Coming to an end

The days are flying by as I'm starting to wrap things up here. I took a quick picture of the wall over my desk - thanks to all the kids that contributed artwork for me to display! :)

The thought of leaving here is finally settling in. One person from my training group has already left, a couple leave next week, one the week after that... and then comes my turn! :) My roommate received her end-of-tour award at a ceremony this week. Here she is being congratulated by MG Formica:

She's been a great roommate - I know I probably won't get that lucky once she leaves, but at least my next roommate will only be for a short while!

We had another delicious Mongolian barbeque meal prepared by Drew tonight, and he was sporting a great new apron. It says "Camp Eggers, home of the Drew-burger." I told him I'd make him famous, so here goes!

Had a chance to finally do some rug shopping. I ended up buying just a small one - so many beautiful ones to choose from, but it's really hard to decorate from so far away! I felt like I had a "real" Afghan shopping experience - I was even invited to have chai with the owner and his son (SO cute!).

And, as promised, the roses are really starting to bloom all over the base. Here's my favorite picture so far:

We're in the middle of turnover with my new boss, and my relief is now on this side of the world. Stay safe and we'll see you soon Dave!

Milestone!

A little bit of news to report this evening - would you believe this little blog has now registered over 1,000 unique IP addresses??? That's either a whole lot of people reading (well, at least checking out!) or a small group of people have been very busy logging in from a bunch of diferent computers! :) Kind of mind-boggling when you think about it... Anyway, just a quick "THANK YOU!" to everyone who is keeping up with my little adventure - and especially to those who forward the link on to others. I really appreciate it!

Just one funny picture to leave you with - I don't know about you, but this doesn't look at all like a comfortable journey to me! :)

Yet another farewell

Yep, another farewell. It was Martin's time to go today. He returns to Canada where I'm sure he'll do great things. He worked on the Afghan National Army (ANA) side of the SJA shop, so I didn't get to work with him directly on many things, but he certainly made my life much easier when it came to sharing our vehicle with them! The Colonel on the left runs the ANA shop (much like my boss runs the Afghan National Police (ANP) shop). And yes, that's an Arkansas hat - she's very proud of her state!


But with all the farewells have to come a few hails - and my boss is very happy that her relief is here! Welcome Scott! He's been here about 48 hours now, but he's handling the jet lag and time changes much better than I did!


Springtime in Afghanistan definitely means roses. The bushes are everywhere - I think it's just a matter of days before there is an explosion of roses. But, I managed to find this one hardy little flower a few days ahead of its peers:

We observed a multi-national prison assessment this week. They were focused on the actual prisons run by the Ministry of Justice, but while in Kabul they stopped by the detention center that the Ministry of Interior runs. We've been there many times, but it was an eye-opening experience for most members of the team. During the visit, this teenage kitty decided it wanted to get up close and personal - he/she actually came right up to us, but by the time I got the camera out it was time to go...


As part of that same assessment, we were privileged to conclude our meeting at the British Embassy. As you'll see below, the Brits don't have the same prohibition on alcohol that we do. Talk about rubbing our noses in it! :)

All in all, it's been a good week. My relief is now in the training pipeline. Dave, take care of yourself and don't get hurt! I'll see you in just a little while...

Spring is here!

Spring really is here! We've had entire weeks without rain (although I have to admit it's pouring at the moment!), the sun has been shining, and in general the weather has been really pleasant.

I've been asked what driving in Kabul is like. Let me first explain that they don't need driver's licenses. :) Then I'll explain that the traffic can really vary by day - the same trip can take anywhere between ten and forty minutes depending on what is going on in town that day. I took this picture (not while driving!) a few days ago - this is pretty much typical in the areas we go. And yes, it really is that dusty!



A quick pic of one of the local artists from our mini-bazaar. I haven't decided if I'm going to bring any home with me, but it's interesting to look!


A few spring pictures for you. I managed to catch this one at the Ministry where we mentor.


