Settling In

I've been getting settled in over the last day or so.  We stay pretty busy working so there hasn't been much time to explore yet.  Here's a rundown of what I know so far.  There are 3 gyms and 3 DFACs, the majority of the tents have been sprayed with an insulating foam (I'll get some pics), there are ANA, Jordanians, Czechs and Americans on this base, there are local Afghani shops on base, it's a blackout base and the laundry is free.  I probably know more but I have to save some stuff for later.

DFACs - The DFACs are basically two big, arched white tents.  They are probably about 50' wide with one tent about 50' long and the other maybe a 100'.  There is a short order serving line, a meal serving line, a salad and sandwich bar, drinks and ice cream/dessert spot.  The salad/sandwhich bar and snacks are available 24 hours a day and meals are served breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight.  The meal tonight was steak, lobster, fried shrimp and vegetables.  I ended up having fried shrimp, the steak looked kind of tough.  There is plenty of food available and it's kind of hard to hold back at times. 

Tonight a couple of guys and I went to a bakery on base that is part of the little local Afghan strip of shops (the resident engineer was stationed here with the air force for 6 months so he knows all the places to go).  This place looked pretty sketchy from the outside (as most of the places do).  You walk in to a little holding area where a couple of guys are in a window.  You just tell them what you want and go have a seat.  Now, I say it's a bakery, but as far as I know they only serve nan (plain, garlic or cinnamon and tea.  Nan is a baked flat bread that the Afghans eats as a staple with their meals.  The seating area has a couple of round tables with chairs, a couple of couches and a bench.  The best part is that the there are three fluorescent lights illuminating this place, one red, one green and one yellow.  It feels like you're in a club.  Local nationals that work on the base hang out here as well.  The Afghans were really nice, the bread is awesome and the tea is really sweet.  The nan, tea, hanging with the locals and their cloud of smoke could be yours for the low price of $1.  Not to bad.