Empty Backpack Campaign

UPDATE: I've had several people ask if it is too late to send a filled backpack. NO, NO, NO! It's never too late. Even if I'm not here, I've set it up so the NMAA staff will take care of distributing any supplies in the future. The NMAA staff is excited to help and it will be sustained even when I'm not here. So, please, don't hesitate and keep sending what you can. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone that has helped out and thanks to the early birds who have already sent filled backpacks. We are well on our way. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please keep the supplies coming!

Well, the website is up and running!!!

Colorado for Kabul Kids Empty Backpack Campaign

Please pass it on to everyone you can ... The website will continue to evolve, so standby ... And, you don't have to be from Colorado to participate - "come one, and come all!" And you don't have to wait to contribute - start now.

Afghan Pride

We finally got the entire NMAA staff together for a picture. This is the largest that the NMAA group has ever been. You can see in the background how the trees are really starting to bud.



Happy New Year?

It’s taken me a while and should have been obvious a long time ago, but I realized something a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been working on the syllabi for the two physics courses and had noticed that the numbers 1386 or 1387 kept showing up with the course titles. I was assuming that this was just some number prefix for the course – like other universities use. But, I learned it was actually a year reference – in the Islamic calendar – for 2007 or 2008. I found this out when I was asking the physics faculty when they received their college degrees and when they started to teach. They all busily started some calculations and they all used this number 1387, to calculate the date for me. I did a little research on the date conversion and found out that the Persian Hijrah calendar used in Afghanistan is based on when Mohammad emigrated (“Hijrah”) from Mecca to Medina after his farewell sermon. This occurred in July 622 C.E. As the physics faculty were giving me dates, they sometimes calculated them by adding 621 and sometimes by adding 622 to the Islamic date. I asked why and they explained (I think - I didn’t have a “tajemon” (translator) with me) that to convert from Islamic date to Julian date (what we use), you first have to determine in which part (first half or second half) of the Islamic calendar you are considering. You see, the Prophet’s pilgrimage occurred in July of 622 C.E. so the Islamic calendar year begins in the middle (July) of the Christian calendar. Not only that, but leap years play a complex role with the very accurate solar calendar. So, depending on the particular year and/or particular month, you need to add 621 or 622 to the actual Islamic year. For example, this is 1387 according to the Islamic calendar used in Afghanistan, so the Julian date would be 1387 + 621 = 2008. I say “the Islamic calendar used in Afghanistan” because there are variations to the Islamic calendar and Afghanistan. Not only is this neat and tidy little formula for converting dates complicated by leap years and months, but Afghanistan (like Iran) celebrates the new year (“new-rooz”) on March 21 (the equinox). So, we really just changed over from 1386 to 1387 on March 21 according to the Persian calendar used in Afghanistan. So, there is a little Islamic history lesson for you and here are some internet sites to explain even more.

Here’s a cool date converter that shows you the date in various calendar systems.

Here’s a site with some good history and specifics about various calendars.

Here’s a site with that has more technical information about calculating and converting dates.

So, on March 21 we just had the ”now rooz” celebration. “Now rooz” marks the new year in the Persian calendar and is a religious holiday. It fell on a jumma (Friday), so the Afghans were going to take panj shambay (Thursday) as a holiday. So, classes would begin on shambay (Saturday) after a two-day holiday for “nowrooz.” All of the Afghans were very excited about the now rooz celebration because it welcomes spring and there were many festivities planned around the country. Many were going on hikes and mini-pilgrimages, feasting with family and friends, or making longer treks to places like Mazar-e-Sharif. Apparently, Mazar-e-Sharif is a very beautiful place where they have gigantic gardens and this time of the year they have tulips and the Afghan people like to go and see them. There are also some similar gardens around Kabul. It was quite obvious that all the Afghans were in very good moods. For the occasion, I learned the Dari phrase for Happy New Year – “Sal-e-now-e-tan tabreek!” and got a cheerful return each time I used it. Here’s some pics that Khoja took on his now-rooz outing.








Parade Day

They trimmed the trees, planted rose bushes, washed the streets, and tidied up all the grounds at NMAA because Thursday was dedication day for NMAA. It was the annual indoctrination parade for the freshman cadets that just successfully completed their field training. There were Generals (American and Afghan) and dignitaries (the Afghan Minister of Defense (MOD), Abdul Rahim Wardak), all the faculty, red carpets and big bands. Awards were given out and all the cadets marched in procession in front of the grand stand. This is the first time that NMAA now has cadets representing all four years!


