Sand Sand Everywhere

---

The weather is terrible. There is a light sandstorm the wind is voracious and the sand is in everything. My uniform is buttoned up all the way. I have a boonie cap, sun glasses, and bandana tied over my face. Picture a soldier robbing a bank.
There is pallets of bottled water in front of every tent. I think that the water has sand in it - all I taste is grit and dirt. Maybe it will whiten my teeth. We stay in large tents made of plastic. The floor is plywood which is nice as my feet don't get to dirty when I get up to go to the bathroom (the bathroom is a little walk from the tent). We had our first experience with 220 voltage. The ourlets here have a funny shape. They look like this
(·/) You have to have an adapter to change thee shape to American standard plugs. However this does not fix the problem. Since America runs on 110 voltage the appliances will blow up if you plug them in here. OOPs. Lots of guys lost alarm clocks and electric razors. My buddy and I went to the PX and bought a converting power strip which is about 10 bucks. Luckily all of my appliances are rated for 110V or 220V (Computer, IPOD charger, and Bose Headphones) otherwise you need a transformer that steps down the power - a mere 60 bucks. Lots of soldiers lost their electronics today.

---