Hello, everyone. Long time no talk. As I attempted to adjust to a new hectic schedule the first few weeks on the ground here in Kosovo, I neglected to update my blog. Quite a few things happened since I last posted. Some good. Some not so good. Where do I start? Well, how about before Thanksgiving…I was a crazy fool the day I decided to participate in the DANCON road march. Four JVB team members and I navigated a 25 km course with a 22 pound backpack in 5 ½ hours. Oddly enough, the first 3 miles were the most difficult for me. After that, I learned the mental game of walking until your feet fall off. The day was beautiful, the scenery gorgeous. The only major hiccup was a 2 or 3 km stretch that was straight uphill. We climbed so high that we reached an area that was higher in elevation than the smog from Mitrovica. I took a deep breath of fresh air, which is hard to find, and then continued the 2 or 3 km downhill stretch. Somewhere along the way, I ripped open a blister and rolled an ankle. I had no idea until I reached the finish line, sat down for a half hour, and then tried to get up. I’m still trying to get my ankle up to speed!
The next major event was Thanksgiving. We started the day with a 5 km Gobble Gash, which we as a team walked. Later that afternoon we attended Thanksgiving dinner at our dining facility. The spread was quite impressive compared to what our contractors normally put out. Every table had a couple bottles of nonalcoholic wine and menus with a letter from the United States Army Europe commander. All the Thanksgiving standards were available, served by the officers and senior NCOs from our task force. The JVB team ate together, and before the end of the meal, each person mentioned something they were thankful for. I had myself a cup of eggnog and headed back to my room for a little Skype with the family. The absolute best part of my Thanksgiving holiday was the opportunity to see and visit with my family over Skype. I even had the opportunity to see my great grandmother, which I’m sure she could never have imagined possible.
We changed our JVB mission for the day a couple of weeks ago when we traveled with a Liaison Monitoring Team to a school way up in the hills near Strpce. We were warmly welcomed by the faculty and children of the tiny school of about 60 students. We had a meet and greet in a little office that was heated by a wood stove, where one of the teachers dominated the conversation with talk about the needs of his school. He, like many other people of Kosovo, continually thanked us for what we’ve done as U.S. soldiers. Another teacher remarked at how many female soldiers we had with us. After our meeting, the teachers challenged us to game of volleyball outside. I took on the roll of photographer. One thing really got to me while I was watching the match. A couple of the little girls really admired me for some reason. I would look away for a couple of seconds, and all of a sudden I would have a new friend six inches from my face. I hope whatever it is that makes me an interesting person to them helps them in the future to become the young women they are meant to be. Kosovo is changing, and I hope that these girls will be a positive influence in that process.
Besides the mundane, day in, day out part of a deployment, my life has been pretty exciting. I’ve tried Thai food for the first time, mastered manual transmission vehicles and Kosovo traffic, and I’ve even learned my fair share of information about primates and humans from an online course. Things aren’t turning out too badly after all.Hello, everyone. Long time no talk. As I attempted to adjust to a new hectic schedule the first few weeks on the ground here in Kosovo, I neglected to update my blog. Quite a few things happened since I last posted. Some good. Some not so good. Where do I start? Well, how about before Thanksgiving…
I was a crazy fool the day I decided to participate in the DANCON road march. Four JVB team members and I navigated a 25 km course with a 22 pound backpack in 5 ½ hours. Oddly enough, the first 3 miles were the most difficult for me. After that, I learned the mental game of walking until your feet fall off. The day was beautiful, the scenery gorgeous. The only major hiccup was a 2 or 3 km stretch that was straight uphill. We climbed so high that we reached an area that was higher in elevation than the smog from Mitrovica. I took a deep breath of fresh air, which is hard to find, and then continued the 2 or 3 km downhill stretch. Somewhere along the way, I ripped open a blister and rolled an ankle. I had no idea until I reached the finish line, sat down for a half hour, and then tried to get up. I’m still trying to get my ankle up to speed!
The next major event was Thanksgiving. We started the day with a 5 km Gobble Gash, which we as a team walked. Later that afternoon we attended Thanksgiving dinner at our dining facility. The spread was quite impressive compared to what our contractors normally put out. Every table had a couple bottles of nonalcoholic wine and menus with a letter from the United States Army Europe commander. All the Thanksgiving standards were available, served by the officers and senior NCOs from our task force. The JVB team ate together, and before the end of the meal, each person mentioned something they were thankful for. I had myself a cup of eggnog and headed back to my room for a little Skype with the family. The absolute best part of my Thanksgiving holiday was the opportunity to see and visit with my family over Skype. I even had the opportunity to see my great grandmother, which I’m sure she could never have imagined possible.
We changed our JVB mission for the day a couple of weeks ago when we traveled with a Liaison Monitoring Team to a school way up in the hills near Strpce. We were warmly welcomed by the faculty and children of the tiny school of about 60 students. We had a meet and greet in a little office that was heated by a wood stove, where one of the teachers dominated the conversation with talk about the needs of his school. He, like many other people of Kosovo, continually thanked us for what we’ve done as U.S. soldiers. Another teacher remarked at how many female soldiers we had with us. After our meeting, the teachers challenged us to game of volleyball outside. I took on the roll of photographer. One thing really got to me while I was watching the match. A couple of the little girls really admired me for some reason. I would look away for a couple of seconds, and all of a sudden I would have a new friend six inches from my face. I hope whatever it is that makes me an interesting person to them helps them in the future to become the young women they are meant to be. Kosovo is changing, and I hope that these girls will be a positive influence in that process.
Besides the mundane, day in, day out part of a deployment, my life has been pretty exciting. I’ve tried Thai food for the first time, mastered manual transmission vehicles and Kosovo traffic, and I’ve even learned my fair share of information about primates and humans from an online course. Things aren’t turning out too badly after all.
