Well, on Monday I began my travels across the globe with a connecting flight to Washington Dulles. There me and my coworker had a 6 hour layover where we spent most of the time in the red carpet lounge calling and texting people to keep them up to date about our status. I remember walking up to the gate in DC thinking that this is the beginning of a whole new chapter of my life and one that I won’t ever forget! I finally got to the point of excitement and let all the anxiety subside..probably helped out by the 4 or 5 crown and gingers!? All was well in business class as I stretched out straining to tap the seat in front of me which was just undoable…can you believe that?? Anyhow, we took off and about 5 minutes into the 13 hr flight, we hit some turbulence and dropped us about 300ft in a split second….ugh, if there was ever a time for depends or at least a baby wipe….can somebody say SHART??? The remainder of the flight went off without a hitch as we landed in Kuwait the next day at 4:30pm Kuwaiti time, about 30 minutes early! We stepped off the plane where we as Americans were stared at as if we were the INFIDEL!! I’ve never been looked at like that before and it made me uneasy to say the least! We got our Visas and made our way to the Hotel.
When we got to the hotel, I must say that it felt like a compound tucked away in this middle eastern city, probably because of the police parked out front, complete with a mirror that when around the truck to check for bombs! We checked in and I was given probably the best glass of freshly squeezed orange juice ever!! I made my way up to the room and was greeted by a room that was fit full of luxury for my last night of an actual bed? I must say that there is something to be said about the hospitality of this hotel, even though it was a Hilton! That night I experienced my first sand storm as I walked back from dinner.It is similar to a fine powder, with a touch of grit…too bad cause that could have been some great baby powder, haha...
Anyhow, the next day (Wednesday now), we loaded up at 2:45pm and headed to the base where we would take a C17 cargo plane to Bagram. This is probably the most nervous I had been for quite sometime, and it showed. We got to the base and got checked in by about 4:30…then we waited, and waited, and waited. The passenger waiting area was quite something with the AFN (Armed Forces Network) playing non stop live sports…pretty cool!! I sat down having walked around in the 110 plus heat, and immediately stuck to the seat which was made of a fine pleather!! Man, I think that I left about 10lbs of water weight in that seat as I sat there for about 5 hrs, feeling the heat build in the pleather! Geesh! I was a bit embarrassed every time I got up, thinking that everyone would see the gigantic amount of sweat I had built up! Oh well, that’s the way it goes.
We ended up leaving for our flight at about 1:30 in morning, some 9 hrs later and didn’t actually leave the base, wheels up, until 3am…I am very humbled to be scared the way I am and here are these young men and women going off to fight for their country while I sit around and track numbers.. In the bus on the way to the plane you could hear a pin drop, even for the time that we waited in the bus once we got to the plane. There was so much tension and anxiety that I, too, felt like I was defending my country? In this whole process of walking to the C17 and walking on board in the wide mouth of the back of the plane, I felt soo many things! All those emotions faded; however, as I sat there looking around at all those kids, a sort of calm came over me…for some reason I was soo at ease! I stared up at the carcass of the plane and listened to the props run full steam ahead and we lifted off! This flight was actually more calm than the commercial flight from a day earlier…..a welcome change! We landed some 4.5 hrs later in Bagram and walking out of that plane was so surreal. It was almost as if we flew to Nevada’s north eastern tip and got dropped off! I can’t tell you how pretty it is here and the weather on Thursday was in the high 80s and just beautiful with the mountainous backdrop that surrounds about 80% of the base…pictures to follow! I’ve finally made it to what will be my home for the next year….
Hope all is well!!
When we got to the hotel, I must say that it felt like a compound tucked away in this middle eastern city, probably because of the police parked out front, complete with a mirror that when around the truck to check for bombs! We checked in and I was given probably the best glass of freshly squeezed orange juice ever!! I made my way up to the room and was greeted by a room that was fit full of luxury for my last night of an actual bed? I must say that there is something to be said about the hospitality of this hotel, even though it was a Hilton! That night I experienced my first sand storm as I walked back from dinner.It is similar to a fine powder, with a touch of grit…too bad cause that could have been some great baby powder, haha...
Anyhow, the next day (Wednesday now), we loaded up at 2:45pm and headed to the base where we would take a C17 cargo plane to Bagram. This is probably the most nervous I had been for quite sometime, and it showed. We got to the base and got checked in by about 4:30…then we waited, and waited, and waited. The passenger waiting area was quite something with the AFN (Armed Forces Network) playing non stop live sports…pretty cool!! I sat down having walked around in the 110 plus heat, and immediately stuck to the seat which was made of a fine pleather!! Man, I think that I left about 10lbs of water weight in that seat as I sat there for about 5 hrs, feeling the heat build in the pleather! Geesh! I was a bit embarrassed every time I got up, thinking that everyone would see the gigantic amount of sweat I had built up! Oh well, that’s the way it goes.
We ended up leaving for our flight at about 1:30 in morning, some 9 hrs later and didn’t actually leave the base, wheels up, until 3am…I am very humbled to be scared the way I am and here are these young men and women going off to fight for their country while I sit around and track numbers.. In the bus on the way to the plane you could hear a pin drop, even for the time that we waited in the bus once we got to the plane. There was so much tension and anxiety that I, too, felt like I was defending my country? In this whole process of walking to the C17 and walking on board in the wide mouth of the back of the plane, I felt soo many things! All those emotions faded; however, as I sat there looking around at all those kids, a sort of calm came over me…for some reason I was soo at ease! I stared up at the carcass of the plane and listened to the props run full steam ahead and we lifted off! This flight was actually more calm than the commercial flight from a day earlier…..a welcome change! We landed some 4.5 hrs later in Bagram and walking out of that plane was so surreal. It was almost as if we flew to Nevada’s north eastern tip and got dropped off! I can’t tell you how pretty it is here and the weather on Thursday was in the high 80s and just beautiful with the mountainous backdrop that surrounds about 80% of the base…pictures to follow! I’ve finally made it to what will be my home for the next year….
Hope all is well!!
Brandt- Glad to hear you are there safe and sound. Just be sure to stay that way. As always, I am thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteWow, love the details. Can't wait to hear more and see pics. Thinking of you!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this, it was so descriptive! Keep em coming and stay cool!
ReplyDeleteRachel (TN)