After Ishkashem we felt led to travel to a small village called Zebak and do another teacher training. We were able to rent a small house and quickly got permission from the school superintendent. We also were blessed to have the translator we used in Ishkashem come with us, a very bright 18 year old guy named Rahmat.
We had about 20 hours to move in and get settled before we had to throw ourselves into another teacher training. Apparently there was a mis-communication because at promptly 1 PM the next day thirty teachers showed up at our door. At a loss, we quietly ushered them into our small living room and as per Afghan rules, gave them tea and candy. They ate an ENTIRE bag of my favorite candy. They were unabashedly stuffing their pockets with it. I still hold it against them. Arg. So after conducting the first day of training( in our living room) we immediately went to the Principle and demanded a school room. And we got it, thank the good lord.
The training itself was again very successful, but we were forced to condense ten days of teaching into six, since it was harvest season and the teachers needed time to harvest, thresh, and store their wheat. Which they do as their ancient forefathers did before them, with sickles and oxen and separating the chafe. It's fascinating to watch a method that has remained unchanged for thousands of years. No tractors in this part of the world.
I think I speak for the whole team when I say that Zebak was probably the darkest time of outreach. There was no running water, electricity, or decent toilet. The kitchen was a dark mud and straw hovel and I had to wash all the dishes outside with freezing cold spring water that the boys hauled to the house a dozen times a day. Sanitation was impossible, and we had to keep the door bolted at all times or strangers would just walk in and stare at us. And worst of all, we had no cell phone reception, so there was no contact with the outside world for 17 days. Our only option was the single landline in town, which only worked twice in the whole time we were there. And even then you had to wait in line 45 minutes to use it, and bear the stares of a dozen afghan men who were in line as well, listening in as you try to talk to your boyfriend on your one year anniversary. Awk. Ward.
Once the seminar was over we still had 12 days to go before we were due to leave. 12 days, trapped in our tiny little compound, a horde of children loitering outside for a glimpse at us. We didn't know anyone there and houses were pretty spread out, so there was no real way to get out in the community and visit people. We did befriend one girl who visited a few times, but she spoke little English so she conversed mostly with the Pakistani family. I spent most of those days re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and watching The Office on my computer.
Zebak's only redeeming quality was its gorgeous scenery. It is set alongside a beautiful river in a narrow valley with towering mountains all around. There are Taliban hiding in those towering mountains, but I gave that little thought. Not much else happened, other than me having to spurn the advances of our translator. In a culture when men and women have little to no contact, it only takes about one conversation with a western woman before they're madly in love. There were a few young afghan men I had to keep a distance from, poor lovesick fellows.
From Zebak we made plans to go to a bigger village called Jurm, but things, as usual, didn't turn out as we expected. Stay tuned for next week's installment!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
There and Back Again
Announcing my triumphant return! I have passed through two months of villages, earthquakes, bucket showers, scorpions, enamored translators and a host of other adventures and have lived to now write about it. As not to burden you with one unending and wearying tale of two months' time, I will break it down into three or four manageable, bite-size updates.
When I last wrote my team and I were in Kabul.We chartered our own plane (exciting, but less glamorous than I had hoped) and landed at Faizabad “International” airport in northeastern Afghanistan, where the runway consists of a mile of metal grates, chewing gum, and goat droppings. We spent three days in Faizabad at an obscenely overpriced guesthouse while we were getting the necessary paperwork from the Ministry of Education to conduct the teacher training seminars. We also tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to hire a translator. Our plan was to drive 8 hours to a small city called Iskashem where a YWAM team runs a guesthouse there. That 8 hour drive turned into a labored, 13 hour trek fraught with blown tires, bad spark plugs, river crossings, and a driver who stopped every time he saw someone he knew, which was apparently 75% of the men along the road (In Afghanistan, you may hire the car, but you are at the completely mercy of the driver). But we finally pulled in slightly before midnight.
The morning revealed Ishkashem to be a picturesque village set in a beautiful valley amidst the towering, snow-capped mountains of the Pamir range. There are rolling wheat fields, bubbling streams, and grooves of lovely deciduous trees. On a side note, also residing in in Ishkashem are what I estimate to be 80% of the world's population of donkeys. And the bray of a donkey is the most obnoxious, grating, unnatural sound to ever come out of the pits of hell-but I digress. The point is, Ishkashem is one of the most beautiful places in Afghanistan and a most refreshing change from the downright ugliness of Mazar.
Our stay in Ishkashem was supposed to last a few days while we prepared to travel south to a village called Koran-a Munjan. It was during these few days that we ran into several problems. A) We still were not able to procure a translator. You see, big budget NGO's, journalists, photographers, etc, come through areas like Ishkashem and offer exorbitant prices for translators, so when small teams like ours come through the locals refuse to take less than these aforementioned exorbitant prices. And B) the Taliban chose this time to try and take over Koran-a Munjan. Soooo we decided to stay in Ishkashem for a month and do a training seminar there. It was very well attended and they only tried to defend the use of the cane as a form of discipline once. We were also able to give the Good Book to several people in this village, but more about that later when I can post from a country that believes in religious freedom. Gotta be careful what we say over here, ya know.
Other noteworthy items:
-It was here that I found the first scorpion in my room. It was small but terrifying. I squashed it with my shoe.
-We marked the end of Ramadan and its tedious fasting with a big holiday called Eid-e Ramazan. It involves visiting all your friends and neighbors and eating candy and drinking tea. We were invited to nearly every house in the village, as a visit from a foreigner elevates the esteem in which your household is held. We met a lot of interesting people and drank gallons of tea.
That's all I can remember at the moment. My next update will highlight our move to the even more remote and comfortless village of Zebak.
Until then, please keep me and my team in your prayers, as we are in Kabul for the next few days. One person has died of swine flu (excuse me, H1N1) and the country is literally shutting down. Schools are being closed for three weeks nation wide, weddings are being postponed, airport employees are wearing face masks. I'm more amused than concerned, but still, Kabul isn't the safest place in the world to be. So pray that we get safely to Mazar on Tuesday!
