Feral Friends

I’ve written many times about all the great friends I have over here in Afghanistan. I mean these people amuse me by dressing up in costumes and run laps around a super small base. If it wasn’t for these people I would never survive this deployment. So I consider myself like a feral cat. I have different groups of people throughout the base that have adopted me, which is awesome and fun.

I have a hard time comparing myself to a cat, since I’m not a fan of cats in general. I don’t want to offend any cat lovers. I am allergic to them and when I’m around them my face and eyes swell and my eyes become extremely itchy. I believe that is a good enough reason not to like cats.  The base here has “adopted” a clowder (yes I looked up what to call a group of cats) of feral cats. For many people these cats bring them a lot of joy and is a small thing that keeps them happy and motivated. Now as I said cats are not my thing and I often cringe when I see them , but I am thankful for the joy they bring others.

 

Since I’ve been here I’ve been adopted by various groups around the base, like a feral cat. It’s these groups of people who keep my moral up and ensure I stay happy and safe while I’m here. They saved me when things were low. I need social interaction to stay mentally healthy and I require a strong social network. My friends and family back home are more than supportive, but I need the face to face interaction too.  I can’t thank these people enough for adopting me and making this deployment enjoyable!

A few months ago I started going to Waffle Night at the Nordic Palace. The Nordic Palace is a building on base for the Nordic countries to use as a lounge. Most of the countries here have a building they call their own where they can escape and socialize. The Nordic countries are kind enough to invite the rest of us each Friday evening for waffles. The various countries rotate who will be hosting each week. The waffles never change, but the toppings vary based on the host country. It was at one of these waffle nights where I realized I’m like one of the feral cats.  I’ve been lovingly adopted by others!

 

Another awesome group who adopted me are the engineers.  They often invite me to different group dinners and other fun outings.  A few weeks ago a group of us were stuck at another base because we couldn’t travel due to weather.  We travel everywhere by air and the weather was not conducive to air travel.  On the evening we were stranded there, the Turkish engineers invited us to a Turkish BBQ.  The Turks picked us up at are rooms and drove us to what seemed like a secret location for dinner.  They grilled us goat liver over wood.  I grew up eating cow liver, but goat liver is delicious.  The flavor is much more mild and the texture is not gritty.  All the food was super simple yet amazing.  We had grilled vegetables, naan, and fresh cucumbers.  Of course in Turkish style we finished dinner with tea.  I really enjoy getting to know new people, experience new things, and simply feel welcome in all these new groups.

I’ve also been adopted by a group of officers who are affectionately called “Bro-Row.” They are the officers who liaison back to all the different commands scattered throughout Afghanistan. They are our pulse to everything else that is going on in the country. They all sit on the watch floor in a group and tend to be males. You don’t have to be of the male gender to work there and as of today there is a female liason officer. But let’s be honest the Army is still a very male dominated field of work and the women are still severely out numbered. But I digress. I eat breakfast with Bro-Row every morning. I enjoy my peanut butter english muffin and watermelon in their company. I also often go down to Bro-Row to chat. We have happy hour in the mornings, which consists of fresh group coffee and chatting.  Best of all I’ve started going to Bro-Row Movie Night. On Friday nights they vote on a movie and we watch it in the British Lounge (similar to the Nordic Palace, but for the Brits). We were watching it in the U.S. Lounge, but the movie viewing area is outside and it is just too cold to sit outside in the evenings.

 

 

The community I have around me here is awesome. Who do you have surrounding you? What are you doing to collect your feral friends and take them in? If it wasn’t for my feral friends here there would be no way I would make it to the other end of this deployment in one piece. Because of them not only will I make it, but I get to have fun in the process.