Christmas In The 'Stan

It's Christmastime. Not very much fun when you're away from your family, but it is what it is. We've attempted to make the best of it. On the 23rd, we all went as a group to dinner at the small Indian restaurant on the FOB. It was the first time I'd eaten there, and I'm kicking myself for not trying it earlier. The food was quite good. We also did a "Secret Santa" gift exchange, which was a lot of fun. I got a travel mug and a laser pointer; guess the guys are tired of me highlighting things on PowerPoint with the mouse and then accidentally advancing the slides!

On Christmas Eve, we exchanged gifts with some of our Polish colleagues. We took over a bunch of cookies and chocolates for them. One of their nurses gave each of us an authentic Afghan scarf, and I got some tea from one of the Polish medics whom I've become friends with. Christmas Eve is the bigger holiday for the Polish. They wait until the first star is visible in the nighttime sky and then they sit down to dinner. Each person first makes a "wish" for the other family members present, then they feast. Their Christmas morning is similar to ours, culminating with the gift exchange.

I decided to treat Christmas like any other day. Was up at 06:00 and went to the gym. Afterwards, grabbed some chow and then a shower. Spent most of the morning cleaning up my room from all the care packages I've received in the last 2 weeks. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed them all; I think I've received more gifts here than I normally would get at home! I wanted to go to church, but the guy who normally holds services is on leave and we don't have a chaplain here. The Afghan interpreters surprised us with lunch from one of the local restaurants. The food was not "traditional" Christmas food, but it was still very good. I went to the D-Fac afterwards to look for dessert and to see the decorations. The Army does a really nice job with holiday dinners, and the place looked spectacular. They had a little "Christmas Village" set up outside. I was hoping to watch my kids open up gifts on Skype, but for various reasons it didn't work out. I did get to talk to them all afterwards; sounds like it was chaos in the Watson house.

Later on, LTC Smith, CPT Creel, and I walked to the ADT (Agriculture Development Team) compound and got our picture taken in front of their Christmas tree. It turned out to be a beautiful day; the temperature hit 54 here, so I wore shorts and my "Christmas Story" t-shirt. The John Deere santa cap was borrowed from the ADT guys; they are all farmers back home in Texas. We were fortunate enough to be quiet on Christmas day, and we only saw 1 patient on Christmas Eve (accidental GSW to the hand) and 5 today so far (none of whom were critical). Merry Christmas to all back home & God bless!