well, well, well, here it is, my first post...
originally i had some posts but since i couldn't blog, the only one that saw them was p22, via email. :( boo. no dice for you all. i guess that means i have to give you a rundown of what's happened since i've been over here.
let's start at the beginning. i left my mom and the love of my life crying (only my mom was actually there with me) as i went to get on the plane. HORRIBLE. got on the plane, and it was just surreal. it hadn't sunk in yet that i'd be gone for a year. we land in ireland for a little break which was awesome because i've been at that airport before on a rugby trip. then, not so awesome, as we were there for 12+ hours waiting for them to fix the plane. we got back on, after sleeping on the floor of the airport (all 350 of us), and headed to turkey. we couldn't get off the plane there which stunk, but were soon on our way again. last stop for this leg of the trip was bishkek, kazahkstan. i can honestly say i don't want to go there again. we were stuck there for 3 or 4 days (i had lost track of time at this point, due to extreme disorientation and little sleep). i did get to shower twice there, go me. finally, we load up on a c-17 headed for bagram, afghanistan. at this point, maybe it's sinking in a little, but still not so much. i'm ready to go though, ready to get my year started. we land a couple hours later and walk off the plane... to my amazement (and the amazement of all 21 of my group that was with me) we were surrounded on all four sides with these huge, beautiful, snow covered, 15,000 ft mountains! and, best of all, it's actually warm... well, in the fifties, but after being at Fort Drum, it was warm.
at this point, not so bad. we got settled in and over the next 4 weeks, we planned the arrival of our main body. that month was ok, some bad days, some good days. then the main body came and things started picking up. work got busy, days started speeding by, my morale was pretty high.
that brings me to today. today i've been here for a month and a half and it's alright. we've slowed down, not much going on, days are not going SO slow, but they're not going fast either.
there's been some rough points with my fiance, there's been some great times. church has helped immensely. i think i've grown closer and stronger in my faith than i ever have been, and i can honestly tell you all, that without Him, i think there were many a nights that i would have gone hysterical.
overall, the living conditions here are good. i live in what everyone calls "the egg shack" (all women live here, so we say we like to keep all our 'eggs' in one basket, hahaha). it's basically a college dorm, real bed, real mattress, desk, dresser, wadrobe, fridge, tv, microwave. not so bad you're thinking. well you're right. it's not so bad.
but there's things that a nice room doesn't fix. it doesn't make easier the fact that i have to eat the same food three times a day for a year; it doesn't help that if i'm not in my room, i'm at work, the gym, the store, or the dining facility and that's it; it doesn't make easier the fact that i have no friends but those people that i see every day at work all day, and after a couple months, people are going to start fighting; it doesn't help the fact that i miss my family and my fiance terribly, or that i won't see them until a two week break in july, followed by another 7 months in this country; it doesn't help that i'm living in a world covered in dust with no greenery for miles; it doesn't help that we have random unexpected explosions or rocket attacks... so as nice as the room is and as easy as the work is, it doesn't always make everything ok.
what does help, are the letters from home, (real, not email), the packages from my baby, the support from my family, and the daily coversations on the computer with my fiance. something else that helps... the big fat paycheck i get twice a month that will finance the down payment of our new house to be bought this summer. (thank you taxpayers)
though this may have seemed depressing, i'm not at all depressed. it's a learning experience, and after it's over, i'm sure i'll be glad to have had it under my belt. i miss you all and hope to see you down the road...
hfbibytifaybid, ilysmimmc, defamp22
originally i had some posts but since i couldn't blog, the only one that saw them was p22, via email. :( boo. no dice for you all. i guess that means i have to give you a rundown of what's happened since i've been over here.
let's start at the beginning. i left my mom and the love of my life crying (only my mom was actually there with me) as i went to get on the plane. HORRIBLE. got on the plane, and it was just surreal. it hadn't sunk in yet that i'd be gone for a year. we land in ireland for a little break which was awesome because i've been at that airport before on a rugby trip. then, not so awesome, as we were there for 12+ hours waiting for them to fix the plane. we got back on, after sleeping on the floor of the airport (all 350 of us), and headed to turkey. we couldn't get off the plane there which stunk, but were soon on our way again. last stop for this leg of the trip was bishkek, kazahkstan. i can honestly say i don't want to go there again. we were stuck there for 3 or 4 days (i had lost track of time at this point, due to extreme disorientation and little sleep). i did get to shower twice there, go me. finally, we load up on a c-17 headed for bagram, afghanistan. at this point, maybe it's sinking in a little, but still not so much. i'm ready to go though, ready to get my year started. we land a couple hours later and walk off the plane... to my amazement (and the amazement of all 21 of my group that was with me) we were surrounded on all four sides with these huge, beautiful, snow covered, 15,000 ft mountains! and, best of all, it's actually warm... well, in the fifties, but after being at Fort Drum, it was warm.
at this point, not so bad. we got settled in and over the next 4 weeks, we planned the arrival of our main body. that month was ok, some bad days, some good days. then the main body came and things started picking up. work got busy, days started speeding by, my morale was pretty high.
that brings me to today. today i've been here for a month and a half and it's alright. we've slowed down, not much going on, days are not going SO slow, but they're not going fast either.
there's been some rough points with my fiance, there's been some great times. church has helped immensely. i think i've grown closer and stronger in my faith than i ever have been, and i can honestly tell you all, that without Him, i think there were many a nights that i would have gone hysterical.
overall, the living conditions here are good. i live in what everyone calls "the egg shack" (all women live here, so we say we like to keep all our 'eggs' in one basket, hahaha). it's basically a college dorm, real bed, real mattress, desk, dresser, wadrobe, fridge, tv, microwave. not so bad you're thinking. well you're right. it's not so bad.
but there's things that a nice room doesn't fix. it doesn't make easier the fact that i have to eat the same food three times a day for a year; it doesn't help that if i'm not in my room, i'm at work, the gym, the store, or the dining facility and that's it; it doesn't make easier the fact that i have no friends but those people that i see every day at work all day, and after a couple months, people are going to start fighting; it doesn't help the fact that i miss my family and my fiance terribly, or that i won't see them until a two week break in july, followed by another 7 months in this country; it doesn't help that i'm living in a world covered in dust with no greenery for miles; it doesn't help that we have random unexpected explosions or rocket attacks... so as nice as the room is and as easy as the work is, it doesn't always make everything ok.
what does help, are the letters from home, (real, not email), the packages from my baby, the support from my family, and the daily coversations on the computer with my fiance. something else that helps... the big fat paycheck i get twice a month that will finance the down payment of our new house to be bought this summer. (thank you taxpayers)
though this may have seemed depressing, i'm not at all depressed. it's a learning experience, and after it's over, i'm sure i'll be glad to have had it under my belt. i miss you all and hope to see you down the road...
hfbibytifaybid, ilysmimmc, defamp22
posted by Lyss at 9:47 PM
2 Comments:
awlarlawlarlwawlarlarlawr. glad you are staying safe in the 'stan, but life will be better with you back in the states...fo shizzy. can't wait to see you again!
Yo TN....
I MISS YOU!!! Come home already!
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