JCOP (week 1-2)

Well, I have been here for almost 2 weeks now. Everything here is nice, cant complain. I wake up every morning prob roun 730 or 0800, becuase Celia keeps me on the computer and phone so long at night. I get to work out everyday at our nice gym, play on the computer, and call family. There are alot of nice scenery around here, mountains over look this place with a small village not to far away. There is only a couple paved roads, and they dont last very long. Takes up to 2 hours to go like 20 miles, and its a bumpy road. I almost threw up last time i went on a drive. Almost 3 hours one way, then had to come back. May have the DOC give me some motion sickness pills.

I have got to go out several times and talk with villagers, sub governors, and chief of police. It is a unique experience talking through an interpretor with you having no idea what they are saying. The last time I went out, we were paying local people for work they had done on a road project (pretty much smoothing out the road cause its pretty bumpy). This kid in the village stole my pen. Him and his little juvenille friends were all playing around and came over to me with paper and asked for a pen. The only english this kid new was "PEN" "PEN". So I was like sure Ill let him see the pen real quick. This little shit took off running holding the pen in the air like he just robbed a bank and running away with a million dollars. But the police are pretty funny, they SHUUU the kids away and throw rocks at them. Its a funny site, those kids are like gnats at a BBQ. Prob the funniest thing I have seen so far is: these people use donkeys to haul wheat and other such things, and the kids control them. Driving down the road you will see a wild donkey running away at about 3 miles per hour, and this little six year old chasing after him. You see this all the time. The donkeys are like I aint got time to play around with this kid.
About once a week I sit down and eat with the ASG (Afghan Security Guard) or the local elders of villages. The food is actually pretty good, a little different. You eat with your hands (rice, chicken, chili, spicy okra, etc). Yestarday we ate sheep. That wasnt all that good. Wild sheep. You could taste the gameyness of it. But i ate it. It all hasnt really agreed with my stomach. Havent had a solid poop in, well since ive been here. Kinda annoying.

But this week has gone by pretty well, finishing up inventoring all the equipment we will be getting, tracking down our containers with home station equipment, trying to get personnel here, and learning all the dos and donts. I hope everyone is doing well, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to my wife and mothers. Love yall.