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<\/a>I had my first visit. \u00a0Vice Admiral Thompson and 5 other Admirals with the Defense Logistics Agency came for a visit. \u00a0Things went smoothly enough, but I am glad to get it over with. \u00a0The Vice Admiral must have been pleased because he coined me! \u00a0Every General and Admiral has his own commemorative coin, and it is traditional for him or her to award people’s good performance with a coin in the handshake. \u00a0When I sent the Admiral and his party off into their C-130, he gave me his coin in a handshake!<\/p>\n
The coins are pretty cool. \u00a0It gives me something to collect and remember my time here by, but it is hard work to plan and coordinate these visits. The General officers are not so bad, but it is all of the “strap-hangers” or the other people that come along for the ride. \u00a0Sometimes they want to do their own thing, and I have to deal with these requests very politically because my job is to support the principal’s itinerary, and not all of his other strap-hangers.<\/p>\n
I have lost about 15lbs since I arrived here. \u00a0The main reason is that the food is not so good. \u00a0I reside on a NATO base–not an American base. \u00a0The food has a european\/mediterranean slant to it, but they don’t even do it very well. \u00a0The meat is always dry and stringy. \u00a0They cook a lot of pork, lamb, chicken, and fish. \u00a0They sometimes do steak, and turkey. \u00a0There are always fresh vegetables, and salad. \u00a0There is always pasta and rice\/veggie mix too. \u00a0I don’t do the pasta, but I do the rice. \u00a0They do potatoes whole and peeled and mashed, but I avoid the potatoes too. \u00a0My typical lunch and dinner consists of meat, rice\/veggie mix, steamed veggies, and salad with oil and vinegar and black pepper. \u00a0Olive oil and white distilled vinegar is all they have in the way of salad dressing. \u00a0I have grown used to this. \u00a0I eat more salad and veggies here than ever before in my life! \u00a0 The food is healthy, that is for sure. \u00a0But it also is not too good-tasting so I eat a lot less! \u00a0When I got sick, I hardly ate anything for a week! The food didn’t appeal to me, and my stomach felt so bad that I couldn’t take much anyway.<\/p>\n
Breakfast is the same every day. \u00a0Eggs, cooked in a variety of ways depending on the day of the week and bacon. \u00a0The bacon is not strips like you and I are used to. \u00a0It is more like pan-fried shaved ham. \u00a0It is thick and dry and stringy. \u00a0but the flavor is good and it seems to be less fat than American bacon strips. \u00a0Also available for breakfast are: stewed tomatoes, baked beans, shriveled nasty hot-dog links, a big pot of pre-made oatmeal, and a variety of cereals. \u00a0Sometimes there is french toast or pancakes, but I do not care for either of these. \u00a0Sometimes they have cheap nasty maple syrup, and you will never find any powdered sugar. There are a variety of breads for toasting, too. \u00a0There is a “sandwich” line where you can build your own, but there are few meat–salami is always one of them, and then usually roast beef. \u00a0There is only one type of cheese, though, and I do NOT care for swiss!<\/p>\n
There is plenty of fattening, unhealthy, delicious American food at the other US camps in Kabul. \u00a0My team of colleagues and I get over to these other places occasionally and I consume a whole LOT more calories during these meals. \u00a0Two grilled cheese sandwiches, fried chicken and broccoli smothered with cheddar cheese sauce! \u00a0Mmmmm! \u00a0A loaded baked potato and fire-grilled steak! \u00a0A double cheeseburger with french fries and baked beans! \u00a0A hotdog covered with chili and cheese! \u00a0I eat my way to an upset tummy fast at these American dining facilities. \u00a0The diet thatat my NATO compound keeps seems much easier on the digestion. \u00a0American food is my fast ticket to gas city!<\/p>\n
The tap water is for hygeine purposes only–it is not potable. \u00a0We drink bottled water only and we even have to brush our teeth with bottled water. \u00a0Neglecting to do this can result in sickness and unintentional rapid weight-loss! \u00a0Local dairy is to be avoided also! \u00a0All drinks provided in the dining facilities are bottled! \u00a0Soda, juice boxes, and ultra-high pasteurized milk that just doesn’t taste the same as fresh Amerian homogenized\/pasteurized skim milk! \u00a0I miss my skim milk! \u00a0Thought of getting a pitcher and my food-storage powdered milk from home. \u00a0That would taste better than the high-shelf-life ultra-pasteurized stuff, and at least I will be able to get my calcium in me.<\/p>\n
The water I shower in is usually cold. \u00a0The hot water gets used up fast with 40-60 girls to one hot water tank! \u00a0I take luke-warm to cold showers most mornings. \u00a0I have learned out of necessity to take a combat shower! \u00a0Turn water on, get wet for 10 seconds, shut water off. \u00a0Soap up, shave, and lather the shampoo. \u00a0Turn water on for 20 seconds and rinse off! \u00a030 seconds total of running water and I’m nice and clean! \u00a0On the rare ocasion that I do get some warm water, I linger in there a little bit longer, but the showers are also very disgustingly filthy, so I never stay too long. \u00a0I miss long hot showers and seamy hot baths! \u00a0I suspect that I will want to take many of these when I get home.<\/p>\n
There is a well-equipped gym, but all the measurements are in Kilos–not lbs!! \u00a0This made for an interesting first workout! \u00a0And when I stepped on the scale for the first time, I thought I was unhealthily light weighing in at 62 for the first time when I got here! \u00a0I weight 59 kg now=130lbs. \u00a0I am still dropping weight, though. \u00a0The weight machines are all \u00a0man-size also, too big for me to use a lot of it, so I mostly do free-weights. \u00a0There are plenty of cardio machines and a variety of cardio classes and sports offered too. \u00a0I plan to play some soccer as soon as David mails me my indoor soccer shoes. \u00a0There is a large outdoor field too, but it doubles as a helopad and therefore has limited availability for sports events. \u00a0The propellers of a blackhawk would do quite a number on a soccer-ball I’d imagine!<\/p>\n
