Adjusting

Wow, it sure took awhile to recover from the Dubai sightseeing - added to the usual difficulties of recovering from jet lag, I dealt with nausea, dizziness and fatigue for a good week and a half after getting home.

Read John Weaver's new book "A Flame on the Front Line" which he so kindly gave me. It didn't really have anything new about his experiences in Afghanistan, just an expansion of his early life and the twists and turns which brought him there. Apparently one of the things he may do with his year off is write the story of meeting his wife Jeanne in Afghanistan. Her mother was in the diplomatic service there and her father had some military role which led to Jeanne spending some of her childhood there.

I also just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" for the 2nd time. It was so much more interesting as the Morningstar guesthouse is located in the suburb Miriam and Laila lived in, Deh Mazang, and I recognized many other landmarks referred to in the book. If you haven't read this, it is a MUST READ. I'm just starting Rory Stewart's famous story of walking from Herat to Kabul in January 2002.

Last week was spent honing the report of my activities and delineating possibilities for short-term volunteers. If anyone wants to get a copy, let me know. There is a major need for books, especially children's books, for the community centers. In view of the University of Kabul's goal of all teaching being conducted in English by 2025, it is all the more necessary for good English instruction at the elementary levels now. Good training in ESL teaching techniques is very important. The centers also need more and better computers, but it may be more financially feasible to purchase them in country, as shipping is such a hassle.

There will be a growing need for individuals capable of teaching leadership skills as the Institute for Leadership Development rolls out to other cities over the next couple of years. And, one thing I neglected to mention in my report, there is a great need for veterinarians to conduct spaying clinics for cats and dogs.

The link to the Playground Builders website is on my page. We've made contact with them and hope to utilize their expertise in getting playgrounds built in the Morningstar community center locations.

I've also started the ball rolling for a connection between the music departments of my alma mater, Bemidji State University, and the University of Kabul. This could involve helping to prepare the Kabuli students to attend BSU as graduate students. Some curricular coordination is necessary. As soon as we determine which music we need, I'll post a list and we'll see how much we can pull together to help provide that resource. One other idea percolating in my head is to bring some skilled teachers to Kabul for a couple of weeks for a Bemidji-style band camp.

I'll also post a link to the Byki website. It really was a great help to me to be able to learn a little Dari before I went. The students at the U of K were impressed that I knew what zabars, zers, pishes, hamzas, tashdids and sokuns were. Are you impressed now too? The Byki Dari requires use of these symbols, which are used in learning Dari, but doesn't explain them on the Express version, although I did figure out how to type them. After downloading the free Express version, they send you emails for the full version and after about 3 months, a really good deal on the full version.

Dari (Afghani or eastern Farsi) is a very easy language to learn compared to Pashtu. The students there told me they thought English was easy to learn in comparison to Pashtu. The Jegdalek community center is in a Pashtu area, but the children are taught Dari in school.

On a closing note, if anyone has a group you would like me to make a presentation to, let me know. I'll be happy to oblige.