For the past couple of weeks, the freshman cadets have had marching practice a couple times a day. One day, about a week ago, I was walking across the quad area (where the four dorm buildings are located) with the physics faculty while one of these practices was going on. There was a drummer trying to keep time and the freshman cadets were trying to keep in step. They weren’t doing too well. I mentioned (like I frequently do without a tajemon, through some pantomime, facial expressions, disjointed Dari phrases and a few grunt) that the cadets looked pretty good. The faculty laughed and said, “no, they do not look very good.” I then tried to explain that what I meant, was that it was nice to see them all together, working together, trying to march in unison together. I put my hand over my chest which is the sign of respect in Afghanistan and said, “It gives me Afghan pride to see them marching and seeing the good things that NMAA is trying to do.” Then, they realized what I meant. It was partly military pride, but mostly it was just that these young men came from every corner of Afghanistan in the hope of bettering themselves and bettering Afghanistan. The faculty were there to do the same thing. We were there for the same thing. Despite what policies and circumstances brought us to this point, despite the imperfections of the government and systems that are in place, and despite the sometimes seemingly ineffectualness of our “assistance,” the success of NMAA is but one vital component of the overall future stability of Afghanistan.

Natalie asked me if I was “hob-knobbing” with all the rank milling about. Not my style. Instead, Lem and I went up on the roof of one of the dormitories to observe the whole ceremony and take pictures. From up there, we could see the whole thing – probably the best view of the pomp and circumstance. During the festivities, the MOD first arrived and walked down the red carpet to review all the members of the various military bands. Then he proceeded over to the cadet groups and reviewed them too. A prayer was given and then the Superintendent introduced the MOD and then the MOD spoke to the cadets. Toward the end, he said in English how glad he was that the U.S. and Turkey were helping to shape the future of Afghanistan. He forgot the French – Marten is the only representative, but nonetheless – contributing much. Awards were given to some senior cadets, then there were a few awards given to faculty, and a few to support personnel like the Afghan contractors that are renovating the facilities at NMAA. From the roof, I caught SSgt Herbert (who is in charge of all the contractors and coordinator of renovations) gather up all his contractors for a group photo after they had received their awards. I told him later how I saw him being all proud about his posse – and he just laughed and said, “yeah, I am.”

Then it was time for the cadets to “pass in review.” The music began and then the cadets began marching in unison – group by group – in front of the main viewing area. The seniors first, who had been doing this for three-plus years, looked really good. By the time the freshman were marching by, well … you could tell they hadn’t been doing it that long. But, it was quite impressive to see it all going on.

Connecting the Dots …

Last shambay, before classes started, Lem and I decided to try and set up a physics-mathematics faculty development opportunity. Lem, like me, has been emphasizing the use of contextual applications to teach. That is, use real-world situations to illustrate, teach, and understand the material of the courses. Like I’ve mentioned before, this is something new to the faculty – most of whom, studied and learned how to teach under the Soviet model of strict lecture, or instructor-centric learning. Use of applications is one way to make learning more student-centric, where students learn through their own experience and investigation. I’ve been training the physics faculty on the use of their lab and demonstration equipment. So, Lem and I came up with a plan to have the physics instructors give mini-lessons on four or five of the topics that we have been covering, by demonstrating the equipment. This would give my physics faculty experience using the equipment and give the math faculty the opportunity to see some application-type lessons.


Well, we got them all crammed together in the little room and Lem and I just sat back and watched. I took pictures of the interaction and Lem snapped video. Surprisingly, the NMAA faculty do not interact very much at all – that collegial environment seems absent in many respects, and Lem and I have tried a few things to bring at least the physics and math faculties together. Well, it went great and the mere hour we had (before the departing bus came) was not enough. The math instructors asked wonderful questions about each demonstration and the physics faculty used various approaches to explain what was going on. It was really a pinnacle to everything we have been trying to do.

As of today, if all goes well, I will be home in three weeks. So, I plan on spending the remainder of my days, just observing the science faculty in action in the classroom. This week, Martin and I managed to visit all of the physics faculty for one class period. We’ll get to the chemistry and geography instructors this week and probably and then start over again. I have to admit, that I wasn’t sure what to expect from them. They were eager for us to observe them, but I half expected to just see them lecture the whole time – reverting back to the easy road of lecturing to the students. But, you know what, they did great – they were careful to ask nearly every cadet a question during class, or get cadets to come to the board to write something. What I really liked, was their genuine enthusiasm in the classroom. I mentioned to Maj Khaber what a good job he did, and he said, “Thank-you, it is my job.” Exactly! I also think that the enthusiasm the faculty display motivates the cadets in some respects – they were very attentive and I can’t believe that it was only because Marten and I were present. And, all of the teachers had used at least one method of teaching or one little tidbit we had discussed. And, when they did, they gave me a little wink and smile. Ah, there’s that feeling of small success.

