February 24

Clinic day today. I always wake up in the mornings excited for these days. Even just the two hours that we spend over there makes me so happy. We saw quite a few patients today. I got to hand out some of my sisters baby clothes she sent. The sad part however was it was not for a newborn but a 1 year old who looked no more than a few months old. I've added his picture below.

We also saw a two year old who had a servere vitamin deficiancy and couldn't walk yet. We gave him some viactiv vitamins and we will just have to hope for the best. We are out of most children's medicine including vitamins so now we just give them some fruit and send them home. It kills me everytime.

The women who work in the clinic gave us the traditional Afghan head scarves. They are gorgeous. They are all hand made and we had to get shown ( a few times) exactly how to wear these things :) Looking at the picture of all of us I have to laugh though. Reminds me of a childhood game...."one of these things is not like the other"

Other than that FOB life is going good. The wind has started to pick up here which means lots of lovely sand storms in the afternoon. It's sad to not see snow on the mountains anymore. That sure didn't last long! Afghanistan has turned into a dusty and sometimes muddy place. I can't wait to see what it looks like in the summer. I miss green things. I'd love to see a tree or grass or basically anything that isn't brown. And being color blind to brown's it's creates a very dull scenery for me :)

I'm also working on my new Humanitarian project. We found some old desks on the FOB and I spent the day power washing them, sanding the rust off of them, and painting them. I'll try and include pictures later next week. Once again the girls from the clinic are all on board and are down there helping me do all the work. And once again the command doesn't know about it nor do they care. Go Figure! Me and my girls will be winning the hearts and minds of Afghans by ourselves if we have too :)

Miss you all!

February 20, 2009

Yesterday was clinic day and we got to see quite a few patients. We had two women come in with their 2 children. All minor fixes but we got to hand out some of the items people have sent over. Yesterday was also a big day because we got to meet with the school teachers and principals of the local schools. Myself and 3 other females soldiers spent all of Wednesday making school care packages to hand out to the kids. A lot of people from my work sent school supplies and so did others so we were able to put together about 30 backpacks full of pens, crayons, pencils, paper, erasers, etc. The school teachers were super excited about it and it just went one step further to winning the hearts and minds of the local Afghans.

Unfortunately, most of the Humanitarian Aid myself and the 3 other girls do is done under the radar. My command doesn't even know about it. It's sad that we are doing such a good thing and it's not getting the attention or assets that it deserves. Supposedly we have made such a big impact on this area doing the clinic that we breaking cultural barriers, something that is unheard of in this region. We even treated men yesterday - I was shocked that they would let a female, much less an American female treat them.

I've attached some pictures of the kids from yesterday. Enjoy!

The much anticipated pictures I promised..

Pictures of my newly scarred tummy































Some call this being excessive....I prefer thorough

Just another day...

No new news to report on my mice issues. One of the guys in my building however caught one last night. I swear I have the Einstein of mice - he has pooped all around the trap but refuses to go into it. URRRGGG so frustrating!

We went over to the clinic yesterday. No patients unfortunately. I dropped off some clothes and blankets compliments of my sister and her team for the midwife to give out to the newborns she delivers while we aren't there. She told me that the patients are always so grateful for getting some clothes for their baby. I've had a few people ask if we are still accepting things and the answer is yes...however, we might be leaving within the next two months to go to another FOB so if at all possible, please get it in the mail ASAP. If I get them after we leave here I'll just use them at the next FOB I'm sure.

Myself and a few other soldiers were invited over to the clinic last night for dinner. I'm still not sure how I feel about Afghan food. I love the rice but the meat is always iffy. We had goat last night and there was bone and skin of the goat floating around in it. Not the most appetizing. I do however love the bread and sweet rice. They make this rice out of oranges...unbelievable! Wish I could get the recipe. It always amazes me that as little as they have they are so hospitable and always inviting us over for these huge dinners (usually 10-12 attend).

Last night I got an email about luxuries and how just being able to call me is a luxury we take for granted. I started thinking about that and all the things that we take for granted as Americans. Here are some of the little things that I miss:
- being able to flush a toilet
- not having to walk a 1/4 a mile every time I have to go to the bathroom
- being able to brush my teeth with running water instead of using bottled water
- being able to decide I want something for dinner and going to the store to get it
- being able to go and visit my friends and family whenever I want, not to mention calling them
- being able to walk around freely

I obviously could go on and on but you get the idea. As much as I hate these deployments they always make me see life in a different way and not take things for granted. People here have so little and still they are happy - they don't need all the luxuries that we surround ourselves with. I think we could all learn something from the way they are forced to live their lives. Don't get me wrong...I still love all the luxuries I have in the U.S. - it just makes you appreciate them a little more!

And the Mouse Saga Continues...

Upon my return from Qatar I came back to a beautiful sight…..the evil mouse dead in one of my traps. I was so ecstatic that I finally caught the mouse that has been thwarting my attempts to capture him for the past month. I cleaned all my shelves off again because he felt the need to poop all over them one last time….or so I thought….. last night I was slumbering peacefully knowing that I no longer had a mouse running loose when low and behold I hear crinkling once again on my shelves. Pissed off I flip on the lights determined to find this new mouse. No sign of the mouse but there was poop all over my newly cleaned shelves. And to make matters worse the mouse decided he didn’t want to eat my food….he wanted to eat my Q-tips that were left out and my make-up sponge applicator. Not only did he gnaw on them but he shredded them and made the biggest mess which not only spanned my entire shelves but my floor as well. I had to once again declare war on the Afghan mice. This time however I’m better armed as my mother sent me some mice bait. These suckers no longer stand a chance. I once again strategically placed mouse traps throughout my room and the surrounding rooms in my building….I’ll keep you updated on the progress of my hunt

In other news – I got some packages from my sister the other day. Her friends / team members sent some baby clothes which I have already started to distribute. I’ll post some pictures in a few days. I started making baby care packages and when the women come in after giving birth we give them a little starter package with formula, toys, bottles, food, and clothes. They are so thankful for it and really appreciate all that we give them. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference, even if it’s a little one!

Other than that things are going good around here. We got some more snow last night which melted today turning the FOB into a muddy mess. The snowmen that were built didn’t last too long in the afternoon sun. And just for the record because a few of you have asked…No the unit did not get beer for the super bowl. The soldiers got it in Iraq but not here. They did however supply mozzarella sticks, mini pizzas, buffalo wings, etc. It was a pleasant surprise for the troops.

I’ll post again soon.

Return to Afghanistan minus an Appendix

Hey everyone - sorry for the lack of posts but as many of you know I was in Qatar recovering from surgery. On the 21st of January I got MEDEVAC'd out of our FOB for surgery to remove my appendix. It was done in quite a rush and I didn't get a chance to even let my family know I was going to have surgery. After surgery I got flown down to Qatar for 2 weeks of recovery.

Qatar is amazing. I stayed on an Air Force base and man oh man did I join the wrong branch of service. They have swimming pools, movie theaters, pizza hut, baskin robbins, dairy queen, dunkin donuts, etc. Plus to add insult to injury they are getting combat pay for being there! I doubt any of them have even held their weapon must less fired it.

I will try and post more tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well!