One More Time, With Feeling!

So we tried double teaming Pres Karzai with both AMB Eikenberry and Senator Kerry to no avail. We're heading into a run-off election in the next 2 weeks. They couldn't get the deal cut behind closed doors so we'll do this all over again. Yowza. Can you imagine risking your life to go out and vote only to be told 2 months after the fact that you have to do it all over again? I anticipate we'll have a siginificant amount of voter apathy in this next round. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised.

So a quick, and perhaps you'll find funny, Senator Kerry story. So after the last blog entry where I was boasting that I hadn't been sick, I was leveled with the flu this week. Actually, most of the camp is leveled in some form or fashion of the flu, crud, seasonal cough. So, I'm leaving work Saturday evening and have decided to take a coffee pot back to the room with me so I can make hot soup, cider, tea, etc and try to nurse myself back to health. I load up an empty cardboard box with the coffee pot and associated boxes of dried goods and head out into the darkness. I'm almost outside of our work compound when a group of suit wearing civilians (nothing against them, someday I'll probably be one) cuts in front of me and is walking significantly slower than I'd like. I'm trying to bob and weave around them as we approach the exit with my Sanford and Son box in hand when I step out and cut off...Senator Kerry. He'd just finished taping his interviews for the Sunday morning talk shows and was heading back to the Embassy. A quick "good evening Senator" and off to my quarantined room I went...classic!

Still fighting the flu but you know they can't keep us South Dakotans down for long. Hot cocoa and some Mama Salsa/chips and I'll be back! Interesting dinner note, since they just made the announcement that there will be an election run-off, the Mullah from the mosque next door is sending out his messages. I've learned a few Dari words/phrases but I'd really love to know what he's shouting out tonight.

Have included a little bit of field humor for you as well. Also, this week's pictures are from the recent suicide bombing in Kabul where the Taliban tried to target the Indian Embassy. Missed the embassy but killed a lot of innocent civilians. Will also include a couple pics of our barracks kittens so it's not all gloom and doom.

Hope you're sipping cider and carving pumpkins with friends and family!

Love and miss you,

Andrea

Signs That You're in Afghanistan

1. You run in terror from a controlled detonation your first week, then stand in the open to watch real mortars landing, a month later.

2. The most intimate contact you've had in months is with the shower curtain.

3. Your most successful pick-up line is "I've got a vehicle".

4. Your 6:00 am wake-up call is "BOOM" Alarm Red, Alarm Red, Alarm Red".

5. They actually give weapons to the Air Force personnel.

6. You realize AAFES is their own country, and can print their own money.

7. The amount of sand in your boots is only surpassed by the amount in your nose.

8. Something as simple as taking a shower or going to the bathroom at 2:00 in the morning requires preparation equal to the Apollo moon landing.

9. The Texas Style Brisket is not from Texas, is not brisket, and has no style.

10. You are watching a "chick-flick" with 300 guys with machine guns.

11. You can buy a car or truck from the on post AAFES, but paper towels are nowhere to be found.
12. You live in a gated community, but your home is still a trailer.

13. Your idea of a night on the town is going to another DFAC.

14. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but you still wouldn't want to be on that side of the fence.

15. The local community holds fireworks displays every night in your honor.
16. You see a guy in full battle rattle driving a Humvee trying not to spill his latte'.

17. It feels normal to dry your hands at the DFAC with toilet paper.

18. A 105-degree day in the summer actually feels cool.

19. You don't even notice an F-16 taking off anymore.

20. You don't stop what you're doing anymore, when you hear automatic gun fire coming from the perimeter.

Legend: Controlled detonation = Our guys blow up captured ammunition & explosives

AAFES = PX (store) (gives cardboard chip money, instead of coins for change)

IBA = Individual Body Armor

T-Walls= Cement barriers around buildings

DFAC = Dining Facility (Mess Hall) (the DFAC paper towels is toilet paper thin)

Full battle rattle= Wearing your body armor, helmet, etc.