One of the things each of the teachers tried to implement in their class was a little homework problem I had developed for them to use. The lesson involved the system of units and measurements and the little activity was for the cadets to measure the dimensions of various objects (their book, their desk, their room, their bed, etc.) and then calculate the area and volume of these objects and include the proper units. Each of the instructors assigned this homework problem and each classroom the same thing happened. A cadet would raise his hand and then say something like, “we do not have rulers to measure anything.” Darn! It was true, we had neglected to consider that students are issued very few items and rulers are not one of them. The instructors don’t even have rulers (until I found a few in our storage closet after the fact). And, each time, the teachers stood there a little stymied, not sure what to do. So, I came out of my role as observer and suggested (through gesturing) that the students “estimate” the dimension by using a digit on their finger to represent two centimeters, or their measure their pen before class and use that to measure dimensions, or estimate the size of a piece of paper or floor tile to estimate dimensions. The teachers and students seemed satisfied with this solution, but maybe I need to start a “Colorado for NMAA” drive to get basic supplies for the faculty and students. Actually, we can get supplies, but it takes a really long time because any purchases have to go through the complicated procurements and contracting maze. For example, every cadet and faculty member should be issued a calculator, ruler or key-chain tape measure, pens, pencils, notepads, etc. They have some of these, but like I just stated, they don’t have rulers which is quite essential for many courses. Also, they have nice dry erase whiteboards in the classrooms and enough markers, but no erasers. Anyway, that’s enough of that, got a little off-track – it’s just frustrating.

What I wanted to convey was that the instructors will do just fine. They won’t be doing things exactly how I would do them necessarily, but they have their own teaching personalities and there isn’t one recipe to effective teaching. But, they are all very enthusiastic about doing their jobs well – helping the cadets learn – and that is going to go a long way.

Make IPDs Not Barricades!


Over the last few weeks, we’ve had numerous IPDs show up around camp KAIA and NMAA. Hold on, don’t get it confused with IEDs – improvised explosive devices. IPDs are “improvised picnic devices.” Spring is in the air and you can see Afghans enjoying lunch or tea outdoors on blankets or IPDs (bits of wood with cinder blocks for example). On camp KAIA, we’ve discovered several brand new IPDs popping up in little nooks in the various boroughs. At the same time, we’ve recently had a few large barricades show up too around the camp as protective measures. Like the old adage, “make love, not war!” I say, “make IPDs, not barricades!”

Or, how about rebuilding Afghanistan through education rather than with guns - check out the cadets marching to class with books and not weapons!

A Czech Nurse Makes a House Call

As you may recall, the Czech contingent of KAIA consists mainly of female medical personnel and garner the most attention of any other coalition members. There are rumors of freak and frequent strange ailments that necessitate frequent visits to the Czech medical facilities. You many also remember the joke that Lem had made shortly after we arrived her that he wanted to buy a Czech nurse outfit for his wife, so they could “play ISAF” when he got home. Well, this week, Lem developed a sinus infection from all the Afghan dust and wanted to head over to the Czech medical group to get some meds. It was quite coincidental then, that Martin had come up with a plan to procure a Czech nurse outfit. It was a truly international effort. Martin (French) coordinated with a Turk who knew a couple of Czech nurses. They made the pickup on Monday night, but Martin could only borrow the uniform. So, he decided that he would dress up in the uniform. He solicited my help to try and locate a wig. We visited the Russian barbers, but they didn’t have any, then we visited the bazaar and found a wig in one of the shops run by two sisters. After some time, we finally convinced them to loan us the wig for $10 and when we returned it, they would give us $5 back. At first they wanted us to buy the wig for $20. On Tuesday morning when Lem was feeling really bad, we secretly gathered all of the NMAA staff in the hallway and then brought Lem out of the office and Martin came out in the Czech nurse outfit for a “house call.” It was hilarious.

French Shout Out

Not only should the French get a “shout out” for Martin’s demonstration just how far the French will go for the sake of international relations or recognition, but France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy was visiting the UK this week and
expressed the importance of the coalition to succeed in Afghanistan. He has pledged increased support to operations in Afghanistan. Oh, and by the way, his new wife - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy - is quite beautiful too.

Finally, it was revealed this week that the first recording of the human voice was actually not done by the American Thomas Edison, but by a French man nearly 17 years earlier. I heard this so-called recording on the BBC and you have to have a pretty good imagination to actually hear the French song, but hey, let’s have France have their glory.