I also get over to the U.S. Embassy as often as I can to swim. \u00a0They have a 23-yard lap pool. \u00a0Pam sent me all of my swim toys and laminated swim workouts so I can have some fun and get a good workout at the same time. \u00a0It is still hard for me, though, due to the poor quality of air. \u00a0I just can’t perform the way that I do back home. \u00a0I went to spin class at 0530 this morning too, and the oxygen thing kicked my butt. \u00a0I will get used to it, though, I guess.<\/p>\n
We sometimes walk in a group between the HQ ISAF compound and Camp Eggers. \u00a0It is in the green zone, but still we walk with loaded pistols. \u00a0As I mentioned before, the children mob you and try to get you to buy bracelets and scarves. \u00a0I am not intgerested in buying from them, but I do want to help. \u00a0I talk with them and I am learning their names. \u00a0One boy named Rhosa pleaded with me to buy from him so that he can get new shoes. \u00a0His shoes were falling apart! \u00a0I promised Rhosa that I would provide him some new size-3 shoes. \u00a0All the kids’ shoes\/sandals are pretty shoddy. \u00a0Their toes hang out and their feet are filthy. \u00a0I would like to provide ALL the children with new shoes and socks before the winter. \u00a0I think my La Jolla\/PB ward would jump at the chance to help in that effort. Nothing too valuable though, because they will just end up selling them. \u00a0I want to see these kids wearing the shoes I procure for them.<\/p>\n
The children’s hands are filthy too. \u00a0My friend Pete once pulled out a handwipe and cleaned a girl’s hands. She admired her clean hands like she has never seen them so clean in her life! \u00a0I can tell that they do not shower often if ever, and they do not use deoderant either. The kids are dirty and they stink!<\/p>\n
One widow in blue burka with a small boy beggs outside the gate. \u00a0“Please, my baby sick. \u00a0Need money for docotor. \u00a0My baby sick.” \u00a0Her toddler does not look fatally sick to me, but his belly is round and protruding like he might be undernourished. \u00a0His cheeks are dry and chapped. \u00a0Looks like he has outgrown his clothes, and he could use some shoes like the other kids. \u00a0He is an adorably cute kid, though. \u00a0They all are very beautiful children with strikingly gorgeous eyes. \u00a0It is hard to tell them no.<\/p>\n
If the children are any gauge of the effectiveness of our efforts here, then I would say we still have a long way to go as for “winning the hearts and minds”, or as I prefer to put it “earning their trust and confidence”. \u00a0There is a school between the camps and while walking by the other day, a child shouted, “F@*& you!” at us several times as we passed. \u00a0Another boy on the streets called my friend a “bad man”. \u00a0A US Air Force Captain offered two boys a chocolate candy bar that he split into two for them. \u00a0One boy ate and enjoyed but the other refused and swatted the candybar away. \u00a0He did not trust us Americans. \u00a0This distrust no doubt is transferred down from his elders. \u00a0We have a long way to go here even in the capital city.<\/p>\n
Was at the U.S. Embassy pool one night when I heard several explosions. \u00a0My swim companion decided it was time to get back to our respective camps once he noticed that the security guards on the grounds had doubled. \u00a0Sure enough once we got to our camps, the take cover sirens sounded. \u00a0There was a rocket attack at the Kabul air base. \u00a0The next morning there was a suicide bomber attack in a Kabul hospital dining facility that killed 6 and wounded twenty.<\/p>\n
Such a world that the people of Afghanistan live in! \u00a0Can you imagine raising your family here? Yet the people are so resilliant to suffer decades of war and unrest that has kept them living in such poor and destitute conditions. \u00a0Such a resilliant people to have to fight for survival and to bounce back after so much loss. \u00a0We must be successful in our mission here. \u00a0We must aid these hard-working people to establish a legitimate central governement and security force of their own. \u00a0And that is what just we are doing here.<\/p>\n
We serve the Lord’s purpose here too, I believe. \u00a0I believe the Lord uses the joint coalition forces here to help establish the conditions of freedom and liberty which will someday allow for the freedom of religion in Afghanistan. \u00a0Can you imagine an Afghanistan where Christian Churches, Jewish Temples, LDS Temples and Islamic Mosques can coexist? \u00a0When this is at last realized, perhaps we will see a more peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan. \u00a0At any rate, I do know that the Lord loves the people of Afghanistan as he loves all of His children. \u00a0He seeks to bless them and if my service in anyway helps this cause, then I feel blessed and a pleasure to serve.<\/p>\n
Your Loving Daughter,
\nHeather<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi Mom! I am doing well. \u00a0As always, the adjustment has been hard, but I am getting there. \u00a0The elevation here is greater than one mile high so the air is void of O2 but also the air is very polluted too! \u00a0Worse than Los Angeles. \u00a0Everyone has an adjustment period where working out even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,30],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-heather","8":"category-letters-from-afghanistan","9":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41023,"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions\/41023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reddickfamily.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}