The Military

They are here in all different forms, from all different countries, each country claiming it's own territory of the province to look after. They are few, they are definitely proud, and this weekend the 6 US Marines in Kosovo held their annual Birthday Ball. You've got to know someone to get tickets for the thing at the cost of 30 Euro. The Frisbee team network proved fruitful in the search, so myself and 4 other ladies equally intrigued by men in uniform snagged ourselves seats.

A cab took us to a hotel just outside of town where we were greeted by the soldiers. So polite and obviously happy to meet five new ladies. They took our coats and we entered to the bar area where the servers were walking with trays of cheese and meats, fruit juice and shots of vodka and whiskey. A sign of what was to come, no doubt. For the next hour the space filled with women in proper ball gowns, men in uniform and tuxedos along with military men and women in the camouflage fatigues. Into our second drink, Laura and I mustered up the courage to break from the Frisbee contingent and mingle with the others. Clearly the military men had not seen women in civilian clothes in quite a while. They are confined to their base for the most part - Bondsteel - and rarely get out to experience life in P'tina. They might have every US comfort at their fingertips - Doritos and Twinkees at the PX - but by no means do they have a chance to have a normal life. Clearly by the name the base is quite secure. People like us can only get on with a military escort. Well, needless to say we had quite a few invitations by the end of the night. From what I've heard about the PAX, I might be able to get my hands on those baking supplies before Christmas after all!

After cocktail hour, we moved up to the dining room and sat down for the ceremony. This is where the Marines showed their stuff with their marching, calling out, rifle handling and cake cutting. Yes, the major part of the ceremony was the cutting of the cake with a sword and feeding it to the oldest marine in the room. He in turn handed the first piece of cake over to the youngest marine in the room. I, the American, along with the Brit, Canadian, Irish and Swiss women with me found it a bit strange that a cake was the center of the ceremony, but I guess it was a birthday celebration.

After the ceremony, we were fed chicken or beef, bottles of wine and some good laughs with the other guests at our table. They were all Americans either working for the US Mission or US SivPol, the international police force here. Then, in typical wedding reception form, the DJ started spinning the tunes and the dance floor lit up. After dancing the night away with the marines - not one taller than 5' 8" and no older than 24 - we grabbed our souvenir wine glasses and headed back to town. Definitely an experience worth having.
Dress - $30
Shoes - $20
Hairdo - $4
Dancing with 6 marines in full uniform - Priceless!!!