Mission completed
Monday night 21st March, 2011.
I am exhausted.
When we arrived at the military base this morning, it felt so cosy to be back at work again. My desk looked cosy as well as my locker, the sterile kitchen and all the soldiers, buildings and the cars there too.
Six days in the forest felt like a long time. Having gone without sleeping properly and producing radio around 16 hours per day, has taken its toll on me.
Apart from dead flies, the cabin had a lot of rat poo inside. I actually had to wipe some off my mattress the first day. At least I made sure I wasn’t in a room with anybody snoring. So, the conditions in the cabin, wasn’t exactly cosy. But as everybody told me when I got back: “Be grateful you didn’t have to sleep in a tent!”
It had me thinking for a while – what on earth have I gotten myself into? It’s so typical of me just to jump into new stuff that excites me without thinking about the less exciting or even negative aspects. It’s like I am unable to think about anything difficult in advance of a project that appeals to me. And I really don’t like it when people bring up the potential negatives either. It has never helped me, so why do it?
That reminds me of something a wise friend recently said: “It’s only possible to reflect back in time – never the present.” So if a path I’ve taken in my life isn’t clear right now, I know it will be in time. Meanwhile, I’ll just carry on following my gut instinct and heart.
Anyways, I survived the rat-infested cabin and it actually involved a lot of laughter and lots of poo jokes. It’s also been a real bonding experience with the awesome team of professionals I have the pleasure of working with.
And the main thing is – my first mission was hugely successful! Thanks to our technology and specialist knowledge, we built a radio station from scratch and the Swedish audience could hear us well and got in touch. A few enthusiastic people showed up at the cabin, including our bosses at the base who were mighty impressed. Now we know that when needed, we're able to produce a psychological operation abroad using radio.
I just need to catch up on sleep now.
