We continue to publish Belinda's blog through email format to maintain the privacy and security of our soldiers overseas. Please subscribe to our blog at alwaysartstudio@hotmail.com. Updates are weekly and sent blind carbon-copy to your email to maintain your email privacy.
The following is a link that I was forwarded. Heartbreaking ...but please view it and share. It is from the perspective of a Canadian family who lost their loved one, and their drive on the Highway of Heroes to take the fallen soldier home...
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Emails on Afghanistan
Hello All,
There has been a lapse in communication regarding the blog while I waited to hear the results of something that Belinda had passed on to me. There has been a request put out that anything related to Afghanistan not be posted on the Internet, but rather, confined to email and other more non-public venues. While we always worked to keep our blog heavily edited and non-revealing, there have been other incidences related to other blogs and Facebook-style venues where sensitive information could have been revealed, even if accidentally.
So in it's place, I am doing a weekly email-style blog for everyone interested in keeping up with life overseas and Belinda's experiences. Emails will be done in blind carbon copy or copy and paste, and kept confidential to protect the email addresses of everyone participating. Please send me you email to the address below and I will send on new updates! :)
To wrap up this blog with a final post:
Belinda's trip home was a great one, and she took much pleasure in even the smallest things like snacks and fruit, a bed with clean sheets, a shower...Upon returning overseas, she was to start taking a malaria medication called methoquin...but did not realize she had an allergy to it and the end result was a rash that looked like a severe case of chicken pox and 2 weeks of light duty while she recovered and had the old medication flushed out of her system and a new malaria medication used to combat malaria instead.
Parcels continue to arrive there for herself and her fellow soldiers and she sends a big thank you to all. They are a welcome surprise on a long hot day!
The month has been a brisk one for everyone there, and the heat is rising steadily with a recent temperature of 52 Celsius . there have been a few moves and changes, all for the better. Recent updates and experiences will be included in our new email blog. My thanks to all for keeping in touch through this way and Belinda and I look forward to continuing to share in our new venue.
My contact email for joining our email blog : alwaysartstudio@hotmail.com
Till next time,
Julie
There has been a lapse in communication regarding the blog while I waited to hear the results of something that Belinda had passed on to me. There has been a request put out that anything related to Afghanistan not be posted on the Internet, but rather, confined to email and other more non-public venues. While we always worked to keep our blog heavily edited and non-revealing, there have been other incidences related to other blogs and Facebook-style venues where sensitive information could have been revealed, even if accidentally.
So in it's place, I am doing a weekly email-style blog for everyone interested in keeping up with life overseas and Belinda's experiences. Emails will be done in blind carbon copy or copy and paste, and kept confidential to protect the email addresses of everyone participating. Please send me you email to the address below and I will send on new updates! :)
To wrap up this blog with a final post:
Belinda's trip home was a great one, and she took much pleasure in even the smallest things like snacks and fruit, a bed with clean sheets, a shower...Upon returning overseas, she was to start taking a malaria medication called methoquin...but did not realize she had an allergy to it and the end result was a rash that looked like a severe case of chicken pox and 2 weeks of light duty while she recovered and had the old medication flushed out of her system and a new malaria medication used to combat malaria instead.
Parcels continue to arrive there for herself and her fellow soldiers and she sends a big thank you to all. They are a welcome surprise on a long hot day!
The month has been a brisk one for everyone there, and the heat is rising steadily with a recent temperature of 52 Celsius . there have been a few moves and changes, all for the better. Recent updates and experiences will be included in our new email blog. My thanks to all for keeping in touch through this way and Belinda and I look forward to continuing to share in our new venue.
My contact email for joining our email blog : alwaysartstudio@hotmail.com
Till next time,
Julie
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Belinda's Home! :)
An exhausted and very tanned Belinda arrived home after what could best be described as a 'milk-run' flight and travel that spanned several days! She couldn`t be happier to be home and one of the first things she noted was how clean and fresh Canada smells...she could even detect the scent of freshly melted snow.
There is quite the time change between Afghanistan and here, with our days and nights being opposite of each other, so she is still trying to get onto Canadian time. Food is plentiful of course, so she is enjoying grazing on all of her favorite treats.
She is used to being burdened with the constant weight of her weapons, so she finds herself instinctively feeling for her pistol and the momentary surprise that it is not there. Little things like healthy pets and everyone wearing shoes, the wealth of our society, give her a moment to pause. It is like being on a different planet just to to be home and to walk about and not see missing teeth, matted hair, people who are heavily scarred, or cut and bleeding, with scabs and chronic infections, malnourished children and adults. The ever-present grit of sand and dust that colored everything in their environment.To see the casual good health of western society in her first days home is still a jolt of surprise.
The biggest absence that she has noticed but does not miss: the sounds of war... IED`s, mortar explosions and gunfire...
