Internet

We have liftoff. The satellite has been working for a few days, and the wireless network has been set up. However, we still have some kinks to work out. The wireless network has potentially saved us many hours of digging trenches and laying wire... that is, if it works. We've been having issues getting it to reach all the way into the chu's, which are big tin cans and don't allow the signal through very well. As I type, I'm sitting outside, and getting a few weird looks from people passing by. But it's a small sacrifice for internet.

I realized that the internet is a little like a drug for me. I never realized how much I relied upon it, but when I'm home, school, or work I have a high-quality connections with very few restrictions. But when we first got here, we had the office internet, which is very restrictive and in a public setting, or the internet cafe, which is a little bit more open but still very public. When I'm posting personal pictures in the cafe, it's awkward to be sitting there, shoulder to shoulder with a couple of Ugandan security guards. So with the drug analogy, it's like I've been on a low dose, a phantom of what I'm used to, whereas the satellite is like getting the real stuff back.

Speaking of posting pictures, I've updated the Kuwait gallery with more pictures, as well as finally created an Iraq gallery. Feel free to peruse them!