Here's some miscellaneous pics: LTC Henshaw seeking some alone time with his new friend. Yama and his Dad, who I just found out is one of NMAA's history teachers. And, NMAA's take on an anti-smoking campaign, and Khoja tending "his" gardens ...













Thanks for reading and I can't wait to get home!

Empty Backpack Campaign

Thanks to everyone that has helped out and thanks to the early birds who have already sent filled backpacks. We are well on our way. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please keep the supplies coming!

Well, the website is up and running!!!

Colorado for Kabul Kids Empty Backpack Campaign

Please pass it on to everyone you can ... The website will continue to evolve, so standby ... And, you don't have to be from Colorado to participate - "come one, and come all!" And you don't have to wait to contribute - start now.

Classes will begin after the Islamic new year (March 20), so please hurry and send your filled backpacks and supplies!

A Little of This, a Little That

Shortly after we arrived at NMAA this morning (Thursday), there was a suicide bomber attack on an American convoy not far from NMAA. The convoy consisted of two American up-armored vehicles. The suicide car rammed into one of the vehicles and then blew up. No one in the vehicle was hurt - a few bruises - the armor and glass does its job well. However, there were 6-8 civilians on the road killed. We were worried because we got word that some of the NMAA faculty might have been nearby during the incident – it occurred during the morning rush hour. Fortunately, none of the NMAA faculty were injured. Unfortunately, as is always the case, innocent civilians trying to just live their lives were the casualties. As suspected and is the trend, the warmer weather has brought about an escalation of terror by the Taliban. Here's a couple of links of information:

CNN
New York Times

Bad Day Also, Thursday morning was Dr. Wali's last day. He had mentioned last week that he might take an interpreter job at Camp Eggers, in the medical unit. He asked Lem and I what he should do. We both suggested that the Eggers gig would be better for him, because he would actually be working in his area of expertise and it could help him get to America faster. So, today he left. I am happy for him, but sad for us and NMAA. He was the best terp we have right now, but he is moving on to better things. He became a very dear friend.




Faculty Bios

This week I decided to put together some brief bios of all the science faculty. My idea was to take their pictures, and provide some basic data (name, specialty, work and teaching experience, etc.) in a binder or folder. We do this at the Air Force Academy and post them in the halls so students can get to know us. I thought this would be a good idea for here too, but I was mainly doing it so there would be some sort of record of who the faculty were and their experience, so they could have a copy themselves (sort of like a little resume), and future mentors could come here and get a jump start on who the science faculty were.

I drafted a form with several questions, had the terps translate it and then I gave it to the faculty. They then provided the answers, which had to be translated back to English. I put together some drafts with their pictures, and then had to interview each to fill in the blanks or clarify the information they provided. One of my questions, was “Have you received any awards for your teaching or military service.” All of them replied, “many” or “yes” or something equally vague. So, part of the clarification was to get the details. After discussing that I wanted more specific information about their awards they all seemed a little uneasy and embarrassed. They were embarrassed because they didn’t have any documentation of their awards – none of them did. They said that when the Taliban took over, that many people were killed (just one of the many excuses the Taliban used to kill people) for having documents showing that they were educated or worked for the previous government. So, people would shred and then burn their documentation – including award certificates and letters of recognition. Many of them related how they had seen with their own eyes, friends or family being shot and killed for having such documentation. The Taliban would rip up the documentation in the victim’s face and then shoot the person dead! Sickening!

Also, some of them, for obvious reasons, had gaps in their teaching history. Yet, others didn’t – they continued to work at the Afghan Air Force Academy during the Taliban rule. I asked how they all came about – what did they teach at the Afghan Air Force Academy during the Taliban rule. They said matter-of-factly, “We just taught the same stuff – physics, the students had just changed and there were more of them, and they were Taliban. The Taliban still needed educated fighters.” They were a little embarrassed by this – that they had worked for the Taliban – but I knew and they affirmed that they were just trying to do what they needed to do to survive. I made the comment, half jokingly, that maybe all their new and many Taliban students weren’t really Taliban – they were just saying they were so they could get an education. They all laughed and said, “yes, of course!” It makes one think, and I’ve mentioned it before, that the loyalties of the Afghan people are fluid. They are survivors and at any given moment, 1/3 of the people are supporting the government, 1/3 are supporting the Taliban (or some sort of opposition), and 1/3 are sitting on the fence – but, all of them are doing what they need to do to survive. Makes complete sense for a people that have had to endure so much strife and violence for so long – they are all hedging their bets!