With her 24 hour day having been broken into 3 hour increments of work, sleep, work, leisure, work, work... she finds now at home she cannot sleep longer then 3 hours at a time. Belinda`s first moment sitting on her bed though was one of pure nirvana, to feel the softness of her mattress beneath her weight... something so small provided her the most immense pleasure.
I planned to step back from posting her blog while she is home so that she might share her own thoughts and experiences, but she has asked me to keep doing so alongside her own posts as she is battling a good case of fatigue that probably won`t get to entirely lift in the time that she is home.
There are many many pictures to share, but anything `revealing` of her location has had to be edited for obvious reasons, but we will share everything else that we can.
Belinda has mentioned repeatedly that she is appreciative to everyone that has come here to read about her travels and experiences. A heartfelt thanks to all!
Till next time,
Julie
There is quite the time change between Afghanistan and here, with our days and nights being opposite of each other, so she is still trying to get onto Canadian time. Food is plentiful of course, so she is enjoying grazing on all of her favorite treats.
She is used to being burdened with the constant weight of her weapons, so she finds herself instinctively feeling for her pistol and the momentary surprise that it is not there. Little things like healthy pets and everyone wearing shoes, the wealth of our society, give her a moment to pause. It is like being on a different planet just to to be home and to walk about and not see missing teeth, matted hair, people who are heavily scarred, or cut and bleeding, with scabs and chronic infections, malnourished children and adults. The ever-present grit of sand and dust that colored everything in their environment.To see the casual good health of western society in her first days home is still a jolt of surprise.
The biggest absence that she has noticed but does not miss: the sounds of war... IED`s, mortar explosions and gunfire...
With her 24 hour day having been broken into 3 hour increments of work, sleep, work, leisure, work, work... she finds now at home she cannot sleep longer then 3 hours at a time. Belinda`s first moment sitting on her bed though was one of pure nirvana, to feel the softness of her mattress beneath her weight... something so small provided her the most immense pleasure.
I planned to step back from posting her blog while she is home so that she might share her own thoughts and experiences, but she has asked me to keep doing so alongside her own posts as she is battling a good case of fatigue that probably won`t get to entirely lift in the time that she is home.
There are many many pictures to share, but anything `revealing` of her location has had to be edited for obvious reasons, but we will share everything else that we can.
Belinda has mentioned repeatedly that she is appreciative to everyone that has come here to read about her travels and experiences. A heartfelt thanks to all!
Till next time,
Julie
Monday, March 24, 2008
On leave already
Hey folks,
Looks like my Mom's done a good job of keeping this thing updated, so just a quick note.
I made it back after a lonnnnnnnnng adventure of airplanes, lost baggage and giant airports. (I'm not a fan of airplanes).
It's awesome to be able to shower and eat, and use a real toilet. Whenever I want. I didn't even realize how much I missed even the smell of Canada, till I stepped out of the airport. Mom had a good meal layed on and my bed made up for me, which was awesome.
Anyways, thanks to all you guys for all the support, it was nice to be able to read the blog comments and see people actually care.
Till next time,
Belinda.
Looks like my Mom's done a good job of keeping this thing updated, so just a quick note.
I made it back after a lonnnnnnnnng adventure of airplanes, lost baggage and giant airports. (I'm not a fan of airplanes).
It's awesome to be able to shower and eat, and use a real toilet. Whenever I want. I didn't even realize how much I missed even the smell of Canada, till I stepped out of the airport. Mom had a good meal layed on and my bed made up for me, which was awesome.
Anyways, thanks to all you guys for all the support, it was nice to be able to read the blog comments and see people actually care.
Till next time,
Belinda.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Close call...
A call from Belinda early this AM.
She had just started out onto her rest period but was upset to discover later that day that her post had some excitement (to put this carefully) within mere minutes of her departure. Everyone is okay thankfully...
There had been a sense of something pending, that build-up of tension... It is heart-palpitating to realize that mere minutes made the difference for her that day. And thank God they did. We are grateful that everyone came through this okay...
She had just started out onto her rest period but was upset to discover later that day that her post had some excitement (to put this carefully) within mere minutes of her departure. Everyone is okay thankfully...
There had been a sense of something pending, that build-up of tension... It is heart-palpitating to realize that mere minutes made the difference for her that day. And thank God they did. We are grateful that everyone came through this okay...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The first 2 letters arrive!
The first 2 letters from Belinda arrived. Just as we had thought, they take about a month to arrive. These letters are from her first days there... I am para-phrasing snippets of her experiences from her own words. Anything too graphic or that could compromise has been edited out for publishing on the web.
The first letter:
"So here I am in Afghanistan. There is so much to say, but so little we can say by phone...
We have had next to no sleep, but I'm getting more used to the country now. I was so tired and hot , I couldn't eat.
