More Thoughts of Kandahar

I have a couple of other thoughts about the place I am residing at for the next 10 months or so.

Driving: I actually have several points to make.

1) The speed limit everywhere on base is 20km (12 mph.) And the cops actually use radar! Do you know how hard it is to drive 12 mph? You can barely get your truck out of first gear! Sometimes, late at night, I go crazy and creep up to 30km (18mph) and when the moon is full, I shift into third and hit 40km (25mph!) Nothing like living life on the edge!
2) The speed limit needs to be that slow. Some people are stupid, and walk out in front of you, and some people (this is a NATO base) were not born behind the wheel of a car like an American, and it shows! And don't get me started about Jingle trucks and their Afghan drivers who are all over this base...

Communication:

1) I have a cell and it works (sometimes.) As I drove around my lot in circles late last night (the time zone issue blows) trying to find the signal to call into my conference call, it hit me: This is a pain in the a*s! But it does beat the olden days when you, you know, wrote letters and stood in line to use the phone and crazy stuff like that.
2) THANK GOD for the Internet and email! You can still keep in touch with your family and find out the latest dumb a*s stuff coming out of the puzzle palace in Wash DC.
3) Texting always works. Not sure why, but I can always text, even when I can not get a voice call. I have become quite proficient at the art of texting. I am trying to give my brother-in-law's daughter a run for her money when I get home!

Living conditions:
Tent living sucks, tent showers suck, standing in line to eat sucks. I walk on rocks all day, and I never thought I would live to see the day when I could not wait to walk on concrete, let alone grass!

Other than that, this place is the garden spot of the mid-east! I am really trying to find out what the Russians were trying to accomplish when they invaded this country (I am SURE you knew that fact, if not, watch Charlie Wilson's War,) which started the whole chain of events that led to me being over here...