Fenblog: The Few, The Proud

I'm going to wax nostalgic in this post, because that's how I'm feeling at the moment with the end approaching. While eating dinner a few minutes ago, I realized that in exactly two weeks I'll be on a train to Bucharest and the following morning will begin the process of checking out of the PC. I wonder how that will feel? Probably orgasmic.

Anyway, this post is dedicated to that rag-tag group of soldiers known as PC Romania Group 20. We had our "Close of Service Conference" about a month ago and I miss them already, even the ones I thought I'd never miss. They're a special group of individuals and I am proud to be one of their colleagues. We all share something unique and special. I guess that it's kind of like a fraternity or something, with boys and girls. You'll find the survivors below, on the front steps of Hotel Sinaia, just after the conference ended...

Eyes of the Tiger

Unfortunately, two of my colleagues, who are good friends as well, didn't make it into the photo above. They must have already started drinking. No worries though, because I have supplied two photos of these fine gentleman warriors, taken at the beginning of the conference.

About 22 of us drove up high in the mountains on the afternoon before the official start of the conference and proceeded to shoot each other. Yes, paintball was in full effect and it was pretty intense. Rough, mountainous terrain, snow flurries, semi-automatic rifles, full camouflage jumpsuits, etc. I was sore for days.

Back to the point. The photo below is of Bridger. He's one of the most unique people I've ever met. He has a master's degree in ancient history and sells napkins on the black market in Romania. He's from Idaho and is a walking encyclopedia. Forget Encarta, just hang out with Bridger. He lives in Onesti, a city in Moldavia and birthplace of Nadia Comaneci. Bridger works with handicapped and mentally disabled kids and is a swell guy.

The next cover of Soldier of Fortune magazine

Next we have Arnie, aka "Arn-Dog", aka "the Norwegian", aka "the Pride of Chippewa Falls". Arnie is special to me because he's from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, home of Leinenkugel beer. I'll never forget when I saw him wearing his Leinie's t-shirt early on during training. With the exception of Kat, who's from Chicago, and Bridger of course, nobody had ever heard of Leinenkugel's except me. Arnie and I bonded after that. However, I'm not sure that he likes me as much for being from Chicago as I like him for being from Wisconsin. You know how Wisconsinites feel about Illinoisans.

Another thing about I love about Arnie is that he hates the Packers. He's a Detroit Lions fan. Another bonding moment for us: Packer hating. Arnie is a TEFL volunteer like me and lives in a town in the middle of Moldavia called Tecuci. I've never been there, and from what Arnie says, you don't want to go there either. Arnie is a terror on the paintball terrain and one hell of a beach flag football player. A true warrior.