Dear Friends and Family,
Sorry it's been a while, but there has been a lot to get used to, including an ever-changing schedule and very tiring workload. I'm going to try for a shorter blog style. Shorter, more frequent updates, rather than to try to dump everything on my mind.
So, what's it like around here on Camp Virginia, Kuwait?
Sand. Rocks. Diesel generators. This entire place runs on diesel. Have you ever been some place that ran entirely on the stuff?
It's a trip, really. Imagine being behind the scenes at a carnival, but there are no rides. The sound and smell of medium-sized to giant generators permeate this place.
Heat. This place, at 9 or 10 at night in early October, was as hot a it ever was in Central Valley, CA, where I grew up, at noon on the hottest day of summer. It's cooled down considerably now though. Now it's only that hot at noon here. But it's mid-October! There is no autumn here, because there is no foliage of the right kind. There is very little vegetation at all.
Porta-johns. Just about anywhere you are here you are almost guaranteed to be down-wind of a porta-john. On nearby Camp Arifjan there are deluxe, "Cadillac" air-conditioned ones. Not here. Most are equipped with a kind of shade mechanism that absorbs a lot of heat, but by the time you're done doing your biddness, if you're unlucky enough to just have to go during the day, you've lost some weight due to sweat. You're drenched. Well, I am. Some people don't sweat as much. This is a mixed-blessing all 'round.
More next time!
Love,
Mike
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