Peace out
When I last wrote my team and I were in Kabul.We chartered our own plane (exciting, but less glamorous than I had hoped) and landed at Faizabad “International” airport in northeastern Afghanistan, where the runway consists of a mile of metal grates, chewing gum, and goat droppings. We spent three days in Faizabad at an obscenely overpriced guesthouse while we were getting the necessary paperwork from the Ministry of Education to conduct the teacher training seminars. We also tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to hire a translator. Our plan was to drive 8 hours to a small city called Iskashem where a YWAM team runs a guesthouse there. That 8 hour drive turned into a labored, 13 hour trek fraught with blown tires, bad spark plugs, river crossings, and a driver who stopped every time he saw someone he knew, which was apparently 75% of the men along the road (In Afghanistan, you may hire the car, but you are at the completely mercy of the driver). But we finally pulled in slightly before midnight.
The morning revealed Ishkashem to be a picturesque village set in a beautiful valley amidst the towering, snow-capped mountains of the Pamir range. There are rolling wheat fields, bubbling streams, and grooves of lovely deciduous trees. On a side note, also residing in in Ishkashem are what I estimate to be 80% of the world's population of donkeys. And the bray of a donkey is the most obnoxious, grating, unnatural sound to ever come out of the pits of hell-but I digress. The point is, Ishkashem is one of the most beautiful places in Afghanistan and a most refreshing change from the downright ugliness of Mazar.
Our stay in Ishkashem was supposed to last a few days while we prepared to travel south to a village called Koran-a Munjan. It was during these few days that we ran into several problems. A) We still were not able to procure a translator. You see, big budget NGO's, journalists, photographers, etc, come through areas like Ishkashem and offer exorbitant prices for translators, so when small teams like ours come through the locals refuse to take less than these aforementioned exorbitant prices. And B) the Taliban chose this time to try and take over Koran-a Munjan. Soooo we decided to stay in Ishkashem for a month and do a training seminar there. It was very well attended and they only tried to defend the use of the cane as a form of discipline once. We were also able to give the Good Book to several people in this village, but more about that later when I can post from a country that believes in religious freedom. Gotta be careful what we say over here, ya know.
Other noteworthy items:
-It was here that I found the first scorpion in my room. It was small but terrifying. I squashed it with my shoe.
-We marked the end of Ramadan and its tedious fasting with a big holiday called Eid-e Ramazan. It involves visiting all your friends and neighbors and eating candy and drinking tea. We were invited to nearly every house in the village, as a visit from a foreigner elevates the esteem in which your household is held. We met a lot of interesting people and drank gallons of tea.
That's all I can remember at the moment. My next update will highlight our move to the even more remote and comfortless village of Zebak.
Until then, please keep me and my team in your prayers, as we are in Kabul for the next few days. One person has died of swine flu (excuse me, H1N1) and the country is literally shutting down. Schools are being closed for three weeks nation wide, weddings are being postponed, airport employees are wearing face masks. I'm more amused than concerned, but still, Kabul isn't the safest place in the world to be. So pray that we get safely to Mazar on Tuesday!
Peace out
Sunday, August 30, 2009
And they're off!
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I'd love to be able to say that I was waylaid in writing by thrilling adventures, but alas, it's the result of a pitiful lack of anything interesting on which to report. We've finished our last three weeks of lecture and prepared for our outreach trips. The presidential election was mercifully uneventful and the electricity, as per usual, came and went as it pleased. It all made for a very un-noteworthy month. But now things are actually happening that are worth blogging about. So prepare yourselves!
We are now on day three of our outreach. Day three of lounging around a guesthouse in Kabul until we get a flight chartered. My team is staying here on our way to the province of Badakshan in Northeastern Afghanistan. Our hope is to conduct two three-week teacher training seminars in more remote villages where teachers have few resources and limited training. Our seminar teaches them basic skills like lesson planning, classroom discipline, organization, fun activities, etc. It also provides a great opportunity to promote moral lessons and healthy ways of instructing the children. It is still common to hit, insult, and demean children as means of punishment in the rural schools, so we aim to put a lot of focus on more positive teaching strategies.
We have a lot of challenges ahead of us- we still don't have a translator lined up, we have to get permission from the governor of Badakshan to conduct the trainings, find a place to stay, we don't have all the money we need, and so on and so forth. But we are confident in our calling and know this will be an extraordinary time of growth as we learn to depend on God and invest in the teachers here. So in other words..it will be really hard!! Living conditions in the villages are pretty stone age-esque, so it will be a big leap from my hygienic comfort zone. But by the grace of God I will get through it with little whining and complaining.
The outreach will last until around the 5th of November, at which point we will return to Mazar, have a debrief week and then I head home the 21st, just in time for Thanksgiving!! I get about 6 weeks off before returning in January for my final three months in Afghanistan. I've greatly appreciated everyone's prayers and financial support thus far and ask that you continue to lift up my team and I as we start out on this crazy adventure!
Well, this is goodbye for a while. I doubt I will have internet access for most of the trip, but I promise to post if I can. So stay classy, San Diego. And by San Diego I mean whatever city you happen to live in.
Janna
We are now on day three of our outreach. Day three of lounging around a guesthouse in Kabul until we get a flight chartered. My team is staying here on our way to the province of Badakshan in Northeastern Afghanistan. Our hope is to conduct two three-week teacher training seminars in more remote villages where teachers have few resources and limited training. Our seminar teaches them basic skills like lesson planning, classroom discipline, organization, fun activities, etc. It also provides a great opportunity to promote moral lessons and healthy ways of instructing the children. It is still common to hit, insult, and demean children as means of punishment in the rural schools, so we aim to put a lot of focus on more positive teaching strategies.
We have a lot of challenges ahead of us- we still don't have a translator lined up, we have to get permission from the governor of Badakshan to conduct the trainings, find a place to stay, we don't have all the money we need, and so on and so forth. But we are confident in our calling and know this will be an extraordinary time of growth as we learn to depend on God and invest in the teachers here. So in other words..it will be really hard!! Living conditions in the villages are pretty stone age-esque, so it will be a big leap from my hygienic comfort zone. But by the grace of God I will get through it with little whining and complaining.
