Yeah, yeah… I know I’m terrible about writing on a regular basis, but it was really starting to feel like Groundhog Day out here. Entries would have read… woke up, ate PB&J on a tortilla for breakfast, pushed dirt through screen, made big rocks into small rocks, ate rice and pork, drank Tiger, bed, repeat, repeat, repeat. All of my previous bitching about the lack of rain here has come back to haunt me. As it turns out, Forrest Gump may have actually been a documentary. For 50 days we had a total of two minutes of rain. Then one day the skies opened up and they haven’t really stopped since. It’s like the transition between dry and rainy season only took about twenty minutes. Here’s a really great picture of the wonderful rain. It wouldn’t be so bad except for the mud that results. And the mud causes my flip flops to blow out which is probably the most aggravating thing on earth. I would just walk around bare foot like the locals except that going to the bathroom definitely requires the protective layer of rubber soles.

Another image of the mud we're contending with. Also, check out the giant pile of pulverized dirt behind the screening stations. That's about half of what we've done so far.

The ambassador came to visit us here. Again the giant helicopter landed in the field. Here is a pic of the girls watching it land. Hyeng thought that my digital camera was a little more interesting.

I can definitely say that the Lt is not where the witness said he buried him. We’ve found no tangible sign of him out here. We did find inconclusive evidence of a plane crash but nothing substantial. It’s been disappointing. About a week ago a guy showed up who said that he had moved the body 4 kilometers away. I think that was the motivation breaking point for most of us. Unfortunately we have to continue digging the original site. When our motivation was to bring home our lost things were going really well, but once it became an exercise in filling a block our productivity slowed tremendously. Of course this also coincided with the rain which made all of our excavation and screening incredibly tedious. I can’t believe how hard we’ve worked out here. So much has gone into this mission and it’s a bit of a let down to have nothing to show for it. Leadership here keeps saying that every mission is successful regardless because we now know where he definitely isn’t buried, but it still doesn’t really feel successful. The new witness says that he threw the body into a latrine pit and it’s a crappy feeling to know that we may be just 4 kilometers away from bringing him out of that and there’s nothing we can do. Stupid ass politics.

We leave in two days so tomorrow we’re throwing the workers a pig roast lunch to say thank you. The last couple of days have been sad because somehow they found out that we’re leaving. It’s amazing how much you can communicate with so little understanding of one anothers language. It makes me wonder why we have so much trouble when we speak the same language.
Yesterday/today (depending on what time zone you’re in) was the anniversary of the Navy guys death in Iraq. Yesterday it was on my mind but fortunately we had a lot of work to do so dwelling on it wasn’t an option. And I’ve been a bit sick so I went straight to bed after work and several beers. It was probably best that way. But I did find myself reliving the day as it had happened and trying to remember what was happening at the same time one year ago. It was a little surreal. When I woke up it was just another day, but by night everything had changed so much. This morning I called Curt’s sister and mom. It was hard. I don’t know how else to explain it. The good thing is that we’ll all get to see each other soon at the memorial in May so we all have that to look forward to.

Well it’s bedtime now so now I need to find the fortitude to brave the latrine…

But first, more pictures :) This is of Mea Gun and two of her twelve children.

Ang (one of our Vietnamese military guards) and I

The site foreman, An Ba Dau and I. He is probably one of the biggest jokesters I've met in a while.

Awwww, Mea Gunn and I again. I miss her already!!