I have heard more gunfire and explosions then I ever wanted to. It is different when you know it is real. The drive out here was the scariest thing, there is something about knowing there is bombs everywhere.
It is such a different country though, I can't believe I get to see it in person. The country is beautiful, even the desert regions. The sky goes forever...the sunsets and sunrises are AMAZING. Sooo pretty I can't even put it into words. There is so much rubble though. Shot down, ripped apart airplanes, blown-up vehicles and buildings, garbage, dead animals. The streets were so crowded. I only saw 5 women huddled in a corner and they didn't look up from the ground when we passed.
Kids everywhere! The majority of them wave at you and give you a thumbs up, a few boys will wait till you pass and then flip you the finger, little buggers...ha ha.
It was surreal arriving at *******. A compound *** m by *** m . A canvas tent but we are building a sandbag wall around it. We have to poop in a bag then burn it in the fire pit. There is a bag we can fill with water and use to shower, but it doesn't work well, so we use baby wipes.
The Afghan Police seem pretty good. The commander shook my hand. They all stare at me while I work but won't make eye contact with me otherwise. They haven't been paid in 2 months. I have got to hand it to them, they are still doing the job with no pay, one got shot in the leg a month ago and is still here working.
Our interpreter is so funny. He lives with us. He let me see a picture of his wife but wouldn`t let the other guys see it. `Not for men!`He says, ha ha. He is from ****** but came without his family. He wants to immigrate to Canada one day. He wanted to go to Quebec but when we told him he would have to learn french, he decided he might want to go to Toronto instead. He is so excited he knows one person in Canada, he shows me their number in his little book. He is a sweet guy, always praying and studying so he can come to Canada.
The locals seem good. They will tell us if they are working in their fields at odd hours so we are not surprised.
It breaks my heart to see the kids playing in this. The main road is littered with IEDs and mines. ** kms are safe because we clear it daily. Local kids play all over the road, heard their sheep etc. I am always praying the kids don`t get hurt. I am getting to know their faces and often then same kids come everyday asking for stuff.
The conditions aside, the kids are like kids in Canada. I was watching them through binoculars and saw 2 kids steal a bike, then some old man came and chased them away, ha ha. It is crazy watching the kids here, they work so hard, all the afghans do. From 4 AM to 6-7 PM or later. The you see them doing irrigation at 2-3:30 AM. You see the kids play, but it is around their work doing farming and irrigation.
The desert looks typical to what you would see on TV, sand dunes and camels. A sandy oasis.
I will end this here and write more later ..."
Letter Number 2 -snipped
"A beautiful day in Afghanistan, ha ha. I am sitting in the sun right now ( yes , with sunscreen) working on my tan, ha ha.It is weird not being able to talk to you whenever I want or for as long as I want.
Our interpreter is fascinated watching me write with my left hand and the way I hold my pen. "Too too hard but beautiful, sir!" He calls all of us "sir", not sure why! He is sweet, the last 2 guys that were here before us, he bought them cigarettes with his own money. That's big considering he only owns one outfit.
There is always explosions and gunfire. We are constantly on edge, it gets very tiresome.
Gotta go on shift, I will write more later!"
And then :
"What a long sh*tty night that was. I don't even know where to start! Things are always broken or in bad shape. To top it off, the generator broke. Usually you don't need heat here but the past 2 nights it was -10, cold when you are sleeping in a tent!
I don't remember what it is like to have 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep... There was an 'incident' a few kms of here. You could hear machine guns and rockets, and see lots of smoke. No Canadians hurt.
In a way, you get used to the sounds of war, you expect to hear it. Anyways, it is almost my shift again, time to get lunch. Talk to you later!"
And then:
" This pen sucks! ( Ink keeps stopping)They are on their way to pick up our letters and re-supply us, so this last note is going to be rushed. Things are going better today. My shift was sooo long last night but I am done now. I have 2 shifts daily in the *****, then maintenance, then *******, and whatever else comes up. Sometimes it gets very busy...
PS: our generator was fixed today so now we have power and heat again! :)"
It took the letters a month to get here, but they were a joy to receive this week. Thanks to all who continue to drop by and keep touch with Belinda this way, it means alot.
Till next time,
Julie
The first letter:
"So here I am in Afghanistan. There is so much to say, but so little we can say by phone...
We have had next to no sleep, but I'm getting more used to the country now. I was so tired and hot , I couldn't eat.
I have heard more gunfire and explosions then I ever wanted to. It is different when you know it is real. The drive out here was the scariest thing, there is something about knowing there is bombs everywhere.