The outreach will last until around the 5th of November, at which point we will return to Mazar, have a debrief week and then I head home the 21st, just in time for Thanksgiving!! I get about 6 weeks off before returning in January for my final three months in Afghanistan. I've greatly appreciated everyone's prayers and financial support thus far and ask that you continue to lift up my team and I as we start out on this crazy adventure!
Well, this is goodbye for a while. I doubt I will have internet access for most of the trip, but I promise to post if I can. So stay classy, San Diego. And by San Diego I mean whatever city you happen to live in.
Janna
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Many moons later...
Hey guys! I've finally gotten around to blogging again. I fell into a very peculiar habit of falling asleep every time I sat down at my computer, naturally causing my blogging to suffer. But now I have free time and wi-fi so I will catch you up on the last month or so.
I suppose the biggest news is that I flew home to surprise my family and boyfriend for the summer break! My parents had no idea I was coming-my mother's piercing screams proved that much (we have since decided to never, ever, surprise mother again). It was a lovely opportunity to enjoy Western plumbing and sanitation again, stock up on needed items, and hang out with friends and family. I've also hopefully flushed out most if not all parasites from my system. Cross your fingers!
I'm now heading back to Afghanistan for the second phase of the school. The last two months made up our lecture phase-we had classes on subjects like Compassion, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and so on. Now we are about to enter the outreach portion. We will split into teams and go to a different part of the country, with different goals. I am on a team that will go into eastern Afghanistan villages and do either a teacher training seminar to train village teachers, build a library, or conduct health/sanitation seminars. We haven't quite worked out those details yet. It will definitely be a challenging experience as we leave the city and go into the mountains, where life hasn't changed much since the early days of Islam. It is sure to be an adventure!
I also want to let you all know of the upcoming presidential election in Afghanistan on August 20th. There is a lot of unrest throughout the country, as this is only the second democractic election to take place since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Because Afghanistan is still a politically unstable country, there is a lot of concern over how the election will go. If any of you paid attention to the latest elections in Iran that will kind of give you an idea of what could happen. So please join us in praying for a peaceful election!
I write this from the Portland airport, and the smell of Panda Express has become to enticing to ignore, so I will take my leave. In other news, I learned that our base has had its internet connection turned off since we don't have the money on hand to pay the obscene quarterly bill (it's thousands of dollars). So if you think of it, and want to continue having a blog to read, please pray that we get the money to have our internet back! I have a boyfriend (and a mother) who need to hear from me on a fairly regular occassion :)
It's been grand but I must leave America now..see you all in November!
I suppose the biggest news is that I flew home to surprise my family and boyfriend for the summer break! My parents had no idea I was coming-my mother's piercing screams proved that much (we have since decided to never, ever, surprise mother again). It was a lovely opportunity to enjoy Western plumbing and sanitation again, stock up on needed items, and hang out with friends and family. I've also hopefully flushed out most if not all parasites from my system. Cross your fingers!
I'm now heading back to Afghanistan for the second phase of the school. The last two months made up our lecture phase-we had classes on subjects like Compassion, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and so on. Now we are about to enter the outreach portion. We will split into teams and go to a different part of the country, with different goals. I am on a team that will go into eastern Afghanistan villages and do either a teacher training seminar to train village teachers, build a library, or conduct health/sanitation seminars. We haven't quite worked out those details yet. It will definitely be a challenging experience as we leave the city and go into the mountains, where life hasn't changed much since the early days of Islam. It is sure to be an adventure!
I also want to let you all know of the upcoming presidential election in Afghanistan on August 20th. There is a lot of unrest throughout the country, as this is only the second democractic election to take place since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Because Afghanistan is still a politically unstable country, there is a lot of concern over how the election will go. If any of you paid attention to the latest elections in Iran that will kind of give you an idea of what could happen. So please join us in praying for a peaceful election!
I write this from the Portland airport, and the smell of Panda Express has become to enticing to ignore, so I will take my leave. In other news, I learned that our base has had its internet connection turned off since we don't have the money on hand to pay the obscene quarterly bill (it's thousands of dollars). So if you think of it, and want to continue having a blog to read, please pray that we get the money to have our internet back! I have a boyfriend (and a mother) who need to hear from me on a fairly regular occassion :)
It's been grand but I must leave America now..see you all in November!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Baa, Baa, black sheep
In my nearly three week blogging absence I have accrued several glorious stories. There's been laughter, tears, and one poor unfortunate sheep. I'll start at the beginning.
A few weeks ago saw the departure of our short term team. They were a group of 4 very gregarious guys and a girl from the Y base in Hawaii. They were an extremely fun group and we were all sad to see them go. So a glorious farewell party was planned to send them on their way. I heard rumor of some mutton being purchased but thought nothing of it at the time. Then, whilst approaching the house after teaching my classes, I heard it....baaaaaaa. I walked, in utter disbelief, to find a very much alive sheep tied in our courtyard. The sheep that would be slaughtered in honor of our departing guests. I had thought this kind of stuff only happened in the Bible! Apparently it also happens in Afghanistan. Thankfully the deed was done quietly and out of sight, but my appetite for mutton was sufficiently ruined. Thank God they also served chicken. And now the team is gone and they are sorely missed. It's way too quiet around here without them.
It is also way too hot. The temperature is consistently above 110 now, and the power is consistently out from noon to around 8 PM. It's a combination of the power genuinely going out and the city shutting it off to conserve energy. But I am of the mind that purposefully turning off power during the hottest hours of the day is downright barbaric and I am trying to find out if there is a local congressman around here that I can write to and complain. Because the days are miserable and the nights even worse. It's hard to sleep when your room only cools off to 95. I'm a new fan of taking cold showers with my pj's on. So I go to bed wet and then re-shower throughout the night as my clothes dry. It sounds weird but honestly, it's the only way I stay sane and get any sleep.
