Hey, dudes and dudettes!

This place sucks ass, haha. I managed to get a little bit of free time, finally, so I popped into a cafe on base and decided to say hi. I literally only have 13 minutes left before I gotta form back up, so I'll make this quick.

I sent text messages to a few of you whose numbers I have, during the 50 minutes where I had my phone again. If you try to text me back, I probably won't see it until next weekend. We're kept under close watch a lot of the time, and have very short timings. I don't expect to have a weekend off at all while I'm here.

The physical training is quite challenging, especially the pepper-potting. I am getting in pretty decent shape though, so it's not all bad. The food's pretty good too, when we're not eating rations. I've gotten qualified on the M203 grenade launcher, 60 mm mortar, and claymore mine. The M203 was especially fun. I'm actually a pretty good shot with that thing, haha.

I've been homesick while here. I'm very much looking forward to completing this course and getting back to Winnipeg. I did toss my name in for an exercise directly following, though, so I might be gone for an extra eight days. It won't be fun, but if I do go, I should be able to afford a new computer from it. I've been using the same one since 2004.

I gotta get going. I miss my friends and family, but it's really encouraging to know you guys have been rooting for me from all over the world. I hope to see you all again soon.