(31DEC2008-01JAN2009)
I expect to spend the large majority of 2009 in Afghanistan.
That’s a little sobering (literally and figuratively, as alcohol is not allowed), but also exciting. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.
New Year’s Eve is a typical day for me, though the VTC I usually attend with the on Wednesday nights has been cancelled due to most of our colleagues in the States having the day off. That opens up the evening for me, so I take it a little easy, watch some football, go to the gym and take a shower.
Around 2300 I walk up to the MWR clamshell (the same place they had the USO concert a couple of weeks ago). I’d seen some fliers around post stating that something was going on, though I hadn’t paid enough attention to see exactly what. It really doesn’t matter out here, as almost anything is better than the 4 walls I look at every day.
The MWR tent is also used as a basketball court from time to time, but tonight the baskets are pushed off to the sides and there are rows of metal folding chairs set up facing the stage.
I smell the food from the back of the clamshell and immediately realize I’m hungry – it’s DFAC food, in large serving trays. I grab a root beer and scoop meatballs into a paper cup.
There aren’t many people here, maybe 20 audience members, lots of empty seats. I take a seat in the second row and enjoy my meatballs while the band on stage breaks into a cover of a U2 song.
God bless them, they’re trying, but they’re not very good. They mumble through the lyrics at times, and just plain forget them at others. They seem to concentrate on U2, playing a number of their songs with the occasional John Cougar Mellencamp thrown in for good measure.
The crowd fills in a little as the hour passes, and just before midnight the MWR director climbs on to the stage and counts down from 10 and we all yell Happy New Year! The saxophone player on stage (the saving grace of the band) breaks into Auld Lang Syne and we turn to each other, shake hands, and wish each other a happy New Year. It felt like a fellowship at church.
I head out into the cold and homeward, but not before stuffing a few cookies in my pockets.
I wake the next morning, fully in 2009, and turn on the television in time to see the east coast of the US celebrate the New Year. I step outside to brush my teeth. I use a water bottle and stand on the front step of my room, the gravel nearby stained with toothpaste from the past 4 months. A soldier walks by and wishes me a Happy New Year. I mumble back with my toothbrush in my mouth. A foreign national passes and we repeat the greeting and incoherent response.
I work the morning away and walk up to the chow hall for lunch. The food is not quite Thanksgiving or Christmas quality, but is slightly better than the normal routine. I get some ham, some black-eyed peas, and turnip greens. I’ve never seen black-eyed peas at the DFAC before, so it’s clear that they’re serving it in consideration of the holiday – it’s a Southern New Year’s Day tradition in the States that I’ve been exposed to as a result of being half-Southern. Though also part of the tradition, greens are a fairly common item on the menu.
I add Jell-O to my tray, because I apparently cannot resist Jell-O if it’s available, and it’s always available. I’m certain I’ve eaten my weight in Jell-O several times over since I arrived in Afghanistan in August. I can’t remember the last time I had it in the States, though.
I find a seat by myself, as per usual, and read my book while enjoying the ham, the greens, and the Jell-O. I remember that I don’t particularly care for black-eyed peas and so they sit unmolested.
I’ve had several muted New Year’s Days, and this simply slides right in there among them, one I’ll likely remember only for my being here. The year ahead will likely see me in Afghanistan for the large majority – up to 11 months, and in fact that’s my expectation. It is also my hope.
I’ve a lot to accomplish in the next year, though I’ve never been one for resolutions and I’m not starting now. If I just do my job, I'll accomplish a lot. That's the plan.
VTC = Video TeleConference
MWR = Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
USO = Uniformed Services Organization
DFAC = Dining FACility
I add Jell-O to my tray, because I apparently cannot resist Jell-O if it’s available, and it’s always available. I’m certain I’ve eaten my weight in Jell-O several times over since I arrived in Afghanistan in August. I can’t remember the last time I had it in the States, though.