Oh! We've also had a plague of grasshoppers. Grasshoppers the size of my ring finger. And one two occasions I've seen inch long bees. Crazy stuff, man. I've learned a few odd afghan cultural traditions too. One is to put mascara and eyeliner on kids under the age of two. Its purpose is to make them 'ugly' so as to ward off the Evil Eye. Another is one I've seen in the classes I teach. Often when I ask one of the girls to give an answer or read something off the board they stand and preface it with some form of " In the name of kind and merciful Allah" in Arabic. I'm told that you have to start every public speech with this intro. And speaking of my class..I am so darn proud of them!! This 'semester' is almost over and they have made great progress. My little babies are all grown up and learning to speak English...sniff.
We're still waiting to find out where we'll go on outreach, which begins in August. There has been talk of doing teacher training seminars in some of the mountain villages, which would provide a veeery comprehensive look at rural afghan culture. It will be an adventure, to say the least :) I suppose that is all for now- I'd like to give a shout out to "JP" and the rest of that sunday school class.
Well, my bed is calling and we girls have to migrate the half mile to our house. I miss you all back home and wish you were all here on this adventure with me!! We'd rock the house.
Janna
A few weeks ago saw the departure of our short term team. They were a group of 4 very gregarious guys and a girl from the Y base in Hawaii. They were an extremely fun group and we were all sad to see them go. So a glorious farewell party was planned to send them on their way. I heard rumor of some mutton being purchased but thought nothing of it at the time. Then, whilst approaching the house after teaching my classes, I heard it....baaaaaaa. I walked, in utter disbelief, to find a very much alive sheep tied in our courtyard. The sheep that would be slaughtered in honor of our departing guests. I had thought this kind of stuff only happened in the Bible! Apparently it also happens in Afghanistan. Thankfully the deed was done quietly and out of sight, but my appetite for mutton was sufficiently ruined. Thank God they also served chicken. And now the team is gone and they are sorely missed. It's way too quiet around here without them.
It is also way too hot. The temperature is consistently above 110 now, and the power is consistently out from noon to around 8 PM. It's a combination of the power genuinely going out and the city shutting it off to conserve energy. But I am of the mind that purposefully turning off power during the hottest hours of the day is downright barbaric and I am trying to find out if there is a local congressman around here that I can write to and complain. Because the days are miserable and the nights even worse. It's hard to sleep when your room only cools off to 95. I'm a new fan of taking cold showers with my pj's on. So I go to bed wet and then re-shower throughout the night as my clothes dry. It sounds weird but honestly, it's the only way I stay sane and get any sleep.
Oh! We've also had a plague of grasshoppers. Grasshoppers the size of my ring finger. And one two occasions I've seen inch long bees. Crazy stuff, man. I've learned a few odd afghan cultural traditions too. One is to put mascara and eyeliner on kids under the age of two. Its purpose is to make them 'ugly' so as to ward off the Evil Eye. Another is one I've seen in the classes I teach. Often when I ask one of the girls to give an answer or read something off the board they stand and preface it with some form of " In the name of kind and merciful Allah" in Arabic. I'm told that you have to start every public speech with this intro. And speaking of my class..I am so darn proud of them!! This 'semester' is almost over and they have made great progress. My little babies are all grown up and learning to speak English...sniff.
We're still waiting to find out where we'll go on outreach, which begins in August. There has been talk of doing teacher training seminars in some of the mountain villages, which would provide a veeery comprehensive look at rural afghan culture. It will be an adventure, to say the least :) I suppose that is all for now- I'd like to give a shout out to "JP" and the rest of that sunday school class.
Well, my bed is calling and we girls have to migrate the half mile to our house. I miss you all back home and wish you were all here on this adventure with me!! We'd rock the house.
Janna
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
On why water is very important
This has been quite the interesting week. On Thursday I started feeling really sick...kinda like my insides were rotting. A few of the staff were pretty sure I was dehydrated, and one of them made me this evil sugar/salt water concoction to try and rehydrate me. All I managed were a few swallows before it all came back up (luckily I was outside, so a nearby rosebush bore the brunt of my intestinal wrath). This started an unfortunate process of vomiting every hour or so, which I'm told is a sign of severe dehydration. I couldn't even keep an ounce of water down. They finally had to get me on an IV to rehydrate me, and after 20 hours I stopped vomiting. It still took me two days to get back on my feet, but suffice to say I learned my lesson and now drink 3-4 litres of water a day, regardless of how hot it is. It was a scary reminder of how quickly you can get dehydrated here. So drink water, kids.
I had a fun cultural experience this afternoon. Here in Afghanistan the main way of socializing is to go "visiting". And visiting here is very different from visiting in the states-you just show up. No need to call or prearrange, if you go and knock on someone's door they will invite you in, give you tea and candy, and expect you to stay for several hours. This usually extends into an invitation to dinner, which almost always leads to an invitation to stay the night (which you are generally expected to refuse). So today I went with two of the staff girls to our neighbor's house, without giving them any notice. We were invited in and ushered into the special guest living room and had tea and candy within minutes. I could really only sit there and understand every three words or so, but the girls told me later that the woman had been married at 14 and had 8 kids, and her husband lived in Kabul but had another wife in a different province. He hadn't been to Mazar in several years and she was afraid that she was getting to old for him. It was so sad to hear, but even worse to know that her story is pretty common in Afghanistan. She and her daughters said we were welcome to come back anytime we liked. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to get closer to this family. We are the only ones who have access to the women of this country, and the women here are so welcoming and loving and take you into their homes and tell you all about their lives. I'm excited for more opportunities to come in contact with them.
In other news, I got a real mattress! I am, however, still on the floor in one of the staff girl's rooms. But a new room has become available (construction on my original room has ceased, with no immediate plans to start again) so maybe the other girl student and I will have our own room soon. I think it will really help us to get settled, it's hard to feel at home when you are a guest in someone else's room, still living out of your suitcase. But the good Lord has given me the grace to stay calm and peaceful in all situations, which is a lifesaver in a place like this!
