So what would you say you DO here?

Sooooo ... unfortunately I'm going to be rather vague about many aspects of my job. This is unfortunate in many ways, not the least of which being you may not be able to appreciate some of these posts without that perspective. Just keep in mind a few things: though the Navy has certainly put me in positions were I didn't quite know how to do that facet of my job, the environment was always aviation-related among like-minded people, so it was familiar. Now I'm in an engineering job for which I've received zero training in a service that is so drastically foreign from the Navy to be classified as requiring language and cultural desensitization training.

So, as part of my job so far (meaning, very early here in Sharana), I went to a seminar our PRT was putting on for locals over at the Governor's compound. Again, no details on that portion (yet, though "CERP As A Budget" on google may reveal some interesting things), but while there I saw a cute kitten up in the rafters of a picnic area:

What you don't see in that picture will be revealed when I step back ...

Both animals seemed tame enough (the dog had a collar). The does was showing such intense focus, unlike anything I've ever seen in our dogs (except when we're holding food ...).

On another mission I had quite a lot of exposure with locals. In fact, the local school just let out and we were quickly swamped with kids walking by us. We were certainly the oddity. Of course, I was *really* trying to practice my Pashto so not only did I look weird, I sounded different than all the other weird-looking dudes! I did realize, however, that my accent is nearly incomprehensible. I can understand a little bit of what they say, but I'm still rusty as heck ...

Good times!

Okay, I'm out. It's been three (loooooooooong) posts and I'm pretty tired. Tomorrow's schedule is busy (though it changed -- again -- an hour or two ago), and I need some sleep. I'll try to keep this up in whatever facet I can. Thanks for keeping up!