Good Evening! Sorry about the little snafu with the blog yesterday - hope nobody got any viruses, but I warned you not to sit on the seat... I added a fun little extra that was apparently not what it appeared to be. It's gone now and I hope there are no lasting repercussions.
I am still in BAF as my little jaunt to Von Trapp land was moved back until next week - this apparently happens a lot so I am adjusting to never really having a plan. Instead I listened while the construction managers and electricians regaled me with tales of exploding people in the minefields right outside the wire. Apparently this happens several times a week - people, goats, etc. The Afghanis actually dig up the mines to resell and this little business endeavor often doesn't work out in their favor. This base is large in land mass, but we are pretty concentrated as to where we live and work because of the mines and air field. You can look across the wire (I live right on it) and see a little village right there - the entire area surrounding the base and countryside is loaded with mines so these people are living in that. Most of them have cleared paths that are relatively safe and the kids are often too light to set them off. It's just surreal. This wire situation ... there isn't nearly enough of a barrier between where many of us live and the wire - I am working on that as it appears quite a few of us live within a blast zone .... ahhh that's comforting.
On to the food ... you are either going to gain or lose 20lbs here. If you originate from a situation where overcooked and over-steamed food is a step up, then good for you. This will be delicious - add 20lbs. If you live with a Chef (like me), and aren't that bad at composing a nice healthy dish for yourself then bad for you - you lose at least 10lbs - add the scent of body odor from the largely third world foreign nationals serving you the food and there's another 5lbs gone. Finally, with the absence of alcohol and all the walking you should be down to your old chiseled self in no time. They also post the calorie and fat amounts for all the food they serve. I have been doing pretty well on chicken, fresh veggies and salad for lunch and dinner and then eggs, yogurt and fruit for breakfast - but I'm telling you that an entire year of this will take some creativity on my part. I'm just grateful I can eat fresh food, but it's not anything to write home about - blog maybe, but not write home. I think the biggest issue is not eating out of boredom and avoiding all the junk food and sweets. Not too hard at this point. Plus, my sense of smell is returning as my cold disappears and there are very few aromas around here that are appetizing. I sound so spoiled.
I'm getting ready to prepare another hot tea for the evening. Until my coffee/tea Pod arrives, I have been walking back scalding hot water, in a paper cup, in the dark, over rocks, about 250 yards to my hut - burning myself and cursing the entire way. When I get back here, I have about half of the water left for a little Chai tea before bed - and sore, red fingers from the water burns. This my dear friends, is how the "drink of the night" goes down for me most evenings.
Drink for this evening - hot chai tea and a bottled water ... missing that wine (whine)
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