Home Safe!

Well... that's my tour and I'm out of Afghanistan and now safely back home. I arrived to a nice Canadian welcome... a huge snowstorm! Was that ever COLD!

It is weird coming back home. Everything seems so oddly normal. It was as if I was here yesterday and that the whole trip never even happened. The reintegration back home was a bit of a surreal (or out of body?) experience. What was important over there doesn't seem to be important here. What seems to be absolutely critical over here is trivial (and silly) to what we were dealing with over there.

My 'wake up' to the fact that 'we're back' was when a bunch of us were in desert uniforms, standing on a curb waiting for a cab out of a whole line of cabs. One cabbie came up to us. He must have been trying to become chummy with us or something because he tried to joke by mocking us. He looked at all of us and said: 'Are you going to Afghanistan... to FIGHT?!' All of us just stood there expressionless and stared at him, and each other. (I think we were all at a loss of words, or perhaps none of us even thought that crack merited a response) Little did that guy know we were all on our way home after having just been there. On another occasion, one guy saw me in uniform as I was walking in to a building. He said: 'Hey - are you in the army?', to which after I said 'yes' (while wondering how I was dressed in desert camouflage didn't already give that away.) He looked at me and said: 'I hope you don't go to Afghanistan!' (Again, trying to joke
with me). I just looked at him straight faced and said: 'Dude... I just got back from there.' I began to walk away and he then tried back pedalling by asking: 'how did you like it?' (Like he was asking how a vacation package at a resort was). I just said that I thankfully have all my fingers and toes, so I guess my experience was good. Anyways, I guess alot of people have no clue what's going on over there. I suppose (to a certain point) - thank God that people can afford to be that ignorant of what's going on... it means that we're actually doing our job well enough that nobody over here has to be affected by the craziness over there. I do realize why many vets I talked to sometimes say that when they go home they won't say a darn thing to anyone, as people in general just don't understand. I know, however, that for all of you who read this, that you do care about all of those serving overseas, and that all of us want a true peace that can only
be achieved from God through the work of our hands with lots of prayer and sacrifice.

I really want to thank you all for all of your prayers, your concern, and for your love. I really am thankful and touched by the support you gave me through the Communion of the Saints over my time there. I found out bit by bit of people and entire families and groups praying for me. I am humbled and am so very thankful to all of you for your friendship. I really could feel your prayers for my safety, well being, and protection. I really believe that your prayers were the reason why there were alot of apostolic opportunities there, as well as the physical protection and security Our Lord covered me with. I never felt alone there, as I knew all of you my brothers and sisters were looking out for me. I have been keeping all of you in my prayers in these past and upcoming days where I am making my thanksgiving to Our Lord for His blessings over the past year, and for your care, concern and your prayers. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU all!

So what am I going to do now? Well, I am taking steps to re-integrate myself back to 'normal' routines. I'm going to take a month off to some tropical country where I will take a week of classes at a workshop in doctrine and theology. (I am really looking forward to that!). After that, I hope to do some activities (such as volunteer teach) to get myself back into the groove of taking over my classrooom duties... which I am really looking forward to! I might go and do some touring as well - again, to have some more rich experiences I can also take to the classroom and integrate into my lessons.

I will also try and put together a short presentation of pics, etc., for those of you who would want to see them.

Thank you again for all of your support, and for keeping tabs on me through this blog. I hope I was able to 'bring you along with me' as much as possible. Thank you once again for your prayers. Please keep praying for progress and success for true peace in the world. I will be ever thankful to all of you - some of you whom I have never met, but who were praying for me all the same. You are all in my prayers.

May Our Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady of Peace, grant you and your families many, many blessings that you may all grow close to Our Lord and be to the world it's true light.

God Bless,

Joe Nonato
(Your: 'Fisheaterinthesand'!)

...Last days 'In the Sand'!

Here are the pics I wanted to share with you earlier. They're from my last days 'in the sand'.

