Afghanistan - Day 7 - MWR

Today was the first day I felt really good. All the travel bugaboos - jetlag, funky stomach, sleep - have thankfully worked their way out of my system. Class ran smoothly for the first time this week. If I could possibly refer to a day out here as "normal" this would be it.

After class I headed over to the MWR building next to Camp Dragon. The building has been dubbed, "The Dragon Palace." (cute) I popped in and checked my e-mail, made some calls on Skype before my 30-minute time limit was up. Afterwards, I headed down the road for the last of the 4 miles I promised myself to walk each day before calling it a night. By 8:30pm I was asleep.

MWR stands for "Morale, Welfare and Recreation." It is like a community center for soldiers and others who need a place to kick back. There's always a movie showing (Avatar played here this week, but only in 2-D), and popcorn to munch along with. The computers are available for Internet access, and some have a webcam for video calls back home. There is also a phone area that soldiers can call home from, and a library/quiet reading room. Occasionally there will be other activities organized here such as a karaoke night or a game tournament.

With what little is available out here to the soldiers, the MWR is an essential part of their deployment. I couldn't imagine what it would be like out here on a 12-month deployment without these options available to them.