In Country

So I made it to our final destination.  No hiccups, no SNAFUs, and aside from a terribly tight squeeze on an incredibly bumpy military aircraft, no real adventures getting here.  Once we got here, however, it was quite the adventure. Getting off the plane into the terminal, we were all carrying someone else's carry on, and had to figure out a logic puzzle just to get ours back, and get the one we had back to the rightful owner.  It was mass chaos for about 30 minutes.

The couple days that we've been here, we've received quite a few briefings and instructions on how to work with the locals and the civilians who work here on the base.  I've followed that protocol, and have not had any issues.  The folks here on the FOB have been cordial and welcoming, and most have been extremely helpful.

We have run into a few issues though.  The internet for example, we were told it would cost between $60-$90 per month.  Yes, it seems a little expensive, but given how important home is to us we thought it would be okay.  After all, there are three of us in these tiny rooms (8'X14'), so at $20-$30 per person, no biggie, right?  So after discussions and figuring it all out, we signed up for it.  We all had our laptops out, and were excited to check in on home.  Then came the shock.  No, it isn't $60 per room, it is $60 per account!  Meaning $180 per room, in order for us all to use it at once.  We all agreed that that was outlandish, so we decided still to just get one account, and agree that we wouldn't all be on it at the same time.  I sure hope that that doesn't turn into an issue nine months from now, but we shall see.  I know how odd it is for me to be complaining about internet service while on a deployment.  After all, many deployed soldiers before me, relied solely on letters or phone calls.  I am happy and thankful to have a few comforts of home, though.

So far, we've been given briefings, trained, and begun to get acclimatized.  We haven't really started working in our given missions just yet, that I'm sure will happen next week.  But for now, everyone is doing okay, and aside from a few moments of homesickness and frustration, so am I.

I look forward to posting more soon, and even more so, I look forward to coming home.