Before and after...

So me and my Team Sergeant have been out traveling around our battalion's area. Unfortunately for me, I was the first female to ever visit these areas. I swear to you, I am not a whiner at all in these situations. But sometimes I have to draw the line.P ictures are just much more effective than words.

Before...










After...










This is the mess tent at one of places. They go to another COP and pick up hot chow once a day. Funny how the food seems better out like that than at the FOB. Must be that camping mentality in me.










Yeah, we can't complain. We have it good compared to the rest of the guys. At our main FOB, we have heat in our tent... not to mention we have a tent! The guys we visited didn't have tents. They're sleeping on the ground, which is very cold this time of year! Some have cots, but the cots aren't much more comfy than the ground. The cots kill my back... must be my age compared to the young Infantryman. =\ It was so nice to get a shower after, well, too many days without one!


I love this picture. I think Jason would be proud of me. ; ) This elder has a hole in his roof from some explosions, so he was showing it to me.










Here's a project that we want to do. That's sewage running down the middle of their street between the homes. We want them to dig a trench and cover it with concrete tiles. I've seen it in other villages and it works great. Right now they just step around it like it's nothing, they're used to it.










Just some kids watching us while we're talking to a farmer. When I'd point my camera at them they'd hide behind the wall and then jump back up to watch.










I love the little girls! Most of the little boys are *$*#@s. They are hilarious when they realize I'm a girl. Most of the time they've never seen a female Soldier and they are so interested. They always walk behind me looking for my little hair bun.












My new BFF, ha! This is an ANA. He was hilarious. He kept talking to me all day and I didn't understand a lick of what he was saying... except "chai good". Yeah, chai is good, I love it!










They're harvesting their corn, and marijuana, right now. This little guy was bending over for some reason, like he was trying to look far into my camera. He was so cute. =)










I'm reading a book about Psalm 91 right now. And I tell you that I really do believe I have an angel with me. My prayers and yours work. Please keep them coming and remember everyone over here fighting some kind of war. Much love!

Gobble gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I woke up this morning, reluctantly, and started thinking about a few things that I am thankful for...

I am thankful to be alive and so blessed.
I am thankful for my family and all my friends that support me. You keep my spirits up daily... thank you!
I am thankful for my wonderful boyfriend who takes care of everything at home so I don't have to worry about anything like that over here.
I am thankful for the Soldiers that we have with us here. They keep me rolling on a daily basis.
I am thankful for all the luxuries that I do selfishly miss and hope that I never take them fore-granted.

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you today while you are thinking about what you are thankful for too. I hope you are all eating too much, napping, and enjoying your family today! I am missing my Dad and missing spending Thanksgiving with Jason and his family. But not being there this year will make it that much sweeter next year. =)

We had a great Thanksgiving meal at the DFAC today! Everyone that is here on this FOB in my Company actually sat down and ate together today. They had all the traditional fixings, along with a few odd decorations... a tug-boat ice sculpture, life-size crocodile and cobra. We figured that the tie to Thanksgiving was that the tug-boat brought over the croc and cobra from India, which is close to "Indian". It was entertaining to say the least!

Here are some pics from my last mission. The kids are much more interesting than the adults around here.

3.9 months....

According to my estimate, we have just hit the 3.9 month mark left in-country! But who's counting? ; )

Here are a bunch of pics from my last mission. It kind of felt like a camping trip this time, odd as it seems! We ate a lot and even had live music....

These are actually some of the local police from a village we were visiting. They party down after hours, ha!









Notice the guy standing on the "tablecloth" serving us chai tea. Yeah, they walk where you eat.









A medic cutting up some potatoes for chow... mmmmm good!










Beautiful sunset... for a brief moment you can forget where you really are.










Some workers taking a short break to pose for me.










My weapon of mass destruction... labeled with a High Roller sticker.










My girl passed out in the tent. The dust isn't so comfy with rocks underneath, be it didn't bother her one bit!










Medic looking at a burn on a little girl's hand. Bless her heart, she didn't act like it hurt at all.










My two are a mess together at a shura! They're drinking this icky yogurt drink, we call it "Afghan wine". No alcohol, but they both passed out after drinking a bunch of it.










I'm sitting in the vehicle taking this picture, but hopefully you can see the guy riding the donkey. They stopped these guys to ask some questions, next thing we know the interpreter is riding the donkey! Cheap entertainment.










My girl showing the kids the optics on here weapon. I got on to her for letting them touch it... last things those kids need to think is that weapons are cool.










Just a little cutie...













From the village bazaar... tailor shop, well-stocked store, and shoemaker.




















