If it's not poop, then it's diesel....

Warning: A lot of this post deals with poop.  If you find this disgusting, you should probably stop reading.....also NEVER plan a trip to Kandahar!

I'm sure that to anyone who has never spent anytime at Kandahar the title of this post is rather strange, but that pretty much sums up what it is like to live in Kandahar.  Remember way back to the post when I first got here, and I said that the smell from the poo pond wasn't too bad?  Well, I was wrong! (and for those of you who know me well, you know I hate saying those 3 words)  I have never been sooooo wrong in my entire life.  It is horrible.  And it is still pretty cold here...I can't imagine what it will be like once it warms up.  I could go on and on about the poo pond, but I will save that for another post.  One day I will write a post dedicated solely to the poo pond, and I will have pictures as it has been decorated.  I just have to get the nerve up to go over close to it.  Maybe that gas mask I had to pack will actually come in handy....

The first part of the title is actually from 2 sources.  The other source being porta-potties.  I despise porta-potties.  I really envy males in their ability to zip in and out of a porta-potty within seconds.  Males don't even have to open the lid in the porta-potty most of the time as they have a nifty little urinal to pee in without ever having to come face to face (so to speak) with "deposits" that others have made.  Unfortunately for me, if I have to go to the bathroom during the day it has to be in a porta-potty.  The building that I work in, along with most buildings in Kandahar, does not have running water.  So porta-potties it is.  I do my best to hold it as long as I can, so that when I go and suffer inside the stench chamber I really make it count.  I'd like to say that this method leads to less trips, but in reality, I don't think it actually does.  But I am getting really good at the pee dance...

The last part of the title is diesel.  Pretty much everything in Kandahar runs on diesel, and something tells me that vehicles do not have to pass yearly emissions tests.  As I have mentioned before, there is a generator right outside my office that I'm pretty sure is used to power something really important.  That puppy puts out a lot of fumes!  And when I'm not in my office, I'm usually walking to my "house" or to a DFAC and as cars pass, they put out just as much diesel fumes as that darn generator.  Although, there is a section of my walk to work that when the wind is blowing in a certain direction the stench from the poo pond is overwhelming that I all I can do is pray for some diesel fumes....