Today was my first taste of Afghanistan, and I mean that both literally and figuratively.

Here’s why:

At work we produce a weekly magazine (I don’t personally, but another office does) and we have a contract with an Afghan man whose company prints these magazines and distributes them to bases throughout Afghanistan. I met the man today when he brought a van load of Afghan food to share with us and welcome all of us new folk to his country. And that’s how I had my first taste of Afghanistan, literally.

The food was good, it reminded me a lot of Turkish food. You had your big pieces of pita bread with rice and chicken mixed with different vegetables. There was barbecued lamb and some other meat. The guy went all out. It was a feast.

It was also a chance for me to have my first taste of Afghanistan, figuratively. One of my favorite parts of traveling is getting to meet people from different backgrounds and nationalities. It’s so interesting and it really opens your eyes to the world. Of course, here it’s a bit different. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to leave the base and interact with Afghans, but I promise you the Afghan people are not what many Americans imagine them to be. I don’t know this to be true, exactly, but I am almost sure of the fact that most Afghans are very caring, hospitable people. This guy didn’t prove otherwise.

What stuck with me most today was when the man spoke for a bit to welcome us to his country. I can’t remember word for word what he said exactly, but he mentioned how thankful he was for us. And by us, I mean all Americans and other nationalities that are here. He said that he knew we were leaving the safety of our homes and leaving our families behind to help fight for his country to have a better future. And that meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to me not because I’m out there risking my life, I’m not, but because hearing that come out of the mouth of an Afghan man goes to show that what we are doing here is right.

It’s so easy to sit back in the comfort of our American homes and say “it’s not our fight, what are we doing, let’s leave,” but when you look into the eyes of someone like this Afghan man and you understand that he is truly thankful for what our country is doing, you realize it’s worth it to be here.

And it is. I don’t know how long we’ll be here, but I hope we don’t leave until the work is done. The Afghan people deserve it.

Yesterday was Sunday.

Yesterday was my day off.

I woke up around 10:30.

I read a book, in my bed, until 12:30.

I ate a bowl of cereal.

I read some more.

I took a nap.

I read.

I played Guitar Hero.

I took a nap.

I ate dinner.

I read.

I called Steph*

I read.

I went to bed.

I’m not sure if that’s what God meant when He said Sunday shall be a day of rest, but around here there isn’t much else to do when you’re not working.

I can’t wait until next Sunday.

*highlight of my day.

Here’s what happens during a deployment, most of the time: a person deploys, they go to work, they go to the gym, and they go to bed; in between they eat healthy and come back looking all lean and mean.  That’s not happening to me. I’m not coming back lean, or mean. I’m going with a new approach. I’m coming home fat.

I don’t want to. It’s not my goal. It’s just that I’ve never had so much junk food so readily available to me in my life.  Seriously, everywhere I look there are boxes of candy, pop tarts, cookies, and more. It’s hard not to walk by these boxes and not take a look through the box for something you might like. Right now, for example, I’m eating a package of Peeps. I’m so coming home fat.

My only hope is to make sure I stay active by running and working out, which means I have to reacquaint myself with my long lost buddy…the gym. Hopefully we get along and hang out a bit during this deployment. They also have indoor soccer a few times a week, so that’s good. It’s something to stay physically active…and I need it, if not I’m coming home fat. I might just bring some Peeps with me.

I’m here, and I’m settled. That’s the big news for this blog post. I know I haven’t written anything for almost a month, but to be honest I didn’t really care to. I had bigger, better things to do, like, for example, spend time with Stephanie and just forget about the outside world for the two weeks that I was home. Unfortunately, those two weeks are over, as in long gone.

Now, finally, I’m here in Afghanistan settled into my fancy little tree-fort of a room. I say finally because since New Years Day I’ve been slowly making my way to this point and I can only take so many days and nights of traveling and living out of…not a suitcase…but 4 big duffel bags.

Last Tuesday I left San Antonio and since then I’ve experienced a night in a crap hotel room in Baltimore (totally my fault), a ten hour layover in Turkey, a 36 hour stopover in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where the temperature was somewhere around, oh I’d say 10 degrees, and where I enjoyed a night in a big tent with 150 bunk beds…all of them full. When I finally made it here to Afghanistan on Sunday I was put into a room where I had to wait a few days before moving into my permanent room. Tonight I can finally write and say I’m here, and I’m settled.

I am living in a plywood hut that has eight separate plyrooms. Ooh, I just made up that word. The plywood rooms give it the tree-hut feel, but to be honest it’s better than I expected. I have a place to hang my clothes and a place to put my books. I even have a small TV, and an, albeit slow, internet connection. I plan on doing my best to make it feel like home.

The job is cool. Much busier, and much better, than what I was doing in San Antonio. I’m glad that is the case. I think it will help the time go by a little faster. As much as I complain, I think this is all pretty cool. It’s an experience more than anything and besides missing Stephanie more than is healthy, it’s not that bad.

I’ll try to update this more often now that I’m settled and have an internet connection. The next six months I plan to read, write, and get ready for the next big adventure in my life: marriage. Oh yes folks, I’m still getting married. She has not, as many people might have hoped, changed her mind. Thankfully.