No thanks, I had camel for breakfast!, Philosophical Troops, Anand Nagar

I passed by a herd of camels that was on either side of the road in this desert country I'm in. It was funny because the camels all stopped to stare at the vehicle, as if they were saying: 'what are THEY doing here?', or 'aw - look at the cute humans!'. They really are funny looking. God must have had fun creating them! Here, they are even raised for milk and other camel products. Actually, the tastiest yoghurt I've ever eaten is here... and loving yoghurt - I eat alot of it. But here - it just seems to taste better. I wonder if I'm actually eating a camel product? That would be new! In driving out in this new place I traveled out to (still a Muslim country), I was touched to see a carpet mural of The Immaculate Heart of Mary hanging for sale at a roadside stall. It was quite beautiful to see such a warm and familiar face in such an unexpected way. I saw her face after having passed dozens of Mosques set with sand dunes as a backdrop. There seemed to be a mosque on every street corner (NOT and exaggeration) - and there were always people coming and going from them. I imagine many places were like that in formerly Christian countries with churches at each block with the Blessed Sacrament reserved in each of them. I guess the boom of Islam is because everyone for the most part prays... 5 times a day. The voices from the loudspeakers atop the Minarets of the Mosques remind everyone of that obligation.  I admire the Muslims for their zeal and their dedication to prayer. Even in the most insignificant to the biggest Shopping Mall, they will have a male prayer room, and another for females. .. and just as an observation, they are well used.  We as a Church used to have prayer as a part of our social fabric. Somehow that seems to have been lost, and many of those pillars of Christendom seem now to be reduced to ruins with only streets and places named after saints to attest to a former love for God. is it all over?  I don't think so.  It's up to us to spread the fire of Christ's love.  If we have the Truth, it is up to us to share it.  But - as with all things - prayer first. Anyhow - If we had stopped, I would have wanted to purchase that image of Our Lady. Many people believe that soldiers are a bunch of thick headed grunts that walk around dragging their wrists and speaking in one syllable sentences. I must say - there is nothing further from the truth! Some of the deepest conversations I've had were with soldiers while sitting on a cot cleaning weapons, polishing boots, or something. Take the other night for instance - I introduced myself to a guy and told him what I do 'in the real world'. He responded that he studied theology and philosophy - which surprised me! He then handed me a book on Theology written by a Jesuit! What a surprise! Happily, we then launched into what must have been a 2.5 hour discussion about theology and philosophy, a priori, Aristotle, Nitsche, Mao Tse Tung, etc., etc., etc.. What a great guy! I find that when I listen to even the private soldiers in the ranks that they too have the same types of discussions. Nope - Canadian Soldiers are a cut above the rest. I've heard of armies around the world having to teach their troops to read the field manuals... rather - in our army, the troops use their head to analyze and critique the merits of the document! Anyhow - this conversation I had with this fellow soldier was quite surreal and unexpected. This one chance meeting made me thing - Canadians should be proud of their troops! We grow a different breed of soldier to create an army, not a mob. I was saddened the other day as I watched a soldier drilling holes into the monument. He was making space for the new plaques of the latest troops to have died in theatre. It would be a dream if he doesn't have to drill any more holes for new plaques. We've got a long way to go before that. I made some friends here in my new location.  As such, they dressed me up in a 'Dishdasha' and 'Gothrab'... the type of men's clothing popular in this area - complete with head wrap!  I wanted to place a pic to show you, but for some reason I can't get logged on to a computer that would allow that.  The friends I made here were very warm and welcoming.  This whole trip has been a blessing in meeting all sorts of peoples from around the world!  They allowed me to walk around dressed as one of them.  Many people payed no attention to me - thinking I was a local.  Funny thing - I tried jogging a bit to get some speed to climb some stairs, but the material was restrictive at the legs and I nearly wiped out!  Now I know why men here look like sultans when they walk around... perhaps its the clothing.  Nevertheless - it was really cool walking around in that! I'm reading a book called 'City of Joy' (Anand Nagar - the poorest of the poor area in Calcutta where Mother Teresa did her work).  What an awesome book!  (It was made into a movie starring Patrick Swayze).  It teaches a lot about how much more we need to love, and to care for others.  It's thought provoking, but also prayer provoking.  What the priest does and how he sees Jesus in the poor through prayer is wonderful.  I recommend it - it makes you really reflect when you want to whine about some 'difficulty' in front of you.... at least it has done that for me.

Dressed as an Afghan / OSM!

