Kandahar air field (KAF)- what an interesting place! There is a big boardwalk on the base there, I have included a picture of the TGIFridays for those of you who didn't believe it. There is also a KFC and Nathan's hotdogs, much to my amusement. I was quite lucky when I arrived, because after 30-some hours of traveling and running around in Kuwait at midnight, I had a member of the HTAT pick me up at the airport in Kandahar. He helped me with my bags, and took me to "billeting", as they say, which is whatever sort of housing you stay in. As I was just set to stay in Kandahar for a few days, I got placed in the "transient tent" with 150 of my new best friends (sarcasm, with a smile). Luckily I had a sleeping bag and a bike lock to loop through my bags to lock them up the best I could, which served the purpose. I was able to buy a Roshan cell phone and SIM card (although I later had a fellow MIIS MPA alum who is on the team down there unlock my iPhone and slip the SIM in there, for which I am very grateful to him.)
Overall it was quite interesting to go through Kandahar- there are about 30,000 people living on that base, from all around the world. It's this strange little international city in the middle of a war zone, dusty, stinky, (I can verify that the "poo ponds" really exist, unfortunately...), crowded (it is true what they say, you have chalky teeth!)... but very friendly people and lots to do. I met French, Canadians, Australians, Slovakians, Lithuanians, etc. The whole lot! I was quite fortunate to be with the HTAT there, and even went to a FET (Female Engagement Team) working group- which is quite relevant all over the country and got me some great contacts as soon as I get set up on the network here. I have nothing but glowing things to say about everyone I have met so far- very very bright, intelligent, hard-working people- all working on very daunting tasks. It definitely took me a bit to get used to all of the different sounds, sights, all of the planes taking off and landing right next to me. I also have been getting into the flow of eating at the various DFACs (dining facilities). I could talk about Kandahar all day, but for now, I'll move on to Herat.
Herat is great, that's for sure. When I left Kandahar it was actually raining... I arrived in Herat after a very funny flight where I played checkers and tic-tac-toe on an iPad of a Captain who commands an engineering company in Herat. Instead of sitting facing the front of the plane you sit on the sides and in the middle facing eachother... or in some cases, as in my flight to Farah, on top of eachother (imagine 50 brute Italian men with me smushed in between them all, cracking up as the plane wooshes around- this isn't exactly United Airlines here people). Anyway, I called a friend who is on the team in Herat and he came and picked me up. They took me to their offices- very nice. They are on a base with the Italians and the Spanish forces- split into 2 sides. The Italian side has their own DFAC, right on the piazza. The Spanish side has a DFAC on their plaza, and are the proud owners of the Spanish Cantina, but we'll get to that later.
I got put up in a great room, an actual hard building, which actually may have spoiled me a bit too much! The Italian women were all extremely nice, and my Italian, after a day or so, came flooding back, much to the delight of many. The city had had a lot of rain lately, so the base had lots of standing water and city suffered some flooding as well. The team had been working on some assessments of damage, so I heard some briefings on that as I filled out endless mountains of paperwork (will it ever end?). I was fortunate enough to get out into the city of Herat, seeing the Citadel, originally built by Alexander the Great (which, the pseudo- tour guide who took us up says has been restored thanks to a $1 million USAID grant that seemed to employ quite few people), the Friday Mosque (a blue mosque, intricate mosaics, beautiful), the colors of the town, some rug shops, enjoyed a local meal- insanely good food, locally made pop (soda, for you non-midwesterners), etc.
We were lucky to have a Dari speaker with us, who knew the city quite well. We bought a box of amazing pastries, that, thank goodness, remain in the office in Herat. I had a chance to interact with some women, who were quite intrigued by me- I think Western men are around fairly regularly but I got the impression that not many females are out and about in Herat. I took about a billion pictures- quite delicately of course- and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The next few days were spent doing some research, working out at the nice Spanish gym, eating copious amounts of yummy food from the Italian DFAC, fish, pasta, and gelato, and hanging out with various people passing through, members of the HTAT, and some Italians working with the fusion center. Such a great time and very good connections to maintain.
Finally- I arrived in Farah yesterday. Another eventful flight, and... like drinking through a fire house as soon as I arrived- meeting so many new people, figuring out what's what, where I am staying, etc. I have included a picture of my "room" for now, until some of the billeting gets finished, hopefully! I have yet to form many conclusions about Farah- it's quite small- but insanely gorgeous surrounding the base- the mountains have this serene beauty to them, something incredible that I've never seen before. At night, because of the lack of ambient light, the stars are visible as I haven't seen them since a camping trip in Big Sur. The people have been quite nice, although the base is over capacity- so more people means less room for work and living which doesn't always go over well with folks.
Hopefully as things settle down and we get into the flow of things that will all work itself out. We are expecting 2 more members to arrive to get us at least a full team, which will be great! I am going to start drawing up some research here now- and hope to get out into the city soon. This has just only been a small picture of the past 2 weeks, and I have a billion more pictures that I will try to post soon too! Thanks to everyone for all of the support and I'm definitely open to any questions or comments.
Your bed looks very nice. Love the blue sheets. You even have a folding chair, although I know that's not nearly as good as a table, desk, shelf or something to lay your "stuff" on. Also loved the pictures. Thanks for sharing.
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