Day 9: It's the little things

It's the little things that make an austere environment habitable. For me, that's waking up to four or five freshly brewed cups of Japanese green tea (not the tea bag version mind you).

It's the protein shake I chug down before breakfast, specific type of body cream I use and the ability to check on scores of the Philly sports teams.

The mornings are cold, cold enough that your breath emits that foggy exhale. The days are a sneaky hot. You don't realize it most times, but there you are, sweating -- the middle of your t-shirt or back of it outlined in a salty excretion. It's a dry heat though, so I find it quite nice.

The sun rises well before I do, and I get up between 4:30-5 p.m. It's bright, the birds who make their little homes above my little home chirp throughout the day. The night comes just as quickly, darkness settles over the area by 7 p.m.

I live in what they call "Lego Land," a sarcastic description of the previously mentioned 9x10 crates many of us call home. Again, they're made out of old shipping containers -- even the Afghans have found such containers useful to house businesses on the side of the roadways or as family "homes."

For us, there's little privacy as the genius of using shipping containers doesn't provide for sound proofing, so it's like living in a Japanese home with the thin walls.

This weekend we plan to embark on a humanitarian mission, visiting a local school to deliver supplies and clothing. It's those little things that make it worth while.