I meant to take pictures last weekend of the city and my clothing but being sick got in the way...soon though! And most of my new clothes shrunk when I washed them, so I'll probably have to get a whole new wardrobe. Boo. But I think I'll try and be more creative this time, try and look more like the locals. We'll see, there is some craaazy fabric in this city. I miss you all back home but it's so rewarding to be in a place where I'm learning and serving in a different culture. Now if only they had mexican food...
I had a fun cultural experience this afternoon. Here in Afghanistan the main way of socializing is to go "visiting". And visiting here is very different from visiting in the states-you just show up. No need to call or prearrange, if you go and knock on someone's door they will invite you in, give you tea and candy, and expect you to stay for several hours. This usually extends into an invitation to dinner, which almost always leads to an invitation to stay the night (which you are generally expected to refuse). So today I went with two of the staff girls to our neighbor's house, without giving them any notice. We were invited in and ushered into the special guest living room and had tea and candy within minutes. I could really only sit there and understand every three words or so, but the girls told me later that the woman had been married at 14 and had 8 kids, and her husband lived in Kabul but had another wife in a different province. He hadn't been to Mazar in several years and she was afraid that she was getting to old for him. It was so sad to hear, but even worse to know that her story is pretty common in Afghanistan. She and her daughters said we were welcome to come back anytime we liked. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to get closer to this family. We are the only ones who have access to the women of this country, and the women here are so welcoming and loving and take you into their homes and tell you all about their lives. I'm excited for more opportunities to come in contact with them.
In other news, I got a real mattress! I am, however, still on the floor in one of the staff girl's rooms. But a new room has become available (construction on my original room has ceased, with no immediate plans to start again) so maybe the other girl student and I will have our own room soon. I think it will really help us to get settled, it's hard to feel at home when you are a guest in someone else's room, still living out of your suitcase. But the good Lord has given me the grace to stay calm and peaceful in all situations, which is a lifesaver in a place like this!
I meant to take pictures last weekend of the city and my clothing but being sick got in the way...soon though! And most of my new clothes shrunk when I washed them, so I'll probably have to get a whole new wardrobe. Boo. But I think I'll try and be more creative this time, try and look more like the locals. We'll see, there is some craaazy fabric in this city. I miss you all back home but it's so rewarding to be in a place where I'm learning and serving in a different culture. Now if only they had mexican food...
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Images from Afghanistan
Here are some photos from an outing the all the girls took to a restaurant in a 'gated community' here in Mazar. We ate at a nice Turkish place, went to a park, got ice cream...it was nice to let loose and play a little. This also shows you an example of the clothing we wear here. I tend to stick with jeans and a tunic, but some ladies with more style than I branch out a little. So these pictures show the street that we live on, the gated community where we had lunch, and some scenes from the park.
Friday, May 29, 2009
The parasites are coming
I thought it about time for an update, but really there isn't much new happening. You get into a routine here and the days fly by, but nothing very interesting happens. There is an awesome bug going around, and at least ten people got diarrhea. I thought I had escaped unscathed but as of this morning I had joined them. They are trying to figure out the source-whether it was something we all ate, or the possibility that our bottled water is contaminated. We did finally get our kitchen screened in..for a while the door and windows were completely open and the kitchen literally swarmed with hundreds of flies while you were cooking. When I first got here it completely horrified me, but after a few weeks you just laugh and move on with your life. I got to go out to dinner with a few of the staff last night, which was a nice break from the house. I ordered an authentic Afghan chicken kebab and it was amaaaaazing!
I'm now tutoring an older agfghan girl in English as well as my beginners English class, so I stay pretty busy. Our Bible classes are also going really well and I'm learning a lot. I'm starting to feel more settled in here and getting to know the people better. It's still hard, but it's Afghanistan, it's not exactly a vacation. But I know that the difficulties will shape me and make me stronger. I'm excited for the outreach portions of the year when we will go into the local villages and conduct teacher training and build schools. I'm told I'll have to wear a burqa when we go to the villages..THAT will be interesting! For now we have our discipleship training in the mornings and teach at the learning center in the afternoons.
Our first break is in July, three days before my birthday. I'm trying to think of somewhere fun to go. I've been suffering from heat exhaustion, so I'm basing a lot of my decision on the what the weather will be-the arctic circle is looking mighty fine at the moment. Or the Southern Hemisphere where it's the dead of winter. Australia, here I come! So...anybody feel like taking a vacation in July??? No, but seriously. I will meet you somewhere.
Hopefully I'll have something awesome to report on soon, but in the meantime I'm departing to listen to one of the short-term guys regal us with tales from his time in the Norwegian special forces. Who knew the Norwegians even HAD special forces? You learn something new everyday.
I'm now tutoring an older agfghan girl in English as well as my beginners English class, so I stay pretty busy. Our Bible classes are also going really well and I'm learning a lot. I'm starting to feel more settled in here and getting to know the people better. It's still hard, but it's Afghanistan, it's not exactly a vacation. But I know that the difficulties will shape me and make me stronger. I'm excited for the outreach portions of the year when we will go into the local villages and conduct teacher training and build schools. I'm told I'll have to wear a burqa when we go to the villages..THAT will be interesting! For now we have our discipleship training in the mornings and teach at the learning center in the afternoons.
Our first break is in July, three days before my birthday. I'm trying to think of somewhere fun to go. I've been suffering from heat exhaustion, so I'm basing a lot of my decision on the what the weather will be-the arctic circle is looking mighty fine at the moment. Or the Southern Hemisphere where it's the dead of winter. Australia, here I come! So...anybody feel like taking a vacation in July??? No, but seriously. I will meet you somewhere.
Hopefully I'll have something awesome to report on soon, but in the meantime I'm departing to listen to one of the short-term guys regal us with tales from his time in the Norwegian special forces. Who knew the Norwegians even HAD special forces? You learn something new everyday.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Electricity? Meh, who needs it.
