Warehouse

"I'm going to memorize your name and throw my head away."
-Oscar Levant(1906 - 1972)

This is just a random quote that made me laugh a lot. I didn't get it at first. I figure it has to probably be just about the worst insult that you could tell a person.

Today we went back to the new clinic. We have 3 weeks until it opens and we are still rearranging the room locations. Today, believe it or not, one of the issues was that women and men cannot share the same exam rooms. We knew that there had to be separate waiting areas but we did not know about exam rooms. That is an easy fix. A lot still needs to happen from a construction standpoint but I think that it should all come together on time. I am curious how receptive the Afghans will be to the committees I plan on starting. I could potentially start about 10 but I think I am going to limit it to credentialing, infection control, and emergency management.

After we left the clinic we headed over to the French compound called Warehouse. We went with the Wolf Pack which is a group of Army folks that have been nice enough to work us into their convoys. They have big guns on their vehicle and we don't. They were having a going away for one of their guys. I am not sure why the French call their compound Warehouse. Here is the sign when you first enter the compound.

The sign says, "Switch Off Your Jams." No, they are not talking about music. Jammers are electronic devices that jam IEDs (improvised explosive devices). They interfere with radio signals and that is why you have to turn them off.

I was impressed with the French base. They really know how to go to war. They have a number of nice restaurants. Take a look at this one. It looks like a regular restaurant that you would find in the states. War fighting by day, fine dinning by night.

Before we started to eat we had to exchange our money into Euros. I somewhat confused the guy at the exchange counter because I wanted to convert $18.00 and he was only used to $10.00 and $20.00 bills. He said that $10.00 should be enough for lunch. I went to the counter to order my meal and they had a bunch of photos where you could point to what you wanted to eat. I pointed to a sub sandwich and he said that they only serve this for breakfast. I then started pointing to just about every picture on the wall, even the weird long hot dog looking think that was split at each end in three different directions. every time I pointed to a picture he shook his head indicating that I did not have enough money for the meal. Meanwhile, the line was getting longer and the people were growing more impatient. I ended up borrowing 2 Euros and eventually got the pork medallions with mushroom and onions . It was qui a bon gout (delicious).

A few other observations from the French compound. They had a mini Eiffel Tower about the size of a light post. They have a club/bar and they are allowed to drink alcohol. They also wear really big, floppy, berets. I do have to mention, just about every French soldier that I have met has been really friendly. I have even made a couple friends over here at Camp Phoenix.

Lastly, my wife wrote to me earlier and told me that they had to evacuate our home over in southern California. She and the kids are staying with my brother's house in L.A.. She said that the flames are very near my daughters preschool. Hopefully they can get the fire under control. I am going to try and call them tonight.

Thanks for reading.