I had heard about "poo ponds" before I arrived in Afghanistan but hearing about them and experiencing them are two very different things. I worked at The Oakland Zoo for a really long time. The smell of animal feces usually doesn't bother me, in fact, it usually gives me a comforting feeling, the Afghanistan poo ponds do not. Luckily, our poo pond is located out of the way. Some bases they are front and center on the base, letting that smell infiltrate everything. My roommate and I got up the other morning at 6am and went for a walk and our path took us right past the poo pond. If I ever start running I will take the same path, nothing motivates you to run up a hill at lightening speed like trying to get away from that smell. Today, when I left the office to run to the bathroom the wind must have been coming in from a different direction because the poo pond smell was everywhere. I hope the wind changes before its time to line up for dinner!
I found this article describing poo ponds in the NY times. http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/the-poo-pond/
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