I miss Bend weather. I miss (though I may recant this statement later) snow in May. The heat here is suffocating,the dust all-encompassing,the flies innumerable and we are discouraged from wearing sunglasses-"They would draw attention". I'm supposed to let my eyes fry as to not draw the attention that as a 5'10" white girl I ALREADY INHERENTLY COMMAND?!?!? We'll see how long I put up with that...covering my hair out of respect is one thing, but letting UV rays cook my retinas in an effort to not draw attention is a whole new ballgame. Arg.
After almost two weeks here I’ve learned that the staff are disorganized, to put it mildly. It has been a true test of character to stay calm and not get disgruntled with the lack of organization, preparedness, and communication. They are all really busy getting this school (which, ahem, has already started) ready, so I’ve felt a bit lonely. I’m sure once everything is taken care of and they can relax things will get better. All the students have arrived except for the Ugandan girl, they haven’t really heard from her in a while. And please, oh please, hopefully I will move into my own room in a few days.
Hmmm, what else? Today I taught a girls’ beginning English class, by myself. Now thanks to me 23 Afghan girls can successfully name a tomato and other assorted foods and vegetables. I am doing so much for this country. I also taught them the Hi-five, which I’m sure will go a long way in strengthening US-Afghanistan relations.
Some people have been wondering what a typical day looks like. Normally I get up around 6 to beat the line for the shower. Then it’s breakfast, quiet time, and then off to prayer and worship at 8. Classes start at 9:30, and we have had 1-2 speakers per week covering different topics. We break at 12:30 for lunch at the education office (I found myself frequently “fasting” lunch these days…office food still hasn’t grown on me). Afternoons usually vary-I teach Tuesday and Thursday, and other days I either have free time or am recruited for a project around the house. At 5 every weekday I have language lessons, which are pretty intense-my teacher throws 50-60 words at us per day. But as far as I can tell I’m doing pretty well. Then dinner at 6:30 (which I never fast-our house Brazilian cook is pretty good) and free time til bed, which shockingly usually happens at about 9:30 for me. It’s been nice to catch up on my sleep!
At the behest of a few outspoken family members, I will soon get pictures of me in my awesome and cutting edge Afghan clothes up on this thing. I’m still trying to get used to the severe restrictions placed on Western females-sometimes the symbolic oppressiveness of the headscarf REALLY chaps my hide-but I’m trying to avoid stubbornness. We’ll see how well I do.
That’s all for now, my access to internet all depends on if we have power, which has been a crapshoot lately so I should post this and stop pressing my luck. I miss you guys back home but am learning a lot here. So for now I bid you all goodnight and KhudAafez!
After almost two weeks here I’ve learned that the staff are disorganized, to put it mildly. It has been a true test of character to stay calm and not get disgruntled with the lack of organization, preparedness, and communication. They are all really busy getting this school (which, ahem, has already started) ready, so I’ve felt a bit lonely. I’m sure once everything is taken care of and they can relax things will get better. All the students have arrived except for the Ugandan girl, they haven’t really heard from her in a while. And please, oh please, hopefully I will move into my own room in a few days.
Hmmm, what else? Today I taught a girls’ beginning English class, by myself. Now thanks to me 23 Afghan girls can successfully name a tomato and other assorted foods and vegetables. I am doing so much for this country. I also taught them the Hi-five, which I’m sure will go a long way in strengthening US-Afghanistan relations.
Some people have been wondering what a typical day looks like. Normally I get up around 6 to beat the line for the shower. Then it’s breakfast, quiet time, and then off to prayer and worship at 8. Classes start at 9:30, and we have had 1-2 speakers per week covering different topics. We break at 12:30 for lunch at the education office (I found myself frequently “fasting” lunch these days…office food still hasn’t grown on me). Afternoons usually vary-I teach Tuesday and Thursday, and other days I either have free time or am recruited for a project around the house. At 5 every weekday I have language lessons, which are pretty intense-my teacher throws 50-60 words at us per day. But as far as I can tell I’m doing pretty well. Then dinner at 6:30 (which I never fast-our house Brazilian cook is pretty good) and free time til bed, which shockingly usually happens at about 9:30 for me. It’s been nice to catch up on my sleep!
At the behest of a few outspoken family members, I will soon get pictures of me in my awesome and cutting edge Afghan clothes up on this thing. I’m still trying to get used to the severe restrictions placed on Western females-sometimes the symbolic oppressiveness of the headscarf REALLY chaps my hide-but I’m trying to avoid stubbornness. We’ll see how well I do.
That’s all for now, my access to internet all depends on if we have power, which has been a crapshoot lately so I should post this and stop pressing my luck. I miss you guys back home but am learning a lot here. So for now I bid you all goodnight and KhudAafez!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Would you like some food with your grease?
I’m still trying to get used to Afghan cuisine. We eat sitting on the floor around a plastic mat, men on one side and women on the other. You can’t sit criss-cross applesauce here, so you sit with your feet to one side. And yeah, you eat with your hands, but they have cutlery sitting around for us westerners just in case. Usually it’s long rice, raisins, carrots and beef, soaked and I mean SOAKED in fat…they drown everything here in oil and fat, so while it tastes great the thought of it is a little unappetizing. I can’t exactly go throw on my gym shorts and run it off, you know? After one week I find myself lacking an appetite…you don’t get a lot of variety here. Oh well. I have to eat eventually. In other news, there are also no couches in most homes-you sit on really thick cushions on the floor. It’s actually quite comfortable.
For those who don’t know and are interested, I have to be really careful how I dress here. Women have to be completely covered (at least while out in public) except for their face, hands and feet. Most of the foreign women here wear jeans and Punjabis, which are long tunics. They are pretty comfortable and if you pick out the material and have them made they can be somewhat nice-looking. We also wear headscarves whenever we’re outside the house. But once inside, as long as there are no Afghan visitors, we can wear short sleeves and remove our scarves. We still can’t wear tank tops and shorts since our Afghan guard/handyman is usually around. We also can’t really travel anywhere by ourselves, not even the half mile from the girls house to the main house…we always have to get one of the guys to drive us or go in a large group, but even then never at night. It’s also scorching hot here...daytime temps are already into the 90’s and 120 will be normal come June or July. One of the staff told me that Mazar once held the highest temperature on record. Yuck.
