Matt & Lindsay's Spot

Hey everyone. I am all settled in and doing well here in Afghanistan. My work here keeps me very busy for the most part. When I am not out on convoys meeting locals and taking care of construction projects, I can be found back at the FOB working with my contractors or helping the local government build more internal capacity. The average day seems to run about 12 hours of work. I am falling into a gym routine in the early mornings so that is a nice time for me to relax and have some quiet.

Everything here is so freaking dry and dusty. Just the other day I was out surveying a large road project that I have and a nasty little dust storm engulfed my convoy. We had to wait it out at one of my contractor's worker camps. Hospitality is a huge part of the Afghan lifestyle. I will often sit and have a meal and tea with folks for an hour or two before we can even start to talk about business. The work is rewarding though and most of the locals have a real thirst for knowledge. The people want a better life and most are willing to pitch in and lend a hand.

My living accommodations would make most people cringe but it is enough to get by comfortably in my opinion. I share a small concrete room with two other guys. The room is a bit smaller than an average dorm room so space is kinda tight. We had such a rough life while training at Fort Bragg that being here with a roof over my head and warm meals is feeling pretty nice. The local food generally tastes good but most of the time it will leave you feeling sick for a day or two. There isn't any refrigeration around here so the meat is what will usually get you. Come to think of it, there isn't even any electrical power system except on the FOB. The bright side to that is the night time sky is truly a sight to behold. On a new moon you can see every star imaginable. Walking back to my room late at night is probably one of my favorite parts of the day.

I really enjoy getting outside the wire. Luckily for me, my job requires a lot of work out in the countryside and among the people. Convoys can be long and rather tricky at times since there is only about 30km of paved roads in Paktika. The province is roughly the side of Vermont to give that a little scale. We do a lot of offroad driving but the humvees are great at taking a beating.

Well I didn't realize that I was gonna start writing a book when this post began. I will cut it off here and save some more details for later. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. Thinking about all my family and friends back in the States is what keeps me going every day. Contact Lindsay or my folks if you want my mailing address here.