"Gym, tan, laundry"

Starting some training in New Jersey.  Course will be similar to a training course I took a few years ago before I went to Iraq but with some significant differences.  The first one being the quarters.  At Ft Mccoy I shared a 1940's barracks with 40 other dudes (photo above).  This time I have my own room with a TV and my own bathroom.  Life is good, but the camera died so I can't show you.

Started memorizing the Pashtu alphabet today.  Nothing like some light reading to make your head spin...

In my room (here, in New Jersey) I turned on the TV and of course "The Jersey Shore" was on.  When we lived in England we could only get a few channels and one unfortuante evening I happend to catch this show.  Without giving the show much  "air time" here,  the guys in the show (when not pursuing females on the boardwalk) are extremely preoccupied with their extensive to do list: "Gym, tan, laundry; GTL" says the main character guy.  GTL?  That's my to do list this month too...ouch...  At least my tan will come from being outside.  Definitely in Jersey again.

Second to Last

I was reading "Revenge of Geography" by Robert Kaplan today.  He's one of my favorite writers and this is his new book.  This part jumped out at me today in the India chapter.

"As for Afghanistan itself--so central, as we have seen, to India's geopolitical fortunes over the course of history--let us consider it for a moment. It is a country with a life expectancy of forty-four year, with a literacy rate of 28 percent (and far lower than that for women), with only a 9 percent of females attending secondary schools, and with only a fifth of the population enjoying access to potable water.  Out of 182 countries Afghanistan ranks next to last on the United Nations' Human Development Index.  Iraq, on the eve of the US invasion in 2003, was ranked 130, and its literacy rate is a reasonable 77 percent, so that reducing violence in Greater Baghdad during the troop surge of 2007 had a calming effect on the entire country, in Afghanistan urbanization stands at only 30 percent: meaning that counterinsurgency efforts in one village or region may have no effect on another."

Nothing like a challenge to keep you motivated right?....

I thought it was interesting how this came in the chapter about the Indian subcontinent.  I think a lot of people tie AFG more to the Middle East but really it's the blending ground between the Middle East and Hindu Kush cultures.  And while Afghanistan struggles with severe underdevelopment and war its place in geography is undeniably important.  Regardless of your thoughts on the US "pulling out," some form of engagement will always be necessary in this particular crossroads.


The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate

Adios Muchachos

I am almost done outprocessing my unit.  Had my farewell lunch today and got some cool going away gifts.  Tough to say goodbye to folks I worked with for two years but the timing is good.  I am going out "at the top" having had a successful year in squadron leadership.  Training for the next thing starts soon. 

Joy (wife) and I had Chipotle with a good friend from college tonight.  Hard to believe all the life change in 5 years.  He and I met as freshmen in college and now we are both Captains in the Air Force.  College feels like a long time ago. 

Trying to decide if blogging counts as journaling.  I kept a journal when I was in Iraq, and it had tons of short entries.  Prolly happen here too.

Electronic Warefare Suite

I was outprocessing at the hospital today and had to get weighed.  I emptied out my pockets to jump on the scale and the tech said  "Wow, you have the oldest phone I have ever seen."  Awesome.... As you can tell I don't camp out overnight to buy iPhones.  I might be out of step with the kids these days.

When we moved from England to Virginia in 2010 I promised myself I would keep my American life simple by avoiding outlandish electronics purchases.  I have been unsuccessful in all areas except apparently my phone.  My electronic warfare suite now consists of a Blackberry (government issued), a Kindle, an iPad, a new camera, and a new TV.  We also upgraded my wife's Apple.  So much for electronic simplicity.  I'll have some great product reviews after I drag those things around in the mountains for a year.

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- Reading a good book about geopolitics from one of my favorite authors.  More on that later.

Post 1

Sometimes my wife says I have multiple-culture disorder. I spent my childhood and most of adult life with one foot in American culture and the other wherever I happened to be living (Costa Rica, Mexico, Boulder Colorado {it's like its own special country} , England, Iraq, Afghanistan). 

I make cultural observations.   I am American by birth/passport  and my "American" culture is often out of step with my fellow countryman.  With frequent self-effacing humor I will share these stories as I recall them...  And I like trying to blend in wherever I am at.  That means blending in suburbia just as well as some remote village in the Hindu Kush.

Anyway, I try to blend in wherever I am and that's why I started the blog, because life is about to take a new cultural turn.  I am in the military and just got picked to be something of a "cultural warrior."  The job involves language training and cultural training which is a first for me in my military career.  I am hoping to use this blog platform to capture some of the stories and keep a record.  

---Ground rules*-----
- I'll try and be more honest than eloquent
- I won't post everyday, I get worn out writing.  And sometimes I do really short posts.
*Ground rules subject to change at my discretion...