To Kamu and Back Again
Hello everybody. It has been a long time. A month ago, I joined my company at our newest campsite. And what a campsite it is. I have been in some rough spots in my 2.5 years deployed during our country’s latest war, but this one takes the cake. It surpasses my short tenure in Kuwait, but just misses the mark of topping my ‘mostest favorite spot in the whole wide world’: Grafenwhoer/Hoenfels, Germany. The day anyplace beats that particular garden spot of the world, is the day I take up underwater basket weaving as a professional hobby. But getting back to the topic of concern: Kamu.
It is a small little place in the middle of nowhere, which is exactly where an infantry company needs to be. Or usually finds itself, but I digress. Kamu is a beautiful place: tall imposing mountains, lush greenery, swift moving river accompanied by decent rapids, and generally benign weather. I even have a rose garden outside my aid station. Being a city boy, I am doing my best not to kill them. My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them. The key point is scenery is all Kamu has; there are 3 things which put Kamu solidly in second place.
Our power comes from a wee generator which must power at least 4 Xboxes, 1 Nintendo Wii, and multiple laptops to say nothing of the main office. The poor thing is in constant need of TLC, which keeps our Maintenance chief busy. Power is one thing, water is another. We have a small canal running through our camp. It ends in a small waterfall just before exiting the camp and meets up with a creek. This is where we shave, wash and water the plants. The only other option is to go swimming which the guys like doing. Unfortunately the summer has passed and now the water is freezing. Laundry is usually done with a rock. Thanks to my awesome in-laws, I have a wash board. The last thing is our Internet, or lack thereof. We have a certifiable genius who was/is also a certifiable nerd. He has memorized the satellite signal by its particular sine wave which he matches by manually moving our satellite dish two or three times a day. MIT eat your heart out. This lack of reliable Internet is the reason why I will post several blog entries at once. I thank you for your patience and for humoring me. Best to everyone. See ya’ll soon. :)
It is a small little place in the middle of nowhere, which is exactly where an infantry company needs to be. Or usually finds itself, but I digress. Kamu is a beautiful place: tall imposing mountains, lush greenery, swift moving river accompanied by decent rapids, and generally benign weather. I even have a rose garden outside my aid station. Being a city boy, I am doing my best not to kill them. My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them. The key point is scenery is all Kamu has; there are 3 things which put Kamu solidly in second place.
Our power comes from a wee generator which must power at least 4 Xboxes, 1 Nintendo Wii, and multiple laptops to say nothing of the main office. The poor thing is in constant need of TLC, which keeps our Maintenance chief busy. Power is one thing, water is another. We have a small canal running through our camp. It ends in a small waterfall just before exiting the camp and meets up with a creek. This is where we shave, wash and water the plants. The only other option is to go swimming which the guys like doing. Unfortunately the summer has passed and now the water is freezing. Laundry is usually done with a rock. Thanks to my awesome in-laws, I have a wash board. The last thing is our Internet, or lack thereof. We have a certifiable genius who was/is also a certifiable nerd. He has memorized the satellite signal by its particular sine wave which he matches by manually moving our satellite dish two or three times a day. MIT eat your heart out. This lack of reliable Internet is the reason why I will post several blog entries at once. I thank you for your patience and for humoring me. Best to everyone. See ya’ll soon. :)
posted by Big Cheeseburger | Tuesday, September 25, 2007
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