It is such a different country though, I can't believe I get to see it in person. The country is beautiful, even the desert regions. The sky goes forever...the sunsets and sunrises are AMAZING. Sooo pretty I can't even put it into words. There is so much rubble though. Shot down, ripped apart airplanes, blown-up vehicles and buildings, garbage, dead animals. The streets were so crowded. I only saw 5 women huddled in a corner and they didn't look up from the ground when we passed.
Kids everywhere! The majority of them wave at you and give you a thumbs up, a few boys will wait till you pass and then flip you the finger, little buggers...ha ha.
It was surreal arriving at *******. A compound *** m by *** m . A canvas tent but we are building a sandbag wall around it. We have to poop in a bag then burn it in the fire pit. There is a bag we can fill with water and use to shower, but it doesn't work well, so we use baby wipes.
The Afghan Police seem pretty good. The commander shook my hand. They all stare at me while I work but won't make eye contact with me otherwise. They haven't been paid in 2 months. I have got to hand it to them, they are still doing the job with no pay, one got shot in the leg a month ago and is still here working.
Our interpreter is so funny. He lives with us. He let me see a picture of his wife but wouldn`t let the other guys see it. `Not for men!`He says, ha ha. He is from ****** but came without his family. He wants to immigrate to Canada one day. He wanted to go to Quebec but when we told him he would have to learn french, he decided he might want to go to Toronto instead. He is so excited he knows one person in Canada, he shows me their number in his little book. He is a sweet guy, always praying and studying so he can come to Canada.
The locals seem good. They will tell us if they are working in their fields at odd hours so we are not surprised.
It breaks my heart to see the kids playing in this. The main road is littered with IEDs and mines. ** kms are safe because we clear it daily. Local kids play all over the road, heard their sheep etc. I am always praying the kids don`t get hurt. I am getting to know their faces and often then same kids come everyday asking for stuff.
The conditions aside, the kids are like kids in Canada. I was watching them through binoculars and saw 2 kids steal a bike, then some old man came and chased them away, ha ha. It is crazy watching the kids here, they work so hard, all the afghans do. From 4 AM to 6-7 PM or later. The you see them doing irrigation at 2-3:30 AM. You see the kids play, but it is around their work doing farming and irrigation.
The desert looks typical to what you would see on TV, sand dunes and camels. A sandy oasis.
I will end this here and write more later ..."
Letter Number 2 -snipped
"A beautiful day in Afghanistan, ha ha. I am sitting in the sun right now ( yes , with sunscreen) working on my tan, ha ha.It is weird not being able to talk to you whenever I want or for as long as I want.
Our interpreter is fascinated watching me write with my left hand and the way I hold my pen. "Too too hard but beautiful, sir!" He calls all of us "sir", not sure why! He is sweet, the last 2 guys that were here before us, he bought them cigarettes with his own money. That's big considering he only owns one outfit.
There is always explosions and gunfire. We are constantly on edge, it gets very tiresome.
Gotta go on shift, I will write more later!"
And then :
"What a long sh*tty night that was. I don't even know where to start! Things are always broken or in bad shape. To top it off, the generator broke. Usually you don't need heat here but the past 2 nights it was -10, cold when you are sleeping in a tent!
I don't remember what it is like to have 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep... There was an 'incident' a few kms of here. You could hear machine guns and rockets, and see lots of smoke. No Canadians hurt.
In a way, you get used to the sounds of war, you expect to hear it. Anyways, it is almost my shift again, time to get lunch. Talk to you later!"
And then:
" This pen sucks! ( Ink keeps stopping)They are on their way to pick up our letters and re-supply us, so this last note is going to be rushed. Things are going better today. My shift was sooo long last night but I am done now. I have 2 shifts daily in the *****, then maintenance, then *******, and whatever else comes up. Sometimes it gets very busy...
PS: our generator was fixed today so now we have power and heat again! :)"
It took the letters a month to get here, but they were a joy to receive this week. Thanks to all who continue to drop by and keep touch with Belinda this way, it means alot.
Till next time,
Julie
Friday, March 14, 2008
Mail Call!! :)
"Mail Call!"
The 2 sweetest words in the world when you are far away from home. The mail convoy finally made it through, and Belinda was the happy recipient of 4 large parcels and a stack of letters and cards from her family and friends at home.
There were plenty of cheers and enough goodies within those parcels to share around with her peers, so from the dusty heat of Afghanistan, Belinda says she and her fellow soldiers and Afghan peers send a heart-felt thank you!
The parcels were a real morale booster for all!
The 2 sweetest words in the world when you are far away from home. The mail convoy finally made it through, and Belinda was the happy recipient of 4 large parcels and a stack of letters and cards from her family and friends at home.
There were plenty of cheers and enough goodies within those parcels to share around with her peers, so from the dusty heat of Afghanistan, Belinda says she and her fellow soldiers and Afghan peers send a heart-felt thank you!
The parcels were a real morale booster for all!
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