Hello All!

Namibia is great, even when the shamals (sandstorms) kick in. There is no internet where I'm staying, and it takes half an hour to get to the closest internet cafe, which has one dial-up connection that all the users share. Needless to say, I'm not getting much chance to send emails here. My workday typically starts with a 5:45am pick-up, when I'm picked up in a van and driven to set 25 minutes away. Breakfast, wardrobe, make-up (really just sunblock), and off to set. Every day we gear up in full MOPP suits (charcoal lined chemical protection suits), combat boots with bulky rubber boots over them, flak-jackets, utility belts, and kevlar helmets. I am issued an M16 with a 203 Grenade Launcher attached. A real one. I sling it over my shoulder and keep it with me all day. I also have an M9 Beretta strapped to my leg. So far we have been shooting in "Camp Mathilda", the base camp in Kuwait the battalion waited in prior to the invasion. Yesterday we shot the scene where the battalion rolls out of camp and towards Iraq-- we drove out in our humvees as the lead vehicles in a convoy of 40. There were hundreds of extras running around, and 4 cameras rolling at once- one on a huge crane that started out at ground level and swung out and up to 150 feet to see it all from a birds-eye view. The shot lasts for 3 minutes, so we were about a mile away by the time they called cut. Its really fun.
The first 5 weeks are here in Swakopmund, Namibia, followed by 13 weeks in a tiny farm town called Upington in South Africa. After that I'll be in Maputo, Mozambique for 2 months, then Johannesburg, South Africa for the last month. All told, I will be in Africa doing this until December 19th. Please don't hesitate to email me, it's a good feeling to check my email and have dozens of notes to read from my friends and family. I will reply as I can. Next time I will try to attach some pictures so you can put some visuals to my incredible descriptions.