We’ve had a couple classes already, but we haven’t technically started yet since there are still a few more students to arrive who are having trouble getting here-a girl from Uganda and a family from Pakistan. Crazy how we all ended up in Afghanistan…and that I’m the only American student! We also do several hours of prayer and worship every morning which really unites us as a team.
It’s nice that I have internet access pretty much every evening, so I’m obviously a little blog happy. But I’m sure my mother doesn’t mind. Hi Mom. I also found out that I’ll have to get a cell phone while here…oh, to text again!!! And I’ll be moving into a permanent room soon…hooray for not sleeping on the floor!
Until next time, live long and prosper.
For those who don’t know and are interested, I have to be really careful how I dress here. Women have to be completely covered (at least while out in public) except for their face, hands and feet. Most of the foreign women here wear jeans and Punjabis, which are long tunics. They are pretty comfortable and if you pick out the material and have them made they can be somewhat nice-looking. We also wear headscarves whenever we’re outside the house. But once inside, as long as there are no Afghan visitors, we can wear short sleeves and remove our scarves. We still can’t wear tank tops and shorts since our Afghan guard/handyman is usually around. We also can’t really travel anywhere by ourselves, not even the half mile from the girls house to the main house…we always have to get one of the guys to drive us or go in a large group, but even then never at night. It’s also scorching hot here...daytime temps are already into the 90’s and 120 will be normal come June or July. One of the staff told me that Mazar once held the highest temperature on record. Yuck.
We’ve had a couple classes already, but we haven’t technically started yet since there are still a few more students to arrive who are having trouble getting here-a girl from Uganda and a family from Pakistan. Crazy how we all ended up in Afghanistan…and that I’m the only American student! We also do several hours of prayer and worship every morning which really unites us as a team.
It’s nice that I have internet access pretty much every evening, so I’m obviously a little blog happy. But I’m sure my mother doesn’t mind. Hi Mom. I also found out that I’ll have to get a cell phone while here…oh, to text again!!! And I’ll be moving into a permanent room soon…hooray for not sleeping on the floor!
Until next time, live long and prosper.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Pictures!
Here are some pictures of our house, shower, etc. and nan, the holy bread that they serve at every meal. I'm living in the lap of luxury, I know :)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
If you need me, I will be on my mattress
Now I will describe Afghanistan. I’ve been told that it is the 2nd poorest nation on earth, and you can tell. Very few roads are paved, and most are nearly impassable. The road our house is on has huge mounds of dirt and gravel, massive potholes and trenches, trash and puddles of sewage. I can’t imagine what it will be like in the rainy season. The streets are constantly full of people, and the way they drive is insane (I would also like to mention that 95% of the cars in Mazar are Toyota Corollas. I finally saw my first Camry today and did a little fist pump. Gotta represent the Camry love, right Mike?) I was surprised to find that most women still choose to wear the burqa-while it’s not required, I’d say that 75% of woman still wear them. We went to the market today to get some food and proper clothes for me so I got to get a good look at the people. I also picked up a really nice dress-type coat, it’s black with blue beading and makes me look snazzy.
All houses here are behind high walls, and you get in through a main gate that opens into a central courtyard area. Because of construction on our house, I’m currently on a mattress in the living room with two other girls, one from Bolivia and one from Brazil. It’s not all that bad, we have a tv and dvd player, and as I type we’re watching Sense and Sensibility (I haven’t seen this one before. Geez Jane Austin, lay off the drama and emotional angst). Our shower consists of a single cement room that also hosts a “squatty”, which is your standard hole in the floor covered by a toilet seat. It’s also really easy to lock yourself in. Did that on my first squatty usage and had to be rescued by our Afghan houseman CoCo. I’m soooo excited to get pictures of all this good stuff on here.
Along with the girls’ house there is also the main house down the road where we eat our meals and have classes and glorious wireless internet. Last night at dinner (which was chili-our cook is Brazilian) I learned that the bread here, called nan, is considered holy-you’re not allowed to throw it away or even lay it upside down. I’m not looking forward to my first dinner party in an Afghan home, because there are a million social customs and rules like that which govern your every move and word as a guest in someone’s home. But I’m sure that after a while all this stuff will sink in and won’t be so overwhelming. Classes start tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll get a good idea of what this next year will look like. In the meantime, I miss you all back home and hope everyone is doing great, and as always, feel free to send out a prayer for me and Afghanistan.
All houses here are behind high walls, and you get in through a main gate that opens into a central courtyard area. Because of construction on our house, I’m currently on a mattress in the living room with two other girls, one from Bolivia and one from Brazil. It’s not all that bad, we have a tv and dvd player, and as I type we’re watching Sense and Sensibility (I haven’t seen this one before. Geez Jane Austin, lay off the drama and emotional angst). Our shower consists of a single cement room that also hosts a “squatty”, which is your standard hole in the floor covered by a toilet seat. It’s also really easy to lock yourself in. Did that on my first squatty usage and had to be rescued by our Afghan houseman CoCo. I’m soooo excited to get pictures of all this good stuff on here.
Along with the girls’ house there is also the main house down the road where we eat our meals and have classes and glorious wireless internet. Last night at dinner (which was chili-our cook is Brazilian) I learned that the bread here, called nan, is considered holy-you’re not allowed to throw it away or even lay it upside down. I’m not looking forward to my first dinner party in an Afghan home, because there are a million social customs and rules like that which govern your every move and word as a guest in someone’s home. But I’m sure that after a while all this stuff will sink in and won’t be so overwhelming. Classes start tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll get a good idea of what this next year will look like. In the meantime, I miss you all back home and hope everyone is doing great, and as always, feel free to send out a prayer for me and Afghanistan.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Welcome to Afghanistan
I started and abandoned many drafts for this first blog. Most of them were of the whiny sort, complaining about my long and ridiculous three days of travel (never, if you can avoid it, fly into Dubai. That airport was designed by monkeys, maybe even monkeys on crack), my lack of instruction from my leaders and my being dropped into the cesspool that is Afghanistan without any type of life preserver. So I am choosing to focus on the positive. I got here with all of my luggage, have yet to be groped (apparently all Afghan men live under the assumption that Western women are whores and wish for nothing more than to have their butts grabbed), and God is taking care of me. Example:
By some mysterious lack of foresight, I did not withdraw any cash before leaving the Houston airport. I was very worried, as there are few ATM’s in Kabul and none in Mazar, so I was horrified that I had let myself leave the states with ten bucks in my pocket. But God was awesome. On my flight from Dubai to Kabul, the airline was doing a promotion. They did a random seat drawing, and yours truly walked away with $125 cash in my pocket. Miracle, no? God provided me what I needed when I needed it, because as soon as I landed I was immediately driven to buy a plane ticket to Mazar, then had to pay for taxis and a night at a guesthouse-I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had that money!
