I will take photos to share with each of you.

Take care and God Bless

International 5k Champion

23:01 was the time I crossed the finish at the Ali Al Salem, Army Base 5k Race. The Japanese took first in the men's division but I took the gold for the United States. The things I do to keep myself busy in Kuwai! I even have a t-shirt and medal as a life long reminder of my international success. Whew...so yes, I'm still in Kuwait and I'll just stop estimating my date of departure now. It will occur sometime between now and the end of the month...

So the inauguration of our new President is today and from our perspective, the military will move forward as it has over the past seven years, seeking out terrorist threats, deminishing hatred and torture and death in war-forsaken countries and protecting the most incredible country on earth, the United States. And, as our economy continues to teeter on deflation, the U.S. military provides a sense of financial security for not only our service members but also the thousands of companies worldwide who employee people to support our efforts. I read an interesting article yesterday and it talked about the value of the U.S. Dollar. The value of our dollar isn't weighed against gold, diamonds or oil. It is dependent upon the U.S.'s ability to continue to protect those who cannot protect themselves around the world, to protect the international waterways for trade, to provide aide to those who are injured or helpless and to stand up for civil rights regardless of religion, race or gender. America's value is dependent upon the military, the U.S. government and those who support us.

A saying here in Arabic that is used to express hope in the future is, "In sha' allah" (Inshalla), "God's Willing". Hope all is well at home and if anyone is preparing a meal soon, take a moment to give thanks for the ability to open a refrigerator, turn on a stove and pretty much eat any type of food you would like. Also, that the water in the faucet isn't contaminated and you can flush a toilet.

Take care.

New Adventure...in Kuwait

Can you believe it?  It's has been over 8 days and we are still awaiting transport into Afghanistan.  Looks like the 19th or 20th.  In an effort to celebrate our extended stay here in Kuwait, we embarked on a courageous trip to another base for a chance to shop in luxury, eat unhealthy fast food and explore more of the country.  Well, the trip was pretty dry but the Taco Bell tasted just like it tastes at home and the bus drive passed by nomads who live their lives in tents set up in the desert...many of them have cars, trucks, generators to run electricity but their entire home is the size of a three car garage.  Such simple, peaceful people.  Most of the locals I have come in contact with have been extremely friendly although many of them are from India.  Very helpful and always eager to offer a smile or a handshake.  Sometimes I wish we had more people in the U.S. who were happy to do their jobs and were grateful for what they have.  I'm sure there is greed here in Kuwait...oil, natural gas, religious tension...but so far I have only witnessed workers here on the base who do a great job at keeping the chow hall, the bathrooms and the community centers in good order.

Take care, sleep tight and may peace be with you.

Living in Tent City

So, let me explain what this camp looks like for those of you who won't choose Kuwait as their vacation destination for 2009...have you ever watch Schindler's List? If so, do you remember the concentration camps with row after row of houses that were all the same size, all the same shape? That's what most of the tents we sleep in look like, but instead of being made out of wood, and not having any worldly pleasures, this is a pimped out Middle Eastern Hotel! Oh yes, we have a temperature setting that can go from 68 degrees to 80 if you'd like. We have both heating and cooling, each person has their own part of a bunk bed, there are European plugs for radios, cell phones, computers and there are fluorescent lights installed in the ceiling.

Now the perimeter of the camp has bathroom, shower, and laundry facilities that offer hot or cold water. There is a chowhall that offers meals 24 hours a day, a McDonald's with the big "M" (isn't that a nice target?), a Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, a Chinese Take-out and a Coffee shop like Starbucks. They also offer movies four times a day.

Gotta go but will add more later.

Dutch Girl or Jason Gibson?

Jason...I haven't laughed soo hard in a long time. Thanks for the funny picture of you in the space ship going to Pluto. The Dutch Girl look is very becoming of you:)

Bathroom Humor and Jeopardy with Smart People

Ever enter a bathroom stall and instantly learn more about the people who used the toilet before you...maybe more than you want to know? I'll finish later...

Okay, I finally have a few minutes to elaborate. So, as I was saying, it seems that there are several military members who like to express themselves in bathroom stalls here in Kuwait. Here are a few of the funniest so far:
1. Chuck Norris doesn't have to cut the grass...he just looks at it and dares it to grow.
2. Superman wears Chuck Norris night clothes to bed.
3. Chuck Norris visited The Virgin Islands and now they are just called "The Islands"
4. I love women and I love girls...don't ask, don't tell (in women's bathroom)
5. Obama versus McCain debate...not very polite.

So other than gossiping about the latest artwork in the bathroom stalls, there has been a bit of drama unfolding in our femal tent. Julie and I have been here since 9 Jan but other military females have arrived and left. One young Private First Class in our tent is quite interesting. LtCol. Meade (Julie) noticed a hardback book in her backpack titled, "Great Lesbian Erotica". What the.... okay, it gets better. At 3 am on 13 Jan, this girl decides to discuss her love life with another Army girl while Julie and I try to sleep. After about an hour of talk, I pull the sheets off of my head and give her a little advice of my own. Well, she really listened and after I returned from the gym, she reapproached me. At first she refered to her lover as "this person" but soon enough the "she" word came out. I told her about the problem with being homosexual in the military and can only hope she decides to keep her love life to herself in the future.