We were pleasantly surprised to find a lilac grove next to our basketball court. I have to admit I detour regularly there now - these smell SOOOO good! Not bad to look at either!

I'm afraid I don't have good news about the little garden. I went to see it a couple of days ago and there's nothing in bloom. A few grasses are hanging in there, but it doesn't look good...

My boss and I are getting ready for the arrival of our reliefs - hard to believe it's that time already! Her relief will be here shortly, and mine should be here in a few weeks.

But of course with new arrivals come farewells. Barbara left this week. :( This is a pic of her and me on her last Friday, which of course we spent outside making jewelry! Hopefully she is home now with her husband and two beautiful daughters. And yes, we really made a mess. :)

I would say "fair winds and following seas" - but since she's in the Army that probably doesn't mean as much to her. :)

I'm afraid not much else going on here. We're having great success with our training program and things appear to be clicking on all cylinders for other projects. That's not to say the job is easy - but I finally feel like I'm getting a better handle on things (of course, as it's almost time to go!). Pretty typical around here I guess... :)

USO update

As promised, a few of the "professional" pictures from the USO event...

Tommy Lasorda, Max Martini, Robert Patrick, Dennis Haysbert, and David Robinson. Turns out I'm about the same height as Max Martini and Robert Patrick, so you can really see just how tall David Robinson really is...

Weird wide-angle shot of my greet group. Unfortunately the wide-angle really distorts height. Trust me, he really is taller than this appears. :) And yes, that's me clutching my Shipmate magazine. I managed to get the autograph right after this picture was taken.

Even Hugo (a military working dog) managed to get in on the fun... :) Judging by the disinterested expression, I'm guessing he's not an LA fan!

That's all for now - just wanted to get these pictures up before I forgot. Hope you enjoy!

VIP and... the USO (finally!)

We were lucky enough to host the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Navy, RADM Houck for two days this week. He was only on the ground for about 24 hours, but we certainly packed those hours! I grabbed this picture at dinner. LNCM Browning (soon to be the JAG CMC) and LT Wong (RADM Houck's aide) also traveled with him. It was great to see everyone again! I know it was a long, exhausting trip for them and we really appreciate them making the effort to learn more about what we do.


And yes, someone in the USO finally realized that we exist. They sent a meet-and-greet show of David Robinson, Tommy Lasorda, and three cast members from The Unit (Dennis Haysbert, Max Martini, and Robert Patrick). They started on a stage just making general comments and then Tommy Lasorda took the mike - he gave about a 20-minute standup routine, which I was not expecting at all but was pretty funny! After that they made us all leave the building, then come back in groups of 6 to shake hands and get group pictures. If I get that group picture back I'll post it as well - I was standing next to David Robinson and it's hard to imagine just how tall he is until you see him in person! We couldn't use personal cameras during the meet and greet itself, but I grabbed this one of David Robinson and Dennis Haysbert as we were filing out.

They passed out pre-signed autograph pages, but by the time I got to the front of the line they had run out of the page that had David Robinson and Tommy Lasorda. The stars weren't really supposed to be signing autographs for us, but I had my latest copy of Shipmate magazine (the Naval Academy alumni magazine) and a trusty Sharpie handy and David Robinson very graciously signed it on the sly. We were able to shake hands with each of them and it was a very well-run experience. Thanks USO!

So I've mentioned the "mini" bazaar a few times, so I thought I'd post a picture of it. We call it the "yard sale" - now you can see why. :) I think they're trying to bring a few more vendors in, which is great, but I still miss the old one.

Critter alert - captured this skinny kitty over at the Ministry of Defense:


And yes, spring really is here. We're still having rain just about every day, but that's making for some really nice blooms. I'm not even going to pretend to know what these are - I just know they're pretty!



Seems like everyone is getting ready to leave around here. Steve and Dan will both be out of here before I am, my boss and my roommate leave next month, and Barbara leaves late this month. My turn will come!

Would you believe I received another care package from the Blue Star Mothers??? About half the size of the first box, but still chock-full of Girl Scout cookies. Thank you! I will be finding good homes for all of them...

