Day 24 - home, vacation
Day 25 - home, vacation. back to the army at 16:00.
Day 26 - first we had 4 hours of "combat training". aka running around in the forest in full combat equipment and practice formations, hand signals, advancing and all that stuff. after that we had our cooper test. (run as far as you can in 12 minutes)
2200 meters minimum requirement and over 3000 for top grade. i had my terrible cold and was quite exhausted after the combat training but still managed 2460 meters which is pretty good considering i haven't been exercising for years...plus i had a lot more to give. i started out at a pretty slow and even pace and kept it all the way, i felt like i was tired but in the last lap i realized that was just my body tricking me when i tried to increase the pace.
ran the last 200 meters in less than 30 seconds, which is more or less sprinting, after running over 2000 meters already.
Day 27 - the day after cooper...my knee was fked up, i could barely walk and it really really hurt, still i didn't say i was sick in the morning because i thought i might have slept in some weird position or the knee would get better if i moved a bit. well...it didn't and when i came back from breakfast i was planning to tell them i was sick but it was too late. -.-
the schedule this day was closed ranks, theory test on what we've learned, and then RUNNING to the swimming....thing. i have no idea what the english name is, a building where you can swim indoors.
well anyway the running made my bad knee feel like it was gonna break, fun fun. then the swimming test. minimum requirment 200 meters without stopping, for fulfilling the green beret requirement for swimming you have to do it in 5min 30sec which isn't too difficult, unless you have a broken knee. i did swim the 200 meters but in 6min 36sec so will have to do that again later in case i want to try to get the beret.
Day 28 - shooting day. didn't say i was sick today either because the knee felt fine in the morning...until i had used it for a bit, when it was of course too late sigh...
transported with trucks to the shooting range, shot at the targets for a bit, then more practice using KES (light anti-tank), some practice in using "bandminor", the english name is unknown to me but they're mines containing 9,5 kg of tnt and some other stuff intended to blast the tracks off of a tank or completely destroy a wheeled vehicle. then some more first aid medical training stuff and march home in full combat equipment. (MY KNEEEEEEEEEEE)
Day 29 - the knee felt fine in the morning but i wasn't gonna make the same mistake a third time so i was sick this time and got to the doctor who spoke in medical language so i didn't understand much but the important details were nerves, knee and stuff like that. got some painkillers but nothing they can do about it, it may return when i put heavy strain on the knee again. freed from heavy outdoor activity for 1 day. got to sit dejour at the desk and read some instead...
Day 30 - i felt terrible, i was freezing, had a headache and a soar throat but didn't want to say i was sick on a friday since that would probably mean i didn't get to go home...instead i suffered through today's closed ranks, lessons and preparations for going home while sleeping whenever we had some free time. got on the bus and suffered all the way home for 7,5 hours.
once i got home i had a fever...38,6 degrees. (101,5F)
Day 31 - home, vacation...39 degree fever (102F)
Day 32 - still 39 degree fever, threw in some painkillers and got on the bus 7,5 hours back. that was really a lot of fun... (NOTE: sarcasm)
my ears, head and throat hurt as well.
Day 33 - the day the "basic camp" was supposed to start, 4 days in the forest, nothing for me in my current shape. especially since the week was gonna be COOOOOLD (-20 to -30 degrees celsius). said i was sick in the morning and got to the hospital. 37,1 degree fever (not much, too bored to check the F value though). the throat looked ok, ears fine, coughing. the nurse looked a bit like "what the hell are you doing here with just this?" until they took a blood sample and noticed my infection value or whatever it is in english was beep'd up.
didn't get to leave the hospital, instead i was assigned a room and a bed to rest and get stuffed with meds sigh...
later the same day my dever rose to 39 again, i got an eye infection in my left eye (virus) and fun stuff like that.
Day 34 - 39 degree fever, infection value dropping.
Day 35 - 39 degree fever, painkillers no longer have any effect, got antibiotics. (150 mg, once a day)
Day 36 - 39 degree fever, infection value getting worse, painkillers still have no effect.
Day 37 - 39 degree fever, infection value constant. eye infection is almost gone...BUT now i have sinusitis (that's a weird word, luckily there are translators on the interwebzz) as well as tonsillitis (another equally weird word) caused by an adenovirus...
apparently they want me out of the hospital soon so my 150 mg/once per day antibiotics have been switched up to 300 mg/ 3 times per day. today was the oath of allegiance but i was stuck in the hospital and only had a short ceremony with the other patients.
the real version includes a parade, speeches and all kinds of stuff we had been practicing. the oath of allegiance pretty much means you become a soldier of the army and swear to protect it in every way. well that's the short version, either way all recruits were promoted to jaegers. (private)
at the same time it's the "open gates" day when friends and family can come visit and see the area, rooms, oath and all that stuff. then you can go home with your family for a 3 day vacation.
...well unless you're sick and in the hospital that is. my grandparents, mom, her bf and my 2 siblings in that part of the family (9 and 6 yrs) were planning to come visit but no use to travel 15 hours if i'm stuck in the hospital. also missed my chance to meet dad's family on monday before they go on a 2 week vacation to kap verde, haven't seen them for almost 2 months now.
Day 38 - the fever is gone but still infections and crap.
Day 39 - almost feeling fine. i still have my cold, coughing and stuff of course but no fever and my throat is finally fine. the eye infection is gone too and the infection value is getting low.
Day 40 - finally out of the hospital, it's monday and everyone else is at home so i'm doing...nothing.
Day 41 - "free from outdoor service", that's a good doctor there, i've been in pretty bad shape so to speak for over a week and that's all i get the full first day i'm out. 7 days in a row with high fever plus all the other stuff. i felt ok but obviously my body wasn't after all that. weapon cleaning service and then we stood there still holding the weapons waiting for the higher ups to come check. after 20 min i got to find out how weak i was after fighting my illness for so long when my vision went black.
apparently i fainted and fell straight forward at a chair with weapon parts on it and then onto the stone floor, great. i got seriously lucky i wasn't badly injured but got some nice bruises, nose bleed and other smaller bleeding wounds though.
off to the hospital again and got "bed rest" for 2 days followed by 1 day "free from outdoor service" and 1 day "free from heavy outdoor service". which means i won't be doing poop for the rest of the week...
Day 42 - bed rest...not allowed to do anything. we found out where we're going to serve and for how long after the basic period. i'm going to the amphibious school, engineer "line".
which means i'm going to serve for 362 days and become a corporal, or since i'm a finnish marine "petty officer 3rd class" within the combat engineers, never heard that before but if wiki says so...
so in 2 weeks i'm going to be NCO student/ petty officer student. about a month later the ones who will be sent to reserve officer school are chosen from the best of us, let's see.
if i'm chosen i'll become an officer student and a sub-lieutenant (2nd lieutenant) after my 12 months.
Day 43 - not allowed to do anything outside so...cleaning, reading, cleaning...
Day 44 - cleaning and stuff, indoor service. then....HOME!!! at 16:00
Day 45 - home, vacation
NOTE: it's actully day 48 so i think i missed a vacation or something somewhere...either way i'll keep going from 49 instead of 46.
these last 2 weeks have been...terrible. doing absolutely nothing for 2 weeks doesn't seem to be anything for me. didn't have my computer with me and my books ran out after a week. UGH...