Other items of note for Monday and Tuesday included:
1. Asking a group of highly intellectual people to play Jeopardy to soon find out that I was going to get my butt kicked...learn from me, if they appear interested in playing, they probably are smarter than you!
2. Several of us believe we spotted Sasquach in the Chow Hall...large hunter's jacket, mullet and a strangely shaped beard covering everything from his eyes down!
3. Chocolate Ice Cream with sliced bananas is an excellent dessert. Yes, we even have that here!

I'll post my Kabul, Afghanistan address soon and will hopefully get there by mid-month. Our flight to Afghanistan was again delayed due to weather...will maybe get there by Thursday.

Love you all and don't forget to laugh!

She works hard for her money...

Well, I have to say today was one of the easiest days of my life as a Marine. Let's see...I woke up naturally without the aid of an alarm clock, caffeine or a drill instructor yelling in my ear. After pushing back my down comforter, I slipped out to the ladies room to freshen up, off to breakfast and then out for a 10 mile run. Now the run almost turned into a search party for this El Capitan b/c I didn't exactly know if the road I was running on would lead me back to the camp or into the arms of a a group of banchies. Let's just say I started to look for avenues of escape in case my legs gave out on me!!! Luckily, I ran long enough to return in a full circle back to my starting point...just in time to reach the gym for electrolytes and cold agua. Lesson of the day: don't EVER leave a foreign country base without first looking at a map and taking along a buddy.

Bad news arrived this afternoon...our flight is now delayed until at least Weds...some of us are going crazy waiting to get to our jobs in Afghanistan. So for now, I'll stick to working out, reading books, looking for furry friends (there are cats and mice), joking around at meal time with other Marines and absorbing the wonderful Kuwaiti sun.

As an aside, for those of you that also have an love of the "little people", yes there are midgets living in Kuwait. We saw one the first night we arrived and she or he works here on the base. Quite a shock to see at 9:30 at night but I always welcome the vertically challenged, especially out here in the middle of the desert.

Well, I'm off to watch Tropic Thunder and hit the rack. Good night.

Cats in Kuwait

Yep, that's right. My first night in Kuwait at the Military Compound and I see a black cat running near the tents. I made it safely into Kuwait after a 13 hour flight from Atlanta, GA. Nestled perfectly between men, I settled in for my overseas flight into the Middle East. The gentleman on my right was Mohammed from Kuwait. A fine Kuwaiti who spoke fluent English and offered interesting tidbits about his mother country. On my left was an Army soldier, returning to Afghanistan after his two week break. He loved eating pistachios and spent most of his time with his hat covering his eyes, in a deep sleep. We landed before 6pm on Friday, 9 Jan 09 and walked through the main entry of the airport to collect our bags. After stacking four large bags onto the cart, a Kuwaiti cart pusher helped me get my bags to the main entrance where we met up with the Marine liaison. Boy did I feel one hundred eyes staring at me!! Did I have something funny on my clothes, was my hair messed up? The only other female with me reassured me that they were looking because we were American Females. A different breed of woman!!
Well, we are now at a military base in Kuwait, awaiting a flight to Afghanistan. The favorite saying for this interim period is, "Eat until you are sleepy, and sleep until you are hungry!" Well, I made it to the gym today but by 4pm was unable to keep my lids open so it was time for a little nap. Jean, thank you soooo much for the eye mask. It really helped on the plane and in the tent we are staying in that has the lights on all day and night. Now if I could only get super earplugs to block out the sound of footsteps, laughs, and the generator outside running all electricity. All is well here. Take care.

Last night in Tampa...

So I have my flight set for tomorrow afternoon to Kuwait...13 hours of flight time, just enough to get me through a few movies, a bag of trail mix, three bloody mary's and one highly entertaining book. How do I feel as I move into the unknown? Excited to learn about a new culture, see a few new countries and once again realize how fortunate Americans are. My new year's resolution is to not complain about the conditions in Kabul b/c there are families outside our compound living in canvas tents covered with blankets...even as the snow falls and the temp drops below freezing. If any of you feel compelled to help the poor (majority) here in Afghanistan, please get with your churches/social groups and collect as many blankets, shoes and jackets that you can. Pay it forward by sending these items to help a needy child or adult. I thought about the homeless living on the streets in our US cities today and realized that most of them, if interested, have open access to programs, shelters and people that want to help them stay healthy. Needy Afghans aren't as fortunate. I'll sign off for now to flip my laundry, pack my bags and grab a few zzz's before the sun comes up over the beautiful Tampa Bay.

Thoughts before leaving USA

What an amazing country we live in to have safe drinking water, a requirement for all children to receive an education and the ability to drive from one city street to the next without fear. We are so lucky to have a government that protects us from harm instead of inflicting it. As I sit here and ponder my current home and the one I will soon have, there's a feeling of hope, a feeling of excitement that is beginning to grow. A feeling that even if I can only improve one Afghani's life by sharing a smile, offering a meal or telling a story, I know that my service will be worth it. It isn't enough for me to settle in to my military post, eat three warm meals a day, work out at the gym and sleep in a warm bed. There is a bigger purpose...to help those who cannot help themselves. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather then avenge it?" I'll sleep on this thought tonight, in my warm bed.
Good night, all.