Afghan Boys School

Hello all!  For some reason, I can only access my blog page once or twice a week - I have my suspicions, but overall it's just a frustrating situation.  SO!  Big, busy week that just passed - planning for 20 pounds of flowers in a 5 pound vase so to speak and all from the lovely confines of Kandahar Air Base.  Between the troops coming in and all the fire and rocket activity around here, I luckily didn't have to fly anywhere this week.  However, it was the first time in a long time that I have spent an entire week on base.  These days we refer to it as the low-rent, Federal Prison - without the conjugal visits, tennis courts, visitors or stock advice.  I cannot, but will, speak for my co-workers in saying that everyone would like to get the hell out of here and soon - if just for 2 weeks!  The monotony of living and working in the same space, combined with ... the monotony ... is making me impatient and stir crazy.  I officially have less than 3 weeks before my vacation begins and I hope it will cure what ails me.  Actually, in 3 weeks I will be in my own private rooftop pool, sipping on a cocktail and taking in the view - it doesn't even seem possible.

In order to deal with the sameness and boredom, I have resolved to try new things - all two of them - my options are limited, but I will say that I surprisingly like Yoga, and the Pump and Crunch kicked my behind.  I was motivated to pursue new and interesting endeavors after learning that the shot we heard the other day was actually a young soldier who had recently arrived, putting a round through his own head.  He did this in the middle of the day, right across the street.  Very sad, and a reminder of how important it is to keep yourself focused, positive, busy and just how precious it all is.  Also a reminder to watch and listen to what you hear and observe every day - people are going through all kinds of things while here and some don't handle it well.  Therefore, lesson for the week - bad things happen, so make sure they don't happen to you!  If that sounds callous, I truly apologize, but it takes so much energy to keep yourself focused and on top of your own game, that you have very little to give to those who may need or crave way too much.

All in all, this week culminated in my doing something rather odd for me - volunteering to spend a morning with children that were not relation nor the offspring of my friends.  They didn't speak much, if any, English which seemed to be a plus too so I said to myself, "yea, I will go forth and enlighten the little children with my mad painting and puzzle assembly skillz - shizzizzle...".  So, after a bumpy beginning, it ended up being a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, no girls are allowed to go to the school - something I equate with the lack of electricity and western toilet usage capabilities - once the girls are allowed to be educated, this country should flower into a cultural hotbed complete with toilet facilities!  The other issue is that it took a while for the kids to show up as compared to their normal arrival - something that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of us.  Made for a nervous morning, but finally they all arrived.  People don't show up here for work, to run their shops or for these schools if something bad is about to happen - they always know - so standing around a new school with no kids showing up was a little nerve jingling.  Even though this school is on the base, it's right on the perimeter fence where the weekly bazaar is, so it wouldn't be difficult to hit.  Luckily, that wasn't the plan and it ended up being a lot of fun.


Boys are boys no matter what country and culture they are from, I will tell you that!  And some of them had decent English capabilities - my Pashto still isn't good enough to keep up with them.  They called the  women "MADAM" and kept singing Happy Birthday Canada - it was a bit weird, yes, but glitter and glue are universal  and the little artists, con-men, flirts and sweethearts all showed themselves throughout the morning.  Most Afghans from the area aren't able to write or read their own language so this school teaches them to do so and also some English.  Although they can't write, they love pens, and will try to hustle you out of them every chance they get.  I brought a ton of pens, but I doubt they got much joy out of them.  The government does an excellent thing and that is buying many of our supplies and equipment from a company that employs individuals with particular types of disabilities - one group being those dealing with blindness who, by no odd coincidence, make our pens.  The unfortunate thing is that the pens don't work very well, if at all, and it always strikes me as ironic.  I value my vision, so I still think it's cool we buy from this company even if the result isn't perfect.

Today is a beautiful Sunday with only a few, biscuit shaped clouds in the sky - they are giving me the munchies.  I plan to sit in a camping chair, on top of the picnic table, and try to even out my hillbilly tan - at least take it to the shorts and shoulder line.  Reading an excellent book that was highly recommended called "Three Cups of Tea" - I am hoping to learn something.  Hope you all enjoy your week - I plan to post more frequently as soon as the inerlet, lets me.  I suspect they have been jamming the signals the last several weeks ... whatever.

Drink of the day - a Chrystal Carrington light mixture of  peach and lemon-aid!