I finally made it to Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday afternoon and became acquainted with everyone here. Along with a long term school there are also many short term groups that come through, right now there is one here for six more weeks. Everyone is really nice and helpful. In Afghanistan Friday is the holy day, so their weekend is Friday and Saturday, so I’ve had a whole day to relax and recover before the program gets started Sunday. I’ll report on living conditions in Afghanistan in my next post, cuz good night, that’s a doozy. I’d appreciate any prayer I could get right now…it’s going to be a long, rough year.
By some mysterious lack of foresight, I did not withdraw any cash before leaving the Houston airport. I was very worried, as there are few ATM’s in Kabul and none in Mazar, so I was horrified that I had let myself leave the states with ten bucks in my pocket. But God was awesome. On my flight from Dubai to Kabul, the airline was doing a promotion. They did a random seat drawing, and yours truly walked away with $125 cash in my pocket. Miracle, no? God provided me what I needed when I needed it, because as soon as I landed I was immediately driven to buy a plane ticket to Mazar, then had to pay for taxis and a night at a guesthouse-I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had that money!
I finally made it to Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday afternoon and became acquainted with everyone here. Along with a long term school there are also many short term groups that come through, right now there is one here for six more weeks. Everyone is really nice and helpful. In Afghanistan Friday is the holy day, so their weekend is Friday and Saturday, so I’ve had a whole day to relax and recover before the program gets started Sunday. I’ll report on living conditions in Afghanistan in my next post, cuz good night, that’s a doozy. I’d appreciate any prayer I could get right now…it’s going to be a long, rough year.
Monday, April 27, 2009
T-minus 1 week update
Well...
Things are slowly coming together! I've purchased medical insurance ($15,000 for transport of mortal remains! Now you can rest easy, mom!) got my newly approved entry permit back, and will get immunized up to my eyeballs tomorrow. AND I purchased my first headscarf! I pull the look off pretty well, not gonna lie :) It's crazy to think that in a week and a half I'll be there..I'm waiting for panic to set in but thus far I'm still remaining calm. Not looking forward to the goodbyes, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Things are slowly coming together! I've purchased medical insurance ($15,000 for transport of mortal remains! Now you can rest easy, mom!) got my newly approved entry permit back, and will get immunized up to my eyeballs tomorrow. AND I purchased my first headscarf! I pull the look off pretty well, not gonna lie :) It's crazy to think that in a week and a half I'll be there..I'm waiting for panic to set in but thus far I'm still remaining calm. Not looking forward to the goodbyes, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Monday, April 13, 2009
T-Minus 22 Days Update
The plane tickets have been purchased! I have a three day, 6,847.2 mile, four plane, one taxi journey to look forward to. My flight plan is Portland-Phoenix-Houston-Dubai, a lovely overnight stay in the Dubai airport, then a 6:30 AM flight to Kabul, where the staff of YWAM will meet me (thank God!) and accompany me to Mazar.
Maybe I should put this whole trip off until supersonic travel is around. It's going to be a looooong three days.
Maybe I should put this whole trip off until supersonic travel is around. It's going to be a looooong three days.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Minor setback
In which I, The Author, learn of the tragic Cancellation of my Direct Flight to Mazar-i Sharif, resulting in a Minor Panic Attack as I attempt to prepare Myself for The Alternative.
That pretty much explains it. All direct flights to Mazar have been canceled due to low demand, and my new course must be to fly to Kabul and take a 5-10 hour bus/taxi drive to Mazar. I say "5-10" because depending on weather, road closures, and the reported tendency of Afghani motorcyclists to race through the Salang Pass and summararily crash into you, the estimated length of the trip is hard to determine. All in all I was previously very much relieved that I could fly directly to Mazar, and having now been robbed of such comfort, I am currently trying to wrap my head around getting myself from Point A to Point B in a volatile, Anti-Western country.
But, thankfully, the Lord is my rear guard. My new verse-to-live-by is Isaiah 26:3- (edited for gender)
"You will keep in perfect peace her whose mind is steadfast, because she trusts in You."
That pretty much explains it. All direct flights to Mazar have been canceled due to low demand, and my new course must be to fly to Kabul and take a 5-10 hour bus/taxi drive to Mazar. I say "5-10" because depending on weather, road closures, and the reported tendency of Afghani motorcyclists to race through the Salang Pass and summararily crash into you, the estimated length of the trip is hard to determine. All in all I was previously very much relieved that I could fly directly to Mazar, and having now been robbed of such comfort, I am currently trying to wrap my head around getting myself from Point A to Point B in a volatile, Anti-Western country.
But, thankfully, the Lord is my rear guard. My new verse-to-live-by is Isaiah 26:3- (edited for gender)
"You will keep in perfect peace her whose mind is steadfast, because she trusts in You."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
T-minus 50 days
Well, welcome to my blog. This is where I will be recounting what will most likely be glorious tales of adventure in Afghanistan. Right now I'm just in the process of getting plane tickets (which is harder than I thought) and trying to start to get visas (which involves patiently waiting for the YWAM leaders to send me all necessary documents..ahem, which have not yet arrived) and praying like crazy that God will work out all the rest. So stay tuned!
Janna
Janna
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