Afghanistan - Day 4 - Sleep
Last night I went to bed in a tent. As you may know, a tent is made up of some super-cool cloth that keeps the elements out and the warmth in. This is a wonderful thing to have in the winter, when the temperature plunges below freezing at night like it does here.
I had a top bunk; the bottom bunks were all taken. On the bright side, I didn't have to worry about smacking my head if I sat up straight. Up there I was able to stretch out my 74-inch frame on a 72-inch mattress. With a borrowed sleeping bag and a makeshift pillow consisting of my coat and my towel, I was off to la-la land.
Now that super-cool cloth that makes the tent walls is not soundproof. And the tent is right next to the main road on post. That means that every convoy on a night mission, every maintenance vehicle running around, every bus, tractor, transport and Gator (think ATV but nicer) left an impression on my ears. And just when I thought it couldn't get any noisier...WHOOSH!
Bagram Airfield is the main airport for the military here. All flights between any two points in Afghanistan must come through here. Flights are coming and going around the clock. And there's not a darn thing that super-cool cloth can do about it.
I checked the time: 12:30am. I tried nodding off between takeoffs. I checked the time again: 1:09am. Wow, this isn't working. Another doze-off, and a third time check: 2:15am. OK, whatever. And somehow I managed to sleep through to 4:15am. By now my body was doubly jet-lagged - from the trip getting here and from the planes taking off. I figured that was the most sleep I would be getting, so I got dressed and headed out into the cold. Sitting in a bus shelter in below-freezing temperatures I called home and chatted with my wife and kids for a good half an hour. I then called my parents to let them know that I'm OK out here (aside from the sleeping).
The dining facility (DFAC, pronounced "dee-fac" in military speak) opened for breakfast at 5:30am. I had an omelette and sausage with fresh fruit and a couple of milk boxes (think juice boxes filled instead with milk). On the Armed Forces Network they were showing the Saints-Vikings game. I'd never watched football during breakfast before so that was pretty cool.
Work started at 7:00am, and it didn't disappoint. Typical first-day logistics were overcome, students trickled in slowly. "I just got in country from Fort Campbell, Kentucky" has to be the best reason for being late. But all in all a good start.
It's now 3:30pm, and I'm ready to take a nap. From what I learned, you'd better take whatever sleep you can get.
I had a top bunk; the bottom bunks were all taken. On the bright side, I didn't have to worry about smacking my head if I sat up straight. Up there I was able to stretch out my 74-inch frame on a 72-inch mattress. With a borrowed sleeping bag and a makeshift pillow consisting of my coat and my towel, I was off to la-la land.
Now that super-cool cloth that makes the tent walls is not soundproof. And the tent is right next to the main road on post. That means that every convoy on a night mission, every maintenance vehicle running around, every bus, tractor, transport and Gator (think ATV but nicer) left an impression on my ears. And just when I thought it couldn't get any noisier...WHOOSH!
Bagram Airfield is the main airport for the military here. All flights between any two points in Afghanistan must come through here. Flights are coming and going around the clock. And there's not a darn thing that super-cool cloth can do about it.
I checked the time: 12:30am. I tried nodding off between takeoffs. I checked the time again: 1:09am. Wow, this isn't working. Another doze-off, and a third time check: 2:15am. OK, whatever. And somehow I managed to sleep through to 4:15am. By now my body was doubly jet-lagged - from the trip getting here and from the planes taking off. I figured that was the most sleep I would be getting, so I got dressed and headed out into the cold. Sitting in a bus shelter in below-freezing temperatures I called home and chatted with my wife and kids for a good half an hour. I then called my parents to let them know that I'm OK out here (aside from the sleeping).
The dining facility (DFAC, pronounced "dee-fac" in military speak) opened for breakfast at 5:30am. I had an omelette and sausage with fresh fruit and a couple of milk boxes (think juice boxes filled instead with milk). On the Armed Forces Network they were showing the Saints-Vikings game. I'd never watched football during breakfast before so that was pretty cool.
Work started at 7:00am, and it didn't disappoint. Typical first-day logistics were overcome, students trickled in slowly. "I just got in country from Fort Campbell, Kentucky" has to be the best reason for being late. But all in all a good start.
It's now 3:30pm, and I'm ready to take a nap. From what I learned, you'd better take whatever sleep you can get.