Here is a pic with me in Afghan clothing!  What you see is what is called a 'Khali' (Spelling?) and a turban.  It was a lot of fun to wear. I wonder if the Magi who visited Our Lord on the first Epiphany wore anything like it?  I imagine they did!  Anyhow - the clothing is very suitable for the heat and dust of the area, and is very comfortable!  You'll see Afghans wearing these all the time.  If they are employed by a western contractor for construction work, the sight is weird to see some of them with all of the traditional stuff on, but sporting a reflective safety vest and construction hard hat.  It's like a clash of cultures.   It is customary in the military for those ending their term of service to receive a token of thanks from their colleagues.  This is common in civilian workplaces, but in the army - if you really did a great job or a garbage job, the send off will be proportionate.  It's like getting a public 'report card' in front of everyone.  Sometimes - if people really dislike a person, they won't even get a parting gift - or they'll make the parting gift 'count'!  I was blessed, however, to have been given a nice send off by my peers.  What they got me was some nice tokens of thanks like a mug and T-Shirt (and a pillow so my flight home will be more comfortable!).  The best token - which really touched me - was a medal to recognize my service.  What they gave me was a copy of the medal the British Government recognizes their service personnel.  It is called the 'Operational Service Medal', or 'OSM'.  It is the equivalent to the Canadian medal I wrote about in earlier posts.  I'm not authorized to wear this one, but to be given a medal (especially by the group you served with) is significant to many in the military - especially in thanks for a job well done.  Deo Gratia!  Here is a pic of it below.  I'm really grateful to have been presented it by the guys I was working with!        (You can learn what the Brits actually award this medal for to their own troops through this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSM_for_Afghanistan) I am also quite grateful for the blessing of the experience and the opportunity to serve on this mission.  People were asking me if I will miss the country.  Oddly - I think, yes.  But it's not the country - it's the people I'll miss.  The Afghans I got to know well and the people I worked alongside in uniform were great guys.  Admittedly, for the past half-year, they have been a type of surrogate 'family' (we were, after all, in each other's faces for at least 12-14 hours a day, every day... for the past 6 months!).  Well - I'll miss the whole adventure.  It'll be some adjustment when I finally get home!  The regular routine won't be for a long while yet.  Anyways - more to follow!

He flies! (Then gets flies!)

In this picture, I am on a return flight, after having finished a duty in one of the neighbouring provinces.  This flight was actually pretty interesting... and fun!  Flying with military pilots is usually a good time... especially if they are bored!  They'll practice their flying maneouvres, etc... all while you are desperately trying to hang on to your seat as the aircraft is climbing, dropping, and banking hard.  Very cool stuff!  I can see why many say that in the Air Force, the best flying is Tactical Helicopters (Tac Hel)... the flying always changes!  Some fighter pilots I've heard have said - it's pretty boring flying jets after a while.  They say that after some time, it gets to be just the same old thing every flight - and they're serious!  As some of the pilots say: 'Tac Hel - Forever!'.   I know I mentioned about flies before.  For some reason the flies here are everywhere!  And they're really, really persistent!  They fly right on to one spot on your face (like - on your lips).  You shoo them away with your hand, but they fly away in a circular or figure 8 pattern around the room and land... right on the exact spot they were before on your face!  You repeat the drill... and they manage to find the exact spot again and again!  They don't stop until you really get violent!  When I got here, I saw that there were fly swatters and fly tapes hanging everywhere, and I wondered why.  I guess when I arrived, it was too hot for them, so I never saw any.  We did have this awesome electric fly swatter that zapped the pesky fly with a satisfying snap and sparks.  I hear there was a competition between two really bored senior officers as to how many flies they could zap during planning for operations.  Apparently, the fly carcasses got so thick on the floor, they really had to do a daily sweep to clean it up!  Some people I hear who were hacking around with those things actually shorted the thing out by sticking their hand on it, etc..  Haha!  I guess that goes to show that what bored people will do knows no boundaries (but that's still no excuse!).  The flies are pretty bad here in some places that the fly tapes are drooping low, full of them stuck to it.  There is one here that has hung so low that if you're not careful, you will get your hair stuck in it.  I was standing beneath that particular one trying to take off my polypropelyne turtleneck, as I was getting way too overheated.  I didn't realize that I was standing right by the flytape, and when I swung my arm to get it out of the sweater (while I had my sweater half off and my head in my sweater) I felt it hit something gooey and sticky.  Augh!  When I poked my head back out through the neck of the sweater, I looked at my arm to see my arm stuck in the flytape that was covered with flies.  Oh Gross!  That was truly disgusting.  Oh well, I guess that's gonna have to go to the wash right away.  I guess the flies got their revenge on me after all!  Score is Flies: 1, Fisheaterinthesand: 0.  Haha!

You're a Thousand Miles away..., Happy Feast of the Epiphany!

