This is what Ben wrote to me in an email!
I'm in Gardez now. I flew in Tuesday night and it was a busy day Wednesday. It's pretty cool here. The puddles freeze every night but thaw in the day. I spent the whole day yesterday with my counterpart (the guy that I'm replacing in the unit we're replacing). I experienced some very interesting things. My job will involve a lot of paperwork, talking to locals, and dealing with a lot of stupidity. The kinds of contracts we have are things like a crane with an operator, sewage removal, and a trash pickup guy. There are about a dozen of these contracts just here at Gardez, and I am in control of the contracts in 4 other FOBs too. Afghans are different from Americans in the way they do business. They do whatever they can to make an extra buck, and there is usually some kind of corruption going on. It's going to be a very challenging experience. Ryan said he started out timid and became aggressive very quickly dealing with these people. The same will probably happen to me.
He is starting to get the sniffles (which means he's probably walking around with a tissue in his nose... haha), please pray that he doesn't get sick! Thanks everyone!
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Let me know what tricks you pick up for dealing with locals and dealing with the corruption. I'm glad you're there safely man and look forward to perhaps a nice visit on a FOB. Take care of yourself brother
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