Me and my Team Sergeant chillaxing.










Kids working in the dasht (desert).

Mucho pics!

Dublin's infamous Temple Bar.









Howth, Ireland. This was about a 20 minute train ride from Dublin.








Fussen, Germany...













I am obsessed with itty-bitty cars now! (First one in Paris, then Munich's BMW Museum)













Paris.... Notre Dame Cathedral, Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre























The Colosseum in Rome...










Cinque Terre, Italy













Germany... the best brats and sauerkraut in the world!

A good day...

Today was a good day. I got to chat with Trish this morning on FB.... what a wonderful way to start the day! I don't get to get on FB, or my blog enough. I had a good patrol this afternoon, and just had some yummy chai tea and fresh bread with one of our local contractors. However.... I'm pretty sure I ingested a mouse turd in the bread. In fact, I just threw up a little thinking about it. Sometimes it's not so good to be uber-aware of your surroundings. Anyway, I'm still alive and now know a mouse turd or two won't kill me. =\~

Just to catch you all up, my R&R was awesome! Jason and I had a whirlwind European vacation. We met in Dublin, then flew to Paris... took the train to Munich... then to Fussen, Germany... Cinque Terre, Italy... Rome... and back to Dublin. I can tell you this much... 2 days in one spot is not enough time! But we saw a lot in a short time and ate a lot... it was nice. I will have to post pictures later (sorry!) because I don' t have my computer with me now. It's hard to say what the highlight of the trip was... either the Sistine Chapel or Cinque Terre for me. Or Suzanne's Bed & Breakfast and the delicious food in Fussen for Jason? Or just the awesome Guinness in Ireland!?! I sure enjoyed all the coffee too! Sometimes it was a little smaller than my American tastes prefer, but still delish!

So back to work... and time is actually going by quickly. Being here day to day it's hard to see the progress that has been made in our area. But if we can take a step back and compare now to when we first arrived 5-6 months ago- we have people working on projects in areas we didn't even go before and women are actually coming to the FOB (for claims unfortunately, but hey, they're coming). We are trying to get some kind of women's center or program started so they have a place to come learn skills together, and eventually be able to sell their things at the local bazaar once it's renovated. Big ideas! The schools in our area aren't up and running yet unfortunately. But we have all these kids that show up for work in the mornings, so we're trying to come up with some way to engage and educate them. We're getting somewhere, patiently and slowly. Today this little boy, who came up to my waist, ran up to me and wanted to shake my hand. He was looking to see if I had a bun on the back of my head as if he didn't believe I was a girl. It was so cute when he saw I did have hair and he busted out giggling! I am trying to be more patient with the ANA and ANP guys with how they react to us females. I look at it as an opportunity to teach them some manners... instead of punching them in the throat like I really want to do. But it has gotten better overall, at least in my opinion.

Ah, another address for the same place in the dust...
Kitty Powell
A/431 CA BN, FOB Wilson
HHC, 2 BSTB, 101 ABN DIV
APO, AE 09370

We don't need anything thanks to you all. We have tons of hygiene and girly stuff! If you are compelled to send something though, just snack/food stuff is great! We all love to eat. =) Healthy snacks are a big bonus for me so I'll quit eating processed JUNK all the time!

So today was a good day, but not all days are good for these guys. I'm always so impressed with them when I get to go out with them and see how they interact with the local populace... after having some really bad times. Continue to keep us and their families at home in your prayers.

Much love!

Salam Alechem!

We have claims once a week where locals come in and we pay them for damages we've caused (or in some cases, others have caused). This elder, one arm and one tooth, came in and was so nice, he was coming in to see about a claim from 3 yrs ago! I gave him some toys to take back to the children at his compound. He was so tickled when I showed him the paddle and slinky, it was cute.


Here's a pic of 'Team Rage'.... nice irony for a Civil Affairs team. =)














As I'm getting ready to go on R&R, I have all these apprehensions of leaving my team when we have all these things going on. I feel like I just got back and now leaving again, although my last trip wasn't exactly planned. But I think I've managed to line things up so they'll be quite busy while I'm gone and see what my life is like as the team leader.

Just followed up with the doc yesterday on my liver. Only bad news he gave me was I shouldn't drink while I'm on R&R. Then I told him I'd be in Ireland though! He said I'd probably be okay with just one or two... but if anyone asked he didn't tell me that. Ha! But seriously, I am feeling 100% better. I have been eating as good as I possibly can here and haven't taken any medications to tax my liver, not even motrin for headaches. I wish I had cheated and taken a motion sickness pill before my last helo ride though. It took everything in me not to throw up. Ugh, those are supposed to be fun!