You know that song 'You're a Thousand Miles away'?  (It's a 50's or 60's song)  I thought about that when I was walking through the Canadian tent lines the other night.  It was kind of nice as many of the troops have strung up Christmas lights on their tents, and walking through the lines seeing all the lights and Patio Lanterns had a real nostalgic feeling to it.  It was like driving around to the neighbourhoods, or to Niagara Falls, where they have those Christmas lights displays.  I had a chance to walk slowly through and look at all the lights under the really starry night, with the planet Venus shining brightly in the sky.  I bumped into a post some clever Canadian named 'Canada Post'.  On it was a display often seen in military camps where the troops are homesick.  The post had arrows each with a city name and the distance to it.  Of course I looked for the sign that indicated home.  I found it; it said: 'Toronto: 10,882 kms'...  You're (more than) a Thousand Miles Away.   Venus shining like a star in the night sky.  It was quite a propo, as today is the Feast of the Epiphany!  (Happy Feast of the Epiphany everyone!)  As you know - on this day 2 millennium ago, Magi from the East visited Our Infant Lord after having followed a star to His location.  It is kind of neat to think that 'The East' of the Magi (aka: 'The Wise Men') , the Orient, is essentially where I am... right now!  The clear night sky with the stars shining brightly would have been the compass that helped them navigate to Our Lord.  I could imagine Magi dressed like the people here, travelling on beasts of burden particular to this part of the world, going all the way to Bethlehem with gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.   Particular to the Lasallians, this feast should be something special.  If you look at the central point of the crest of the Lasallians, you will see a star.  Their motto (at least at our College) is: 'Signum Fidei' (Sign of Faith).  As the Magi was led to Our Lord by following the Star, so should each Lasallian be a star to lead others to Christ.  Just like the Magi were actively seeking the truth and doing their part to find the Messiah, so should each and every one of us be doing the same.  When Our Lord gave them the star we should take the Magi's example and do our utmost to follow through trial and tribulation - perhaps even passing by those who wish to decieve (like King Herod) - to come to the joyful side of Our Infant Lord, gladly standing by Our Lady, St. Joseph, and all other faithful who have accepted the invitation!  Happy Feast day everyone!   Really getting to miss home.  I wonder how much has changed while I was away?   A bunch of Shout Out's!  A shout out to the Bozzi Family!  - I miss you all and will have to pay you a visit on my return!  A shout out also to 'Team Workewych'!  - I wish I could also be home for this time of the year!  To Pebble - I really was confused about the Thermostat - now that I know why it was there - Thank you!  Haha!  I'll try and put it to good use.  I must admit though, I was quite confused with it for a bit!  ;)  Haha!  To Danielle - I'm glad you got to go to Holy Mass on the Feast of Our Lady, Mary Mother of God!  Good for you!  We only have two Holy Days of Obligation in Canada... that fall outside of a Sunday!  Because the 1st of Jan and the 25th of December fall on whatever day of the week they fall - they are Holy Days of Obligation.  Remember, however, that every Sunday is a Holy Day of Obligation!  So what the Canadian Conference of Bishops have decided, is to move the other Feast Days to the Sunday... I guess to make it easier for people to observe.  So - as for Easter Sunday... well - it falls on a Sunday (obviously), so the faithful should be going to Holy Mass anyways.  In many other countries, however, the Feast Day is celebrated when it happens.  Can you recall from class what and when the other Holy Days of Obligation are?  (They are in your maroon Handbook of Prayers).  ;)  Oh - and about the wooden racks you saw in the picture?  Well - you're right!  Those are for holding rifles.  I must say - those are by far the nicest weapons racks I've ever seen in my life!  Haha!  We're in a weird place, huh?  A kind shout out to 'Warren' as well!  Looking forward to seeing you when I get home! A note for the DLSCC Cadets: A warm welcome to C.I. B. of the DLSCC!  I'll have the pleasure to meet you when I return, I hope!  I also wanted to mention a hearty congratulations to all those Cadets who received promotions and recognitions at the Battalion Ball!  I'm proud of you!  Wearing rank does not make the man - and the privilege to lead must be earned and proven.  Please remember that the privilege of rank has accompanying it some benefits, but these benefits and privileges must never overshadow the fact that rank means responsibility to care for those entrusted to you and accountability to your superiors to complete the tasks entrusted to you.  Getting promoted is wonderful in that now you have worked one more level up the ranks, however, now you must prove you deserve to wear the rank you were given... and you must prove it all the time.  You are allowed to make mistakes... but only if you do so while giving it your best shot, doing your utmost, and trying to lead in the best way you know how each and every time.  You never learn unless you try, and leadership is an art - and it can be learned!  Congratulations DLSCC-ers - I'm proud of each and every one of you!  God Bless you all!  Facta non Verba - Pro DEO et Patria!!!

