DLI

DLI is the hardest school ever. Also, I'm in the hardest language ever!
Arabic is very difficult to read, and understand, and speak. It's based on a "root system" that supposedly is based on logic and makes complete sense. :| This is not (totally) true. The word for "flag" is also the same word for "world" and "to study." Add a letter and it becomes "science." Seriously? how are these connected? Who came up with this? Curse it.
There are 2 T's ت ط, D's ض د, H's ح ه, and 2 S's س ص. There is a "ghayn" غwhich is either pronounced like a messed up G, or a very very French R. And there is an "ayn" ع which is not pronounced correctly unless you are about to gag/choke on the back of your tongue. There is also a "th" ث as theater, and a "th" ظ as in the. AND there is a letter that's said by temporarily blocking your throat ء .
Insanity!!!

Gas Chamber

Here is Heather's Gas chamber experience:

"It totally and completely sucked. I'm so happy that I'll never have to do it again.
We got our makss the day before, and made sure that they fit and all that.... Then on Monday, when my platoon got all lined up to go in, I started getting really really anxious. I was next to one of the Mormon guys, Tobiassen. Anyways, when we put our masks on and sealed them, I started crying. Not tearing up, or my eyes getting watery-I started crying. Really hard. Tobiassen kept telling me I'd by okay, but I just kept crying. Thank goodness there were no drill sergeants around. One sergeant walked past me, read my name tape and said, 'You're scared as hell ain't you Howard?' 'Yes Sergeant!' (I had to scream 'cause those masks really muffle your voice. He said, "You'll be alright.' But I still kept crying.

It was dark in the gas chamber, they didn't have any of the lights on. All our light came from the door we walked in through. Almost immediately all our necks started burning. At first, it felt a little bit like a sunburn that you accidently put astringent on. Then it started burning really bad, and stinging like crazy!! The drill sergeants came past us one at a time and made us say our full name, rank and full SS #. I forgot to take a breath before I unsealed my mask though. So, I got a big breath full of tear gas and still had to sound off. Oh yeah, I was the first one to go too. Then I resealed my mask. After everyone else went (about 1/2 my platoon was there with me), we had to take our masks off the whole way. All the way off, open our eyes and say the soldiers creed. I got up to 'I will never leave a fallen comrade', then I started coughing too hard. When they let us out, we booked it out of there! I remember leaning on a yellow handrail after I escaped. Everything burned so dang much- except my eyes, but I think that's just because I'd been crying so much. Then we had to flap our arms(to air out our ACUs) and walk back down the hill. I had snot hanging down at least a foot and spit too. I kept coughing and there wasn't anything we could do. Then I dry-heaved like I've never done before. I'm surprised stuff didn't go flying. Two days later (Wednesday), my neck, face and hands itch really bad. I think it's cause we didn't get to shower for the rest of the day, so that gas was left on me.

Basic Training

Hello all associates and family of Heather The Mighty, this is Amber (Heathers friend). Heather asked me to update her blog for her while she was in Basic training and I was happy to oblige. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post them. If you would like Heathers address, so you can send her uplifting letters, you can contact her mom or me at: ber602@yahoo.com. You can also leave a comment here and I will get it to you. here is Heathers first update from basic training:

Basic Training. It Sucks. I hate it here.

First day, all the drill sergeants in my platoon and for the platoon that I sleep in learned my friggen name the first day! It wasn't even my fault, it was because my laundry bag ((which has my name and last 4 digits of my ssn) got taken during the first shark attack. So my drill sergeants knew who i was right off. Then, because I wasn't in my sleeping bay all day long, I didn't know that my bag had been returned. So we all got smoked. Then I had to empty out everything I had including the assault pack that I just barely got issued. Then I had to pack it all back up in 30 seconds (I had to get two other people to help me) and it had taken me almost this whole week to get my locker in order.

The highlights of basic so far...uhm...I got to do laundry today (this was from Sunday the 15 of August) and I got to go to church!!! I slept through half of sacrament, its ok though I woke up in time to say the closing prayer. Thats it. All the high points. Oh! wait! We did victory tower this week. That was pretty fun.

3...2...1... !!!

Countdown: 2 days!

I'm freaking out a little! But it's ok. I'll be fine.

Kino Staff 2010; I will miss you all a ton! It makes me sad thinking about not being back next summer. Stay awesome!

Everybody else; I will miss you too. But I'll be back at Christmas if you still love me enough to hang out!

aaa!

8 days to go!! Not counting tonight.

Injury Update

A girl who works at Carson with me is a trainer during the school year. She taught me how to tape up my arches so that I can run without my shin splints getting worse. I don't have issues with shin splints anymore now. Since then, I had an accident at Kino, a little more than a week ago. I pulled a cart over the back of my foot, and was barely able to catch myself to keep from passing out. EMS had to be called, and Dad had to drive me to the hospital. On the drive there, I went into shock and had what I guess was a seizure. It was scary, and totally freaked me out. I couldn't work for a few days after that.

PT test

Tuesday was the first PT test that I actually went to. There are two tests you can do, the 1-1-1 and the 2-2-2. I did the 1-1-1. It's 1 minute of push-ups, 1 minute of sit-ups, and a one mile run. I have to be able to do 3 push-ups, 17 sit-ups, and the mile in under 10:30. I did 20 push-ups, 23 sit-ups, and the mile in 10:25. Yay!

And then my shin-splints that been growing more painful became terrible. After I taught lessons I raced our manager to see who would swim at Lifeguard Olympics, then my leg hurt even more! When I went and worked at Carson a few minutes later, I almost cried during the whole shift. I talked to a trainer, and now worry that my leg will break in the near future. Or that it already has an incomplete stress fracture. I'm choosing to believe that it hasn't fractured yet.