Dana’s Diary 6pm in Kuwait

Well the good news is that I got to take a shower this morning! Thank God for small miracles. I even shaved my legs….science experiment OVER. I met with my escort and we headed to the hospital at Camp Arifjan where I have been staying. It was neat to see how sophisticated it was even though it was in a tent. MASH from the outside, Baptist Medical on the inside. I met with the surgeon there who showed me the OR and I talked with some of the patients. There are a few Pensacola IA’s who work there but I didn’t get to talk to them because they were on R and R and mush deserved I am sure.

That tent hospital will soon be relocated into a brand new building sometime in January.

From there I went and visited another DFAC (Dining facility.) It was a good breakfast of bacon and eggs and coffee. There were tons of things to choose from…even made to order omelets. Again…no worries…the troops are being WELL FED! Thank goodness I am walking all over the place lugging heavy gear or else you would be rolling me off the plane in Pensacola!

I also got to do my laundry. There is a trailer with washers and dryers and it was free. Pretty much everything is free for our troops except for phone calls, internet, and things they want to buy. Food, shelter, laundry, entertainment…all free. You could really save some money over here and most do. You can’t have a vehicle here so there are shuttles that run. I just walked everywhere or rode with my escort to places that were far. The PX (personal exchange…think Wal-Mart or Target but smaller) sell bicycles that seem to be popular as well.

Apparently I am here at the perfect time. The weather has been perfect. Chilly at night and about 70 during the day but breezy. I don’t think I would want to be here at any other time. The temps get up into the 120’s!! To make it worse, the men and women have to wear long sleeves on their uniforms.

You can’t drink enough water. There are charts in the bathrooms with bars of colors. You are supposed to compare the color of your urine to that on the chart to see if you are dehydrated. For some reason, I found this fun. By the way…I never have been able to get completely hydrated despite the free bottles of water everywhere I turn. My body is wrecked right now and I think it is mad at me.

More good news. I am on the list to fly out of Kuwait very soon if all goes well. I can’t give specific times due to security threats, but I am hoping to get home and in my bed before you know it. Not that I don’t love being in a big tent on a dusty bunk bed with 8 other women in there too. But as we all know….There is no place like home.

I miss you all!

Dana