A special shout-out to Cameron - wishing you a speedy recovery and sending good thoughts your way!

Way too long....

...since I wrote. I know. I'm sorry. Between job, taxes, and jewelry, my evenings have been pretty busy. No excuses...

The plus side is that I have quite a few pictures to share...

First up is another massive bead order from Fire Mountain. Thanks to heroic efforts by Adrian, it arrived in TWO flat rate boxes that Barbara and I were only too happy to tear into. It took many hours of sorting - just take a look at the picture to see why! To be fair, Barbara had the larger portion of the order, but it was still fun tearing it all down. :) Quite a few of the beads are a "younger" style than I would normally choose (we bought some large assortments) but I figure that's just a chance to try out a new style...


Next up is a HUGE thank you to the Blue Star Mothers of South Carolina. This is the same group that made sure we had a Thanksgiving feast as we were getting ready to leave South Carolina. I received the largest box of Girl Scout cookies from them I've ever seen! This picture doesn't even do it justice - you still can't see the bottom of the box! Surprisingly, it wasn't too hard to find others willing to take a few boxes off of my hands. :) I shared with my office, with a few other offices, with the Rhino team (the guys that do the convoys between our base and others), and we mailed a few out to legal offices at the more remote bases. Everyone was very appreciative (and yes, I might still have a few boxes stashed away...). Thanks so much!!!


OK, the garden update. I'm afraid it's not looking too good. I took this picture on Easter morning, and you can see it's a little beaten down. Blame the rain. It's rained almost every day since my last post - literally! One day we even had hail, and the day after that we had SNOW! In April!!! Strange, strange weather... At least now we're getting breaks between the rain showers, but it's still pretty wet around here...

I know this picture looks pretty similar to a few I've posted before, but I took this to prove the snowfall. Granted, nothing stuck at our altitude (about 6,000 feet) but it certainly did in higher elevations! The mountains were completely bare the day before I took this picture...

We had an incredible opportunity at one of our nearby bases a week ago. Sarah Chayes is the author of "The Punishment of Virtue" about life in Afghanistan after the Taliban. It was one of the books I read in preparation for coming over here. She did a terrific job of putting everything in context, and she makes a complex situation somewhat understandable. She is now a Special Advisor to the Commander of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) and spoke at a meeting I was able to attend. Unfortunately, she had to run to another engagement right after she spoke (I could have listened to her for several hours!) so we didn't have much one-on-one time with her, but I did manage to snag this picture while she was autographing her book for my boss. She still lives in Kandahar, which if you follow the news you'll know is not the safest place to be, but it's obvious she truly cares about this country and wants to see it succeed. She's also not afraid to speak her mind, so it was refreshing to hear a fresh perspective. :)



We had an opportunity to shop at a different bazaar - now that we don't really have one, we take advantage when we can! This is a picture of the booth that Parsa displayed. Most of the wares are made by women in Afghanistan, and the profits from the sales help fund education, training, and other forms of assistance. The clothing is beautiful, and all of the scarves, tablecloths, etc. are SO hard to choose from! It's absolutely mind-boggling how much time and effort go into some of these pieces, and we were only too happy to help support the cause...


Yesterday, I had one of the best surprises of my time here. I was at another base wandering around before a meeting and ran into Will. We graduated from the Naval Academy together in 1994 (hard to believe our 15th reunion is coming up - wow!) and saw a lot of each other there - glee club, musicals, etc., but I don't think we've seen each other since graduation. Really, really nice to run into him and catch up. He only has about a month left here, so hopefully we'll have another (not so rushed!) chance to catch up.



Well, that's all the pictures for now. Taxes are filed (just waiting on that refund!), Adrian is in Japan (wish I could be there with him!) and I have a "firm" date for leaving here less than two months away. At times, my time here seems to fly by, and at other times it feels like I've been here way too long, but I will definitely never forget this experience. I promise I'll try to post more often so that I don't let those memories slip away...