There is really no such thing as privacy on deployment. As I mentioned before, we live in cubicles. Although you may not be able to see your neighbor, you can still definitely hear your neighbor. Even if you try really, really hard not to listen in on their conversations, when they are literally feet away, it is difficult not to know what is going on with their husbands, parents, kids, and friends back home. Moral of the story: If you don’t want the world to know it, don’t say it out loud.
What's more, the lack of privacy goes beyond conversations with loved ones. We can’t do anything in solitude. Our bathrooms have 8-9 stalls and 6 showers. There are a few “one holers” at the hospital, but those are generally in pretty high demand.
The chow hall allows for intimate dining with no less than 200 of your closest friends.
The gym, Exchange, coffee shop, track, hospital, library, Red Cross room, Movie Theater, even my office, constantly have people around. There isn’t a single location where you can have some down time without someone else being around.
Not that I don’t like people. I do…most of the time. But sometimes I just need some silence and a chance to be alone. When you are constantly around folks it wears you down. Being nice can take a lot of energy.
But perhaps that is the master plan. If you look the part of being happy, you will be. It’s just that sometimes my cheeks are getting a little sore from constantly wearing my perma-grin.
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