A civilian's life for me

So most of you know that my lil brother signed up with the Army and was taken to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training. The first week was pretty good since they hadn't officially started training - lots of down time (pretty boring) and some phone calls home. During this time, some people had already tried escaping.

So now he's in the full swing of training therefore no more phone calls allowed. We can only communicate with him with good old-fashioned letter writing. He'll be receiving some pretty feminine stationery from me as I had accumulated a lot during my trips to Taiwan long ago but had no one to write to. :p He was the first in his company to receive an essential needs package (yes, not care package) from home so he got a lot of attention for that. His drill sergeant had to inspect the package for any food - they're not allowed any sweets during training so far. We sent him disposable razors, soap, laundry detergent, phone card (no cell phone access allowed yet), stamps to write home, and a watch which got confiscated since it was "contraband". Good thing my mother had gotten him a cheap $20 watch.

Reading his letters, I know they're currently in the mental breakdown process and basically deprived of the comforts we have in civilian life - good food (especially sweets!), choice, and sleep. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of him for going through this. :)