New Year, Jan Cheese, and "Livin' the Dream!"

I suppose all of you are getting ready for your New Year's Eve celebrations tonight.  Today, oddly enough, is just another day in Theatre.  It is strange because nobody is talking about the usual stuff you hear about on New Year's Eve here... where people will go to party, etc..  Instead, we expect that the evening will pass like every other night.  It is, however, a psychological milestone... many people (including myself) can now say "I am returning home this year".    I saw a good program called 'The Pathfinders - into the Heart of Afghanistan'.  It was a BBC documentary I believe, that really brought you to the front lines of fighting, as experienced by the Brits.  If you have access to it, and if you are curious enough, it is a really good watch - at least what I saw if the program.  At least, it had us army guys glued to the set!   Today I was walking past a Dutch guy who greeted a group of other Cloggies standing around the corner on a break.  He yelled out something that sounded like: 'Hey John Cheese!'.  It sounded kind of funny!  A couple of days ago, I talked to a Dutch friend and asked what that was all about.  He pointed out that the Dutch call each other 'Jan Cheese' as a nickname for each other.  The cheese reference, he said, is probably from their famous Gouda (pronounced 'Hawda') cheese, and 'Jan' probably as a general term for a guy.  If you look at the Dutch spelling of 'John Cheese', it's actually spelled as 'Jan Kaas', but with the same pronunciation.  New Yorkers and New Englanders in the US are now called 'Yankees' because of the Dutch settlers that made their home in New Amsterdam - now known as New York City.    Anyhow - as for how I'm doing - well, I'm OK.  The 'D' Family asked in their letter to me how I keep so chipper and upbeat all the time.  Added to that - people here often ask me why I'm smiling so much when they see me.  Well - the quick answer in passing could be mixed in with some bravado: 'It's 'cause I'm happy to be here / 'Cause I'm livin' the dream / 'Cause I'm proud to serve!' (or any combination of the three) - of which the answer from the interrogator could undoubtedly be a heartfelt 'Hooah!'.  Haha!  The real answer is because one of the Christian virtues is to be Cheerful.  It does take a little bit of effort (and sometimes a whole lot more than just a little!).  As Christians, we're taught that we should be cheerful with a welcoming smile and an open and warm personality... or at least be working really hard at it!  I write this and mention it as a reminder to myself also!  If we are truly people who work at building a personal relationship with Jesus; who walk along and converse with Our Lord through prayer and the sacraments, there should be an overflow of love and joy that spills on to others.  I mean - imagine Our Lord - could you image him as being a grumpy, miserable wretch?  I somehow don't think so.  If we read the Gospels, we see that children flocked to Him - so much that in one account we see the Disciples trying to shoo the kids away until Our Lord reprimands them and tells them to bring the children to Him.  In my experience with children - they seldom are attracted to wrecks that are miserable ogres, but they'll flock to the cheerful and genuinely happy people!  So, our relationship with God should be a sincere joy that comes from knowing the love of Our Lord and having a sincere concern for other souls.  From an apostolic point of view, being cheerful is important as we may be the first and only contact others may have with a Christian (especially in a place like this!).  If others saw us as miserables - what would they say our relationship with God is?  What would they say our relationship with our God does for us?  But even if we were not here cheerfulness is still very important.  I have noticed here (not saying it's because of cheerfulness, but I do believe that it has a role to play) - it has been weird how many times conversations have shifted from military matters to full group theological discussions - right in our Operations Centre!  Perhaps people feel comfortable to discuss what can be a delicate matter because they feel that they can speak genuinely and won't get their head's 'chopped off' for asking!  It is also strange how some people - reaching out for help -begin opening up about their personal problems to you.  It is our vocation as Christians to serve others - to add substance and flavour of God to everyday situations, and to be the light that others can follow to reach Christ.  So to sum up (Sorry - I've never been brief, as my students can attest!) I believe that cheerfulness is an outcome, rather than an end in itself.   So with typical army humour directed from army guys to army guys:   'Have a Nice Day... and you'll darn well have the kind of day you were issued!'   Haha!  Well - it keeps us smiling!  ;)   If I don't get a chance to post on New Year's Day (Remember - a Holy Day of Obligation in Canada) - Happy Feast of Our Lady, Mary, Mother of God! Happy New Year everyone!  All the Blessings of Our Lord and the Holy Family to you and yours in 2009!