C-130 rollin down the strip....

So…been in afghan about 2 weeks now and I’m still alive! Sometimes it feels like we just got here and other times it feel s like we’ve been here for awhile.
The flight over here on the C-130 was definitely a 1st for me, and definitely very interesting. It’s fairly cramped inside, not a lot of room to move around, and like the most difficult seat belts ever on the face of the earth. Oh well, it’s all good. It’s very loud—need hearing protection or headphones in when flying. Got some good sleep on those flights though, slept the whole way=AMAZING!! The landing was probably the best part cuz we spiraled down. It felt like a roller coaster…I even “lost my stomach” a couple times. Loved it!!
So, since I’ve gotten here, I now have 15 roommates in one very small room…yes, you are reading that correctly, there are 16 of us in one room. 12 sleep on actual bunk beds, and 4 sleep on mattresses on the floor. Conveniently, I am one of the 4. It’s not too much fun, but we make the best of it. Thankfully, ½ of us are on day shift and ½ on night shift. That way, not all of us are in the room at the same time anymore. I am on night shift, so basically my life now consists of sleeping, working, eating occasionally, and….yeah that’s about it. I thought I had no life before, I really have no life now. Haha
This place is all desert, kinda like 29 Palms, CA…spent a total of 6 weeks there, I know it well. Really the only thing missing here is mountains…well, actually, there are some mountains here, we just don’t get to see them often b/c it’s so dusty. It’s like a constant layer of fog that permits you of seeing longer than a mile away. And when there’s dust storms, those definitely don’t help the visibility either….and they hurt the eyes! They’re kinda like a blizzard, but w/ sand/dust instead of snow. The weather is fairly warm right now, usually w/ what I think are blue skies (dust) and sunshine. I think we’ve had probably less than 5 cloudy days since we’ve been here. It hasn’t rained yet, and it probably won’t until after we leave. We’re here for the hot/dry season.
So, to sum it all up, I’ve been doin ok. As usual, some days are harder than others, but that’s expected, especially out here. The 1st time I got to call home from here, I was so excited/shocked that the person on the other end actually answered (it was like 3 a.m.), that I really didn’t know what to say. It brought tears to my eyes when I heard their voice for the 1st time in about a week. I love to call home, and I do so as much as possible. I also love to get emails from home, some which include pictures…those also bring tears to my eyes. As I’ve said before like a million times and I’ll probably say another million times, thank you so much to everyone reading this for all the continued prayers, love, encouragement, and support. It really, truly does mean a lot to me and helps me to get through each and every day knowing I have such a big support system back home.
Oh yeah, and they do serve caffeine (mountain dew, energy drinks, coffee, etc) here!! And believe me…it is delicious!! J Also, to all my Michigan fan friends and family, my motivation on hikes or even while running is singing “Hail to the Victors” to myself….over and over again. It really does help!! :)

Thank you and love you all!!!

~stef

p.s. please feel free to post your comments! i would love to know what y'all think about all this. :)