Less-lousy internet connection

I didn't want to have to spend a lot of money to get to the internet while I'm over here in Afghanistan. But I finally broke down and got access to a less-bad wifi connection.

The pluses? The Green Bean is always open. I don't have to chance whether I'll be able to connect, unlike the USO. Many is the time I'd get over there and find their wifi was down. Also, the USO was across from the Passenger Terminal at the Air Base. It was usually full of troops, many of them sleeping. I once sat on the floor in the corner to try to upload classwork. And the USO always seemed to be 10 degrees too hot.

The down sides? It's a half mile walk to the Green Bean (think Starbucks), which isn't so fun in the cold. And with the snow/slush/refrozen ice, walking is rather perilous. There are many others here making use of the wifi, and I have to listen to loud phone or skype conversations. There is also the loud music from
the Green Bean shop.

I'm taking a Theater Security Decision Making course through Naval War College. There is a great deal of reading material to download, and the connection is (somewhat) faster here. I'm slowly downloading all the articles to my laptop so I can go to my B-hut and read there. I can also update and upload on Facebook without worrying about the site being blocked on a military computer.

So, here I sit at Green Bean, listening to some guy talking on the phone behind me, saying "You know" and "Uhm" so much that I'm gritting my teeth.

Oh, the joys of communal living!!!