MinnesotaMel

Weekends are good

Weekends here are Friday and Saturday, so the timing of my arrival was perfect. Yesterday I went to the office to meet my boss and see the office and start to get adjusted, but today I think I will enjoy one last day of quiet before the actual chaos of work and life begins here for me.

Some initial thoughts...

1- the heat is overwhelming and not bad at the same time. How is this possible? So far I have basically gone from AC apartment to AC shuttle bus to AC office, with only short bits of outside exposure. But the outside exposure is tough, even in small doses. I have a huge respect for our troops, who are able to hike in full gear in the heat. They are amazing.

2- the personal protective gear is heavy. I have photos of me in my vest and helmet, but have been unable to upload them yet. The only good way to carry them from place to place is to wear them- all 35 pounds of them.

3- From the airport to the IZ, I got to ride in on a big helicopter. I had the last seat in the back. We walked on from the rear, through the searing heat of the engines, carrying our gear on with us. After we were all loaded, the soldier raised the platform up, and though I could still see through the back of the helicopter, I felt pretty secure. Little did I realize that he would actually LOWER the platform again once we were in the air. He walked right out and swung his feet out the back of the platform. I must admit, I was scared enough, not being seatbelted in or anything, sitting there 5 feet away from the gaping platform, with only the air between me and the city below. I clung tight to the side of my seat and leaned as close of possible toward the the guy sitting next to me and prayed for no evasive maneuvers. We landed safely, and obviously I did not get sucked out of the helicopter.

4- I moved directly into my new apartment in the New Embassy Compound. The apartments are larger than I expected. I should have a roommate, but the woman assigned to room with me decided not to come back from her last R&R. So I have a two bedroom place to myself for the moment. I don't expect that moment to last long though, with the constant arrival of new people. Originally the apartments were designed as one bedroom units, but with the much larger numbers of staff than ever projected working here, they were all converted into 2 bedroom places by enclosing the living room into a second bedroom. That is the room I am in. I will upload photos when I can. Basically, when I enter through the front door there is a small dining area and kitchen, then there is my bedroom immediately in front of me and my roommates to the right of my room, and the down the hallway there is a bathroom. The bathroom has a great tub and excellent water pressure, but the shower nozzle broke during my first shower. The building quality of the whole complex leaves a lot to be desired. The original contractor is currently in the process of fixing some of the issues, but it is a real disappointment to me, as a US taxpayer, that we continue to allow contractors to rip us off by accepting shoddy workmanship.

5- Someone asked me if being here is like being at summer camp with everyone wearing kevlar instead of shorts and t-shirts. So far, it has a bit of that feel to it, in the cafeteria style dining facility and the constant stream of people and activities. However, I think that feeling will go away when the real work day starts tomorrow. There is so much to learn in so little time while my sponsor, the woman I am replacing, is still here.

Time to go now...even though I could go on for days...send me questions via email and I will be happy to answer them here, if I can.

posted by MinnesotaMel @ 3:33 AM