Africa Hot!

Well, summer is here. It may only be the beginning of May, but Summer has hit Iraq with a vengeance. This whole week we have had highs over 100 degrees. No relief in sight. The lows are only dropping down to about 80 or so. I know it's early in the season and it's only going to get worse, but it's already really hot. It really affects many things. When you wash your hands, for instance. There is no such thing as cold water anymore. Everything that comes out of the tap is hot. there's no way around it.

All in all, things are going well here. I'm having a good time and they are taking pretty good care of me. You've all seen the pics of the area here, what my room looks like and such. Not a bad place to live (with the exception of the indirect fire). The food here is great! Kellogg, Brown and Root are the contractors handling the food service (and many other services) here in Iraq. I was very happy when I heard that because they were the contractors handling food service when I was deployed to Bosnia. I knew it would be good. The dining facilities (DFACs in Army Lingo) are basically cafeterias. There are various choices for each meal. For breakfast there is cold cereal available, there's a fresh fruit bar, and a pastry bar. In the hot line there are scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, omelettes to order, sausage, bacon, breakfast burritos, quiche, etc etc. You get the idea. Most everything people want for breakfast is available, and the food quality is great.

Lunches and dinners vary quite a bit. There is always a short order line available with cheeseburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, french fries, onion rings, cheese steak sandwiches, the works. The main line has different things each day. Spaghetti, veal parmesan, salsbury steak, etc. One day a week they even have surf and turf! That's always a favorite. There is also a line for regular "cold" sandwiches. Turkey, ham, different cheeses, it's kind of like a mini-subway store. So, we are well cared for in the food department. They offer 4 meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and mid-rats (midnight meal). The food is good enough that the saying is that while here you can join the 300 club. You will either be able to bench press 300 pound (if you spend your time in the gym) or weigh 300 pounds because of all the good food. I fall somewhere in the middle, I think. I hope!

The rest of the infrastructure is quite good also. The BX (the big one anyway, there are other smaller ones scattered about) is quite good. Not nearly as big was one back in the states, but it serves our purposes over here. Most everything you need or want is available. The basics of uniform items, pens, papers, cleaning supplies are here. They have a pretty full selection of music CDs and DVD movies. Electronics are in abundance including small music players to playstations, laptop computers and even plasma TVs. So, we are well supplied over here also.

We have several gyms around the base. Well, that's what I hear, not that I've spent any time in one. I need to get started but am having a tough time fitting it into my schedule. Don't worry, Cindy, I won't come home fat. I think if nothing else, the heat will take care of that.

Well, speaking of all that good food, it's almost time for dinner. I had the watch last night so was too tired to eat breakfast and slept through lunch. I'm hungry! Hope everyone back home is healthy and happy. I am healthy and happy over here. All is well.