A Khoja Adventure

Lem loaned his camera to Khoja a couple of weeks ago for a jumma, so Khoja could take pictures of his family and his house and neighborhood for us because we won’t ever be able to go outside the wire to see these things. He brought us back some pictures (four of just his TV!!) which included the mosque closest to his house, clothing shops, and pictures of his family. Khoja is the oldest of 3 brothers that live with his mother and father. He also has a sister who is married with 3 kids and lives in Pakistan. He is very close to his brothers and they spend time working out together nearly every day. His youngest brother had polio when he was younger and one of his legs is atrophied. There extended family lives a simple life, but from what Khoja says, they are happy. Some of the pictures that Khoja showed us were of clothing stores. He wanted us to pick clothes to buy for our wives and for ourselves. So, one day we took the pertinent measurements (shoulders, shoulders-to-wrist, shoulders to mid-calf, and waist-to-foot) so he could buy our “man-jammies” as they have become known by the American soldiers. These traditional Afghan men’s clothing are basically some long pants, with an oversized (i.e. long) shirt. After measuring and picking our styles, Khoja said he would be on the hunt for suits for me, Lem, and Marten. I picked black, Lem picked white, and Marten picked blue.




This past week, Khoja arrived one morning to present us with our man-jammies. He was very proud and he told us how difficult it was. He said he went to one store where he had to order the material, then another store where the tailor made the suit, then another shop for the embroidery, and then another store for them to be folded and packed neatly into little cellophane bags. We thanked him and paid him and after work, tried them on to take pictures so we could let Khoja see. They really are quite nice and will surely be comfortable. What’s funny though are the pants. The pants are absolutely gihugic. They are meant to be bunched up at the waist with a belt, but they are just really funny to see for the first time before you put them on …

Also this week, we got Khoja to show us where he lives with Google Earth. If you haven’t already done so, you really must check Google Earth out – you can zoom onto most any location (address, city, etc.) on earth and see a satellite image of the location. Khoja thought it was amazing to be able to see his house and navigate from our houses in Colorado all the way to his house in Kabul Afghanistan. We printed out the images of his house so he could show his family. Marten even got into it and showed us his house in Montpelier France. The quality of the shots was amazing, not only could we identify his mother’s car in the parking lot, but we could actually see his patio furniture and maybe even his cat on the terrace of his house. He and Khoja both appreciated being able to see where Lem and I come from.

Women’s Day

As many of you recall, March 8 was International Women’s Day and even Afghanistan got in on it. President Karzai pleaded (click here to read more) with his countrymen to stop forcing the country’s young women (and girls) into arranged marriages with men several decades older. He suggested that women should be educated. Sarcasm would say that the girls could get educated until the “legal” age of 16 and then get forced to marry. And, then perhaps not to a man several decades older, but maybe a man just a few decades older. Well, the fact that it even got any mention in this country or this part of the world is a huge, um, baby step.

The faculty were very proud that Afghanistan was participating in this international celebration. I think they really like the fact that they were part of a much bigger and global activity. I asked several faculty, what Women’s Day meant for the women of Afghanistan and all of them, as if it were rehearsed, would say, “It’s a day to show appreciation for our womans.” I then asked them how exactly they showed their appreciation – did the women have a day off from house chores? And, invariable, I would get the same response after a short chuckle, “No, they must still work at houses and take care of kids, animals, shopping, cooking, etc. - we simply recognize them for appreciation.” Well, baby steps …

Sgt B, who just joined our NMAA team a few weeks ago, met with all the women of NMAA (1 terp, 2 librarians, a few kitchen ladies) and had a little gathering to have tea. They had a good chat apparently and really appreciated getting to know Sgt B and having a special time for them to get together. They decided to try and do it more often.

“Googletalize” Your Life

When I worked for the Scientific Advisory Board (nearly 10 years ago now), one of the first trips I took included going to meet the founders of Google. They had just started out and had garnered quite a bit of interest. One of the things that impressed me on that trip was what made Google unique among the way its search engine worked. Up until that time, internet search engines were fairly simple in that whatever phrase or word you plugged in would be searched among all of the millions of titles of websites at the time, or possibly even in some of the front page text. The higher up in the file structure of the website’s hierarchy the phrase appeared, the higher priority the website was given as a match to the users’ search parameters. However, Google’s search engine worked differently. Instead of finding your word or phrase in website titles, Google prioritized sites by the number of times a website was referred to or linked to by other websites. That is, the more a website was referred to, then obviously that website must have offer something that not only other websites felt was important, but surely would be more beneficial to users. It was (is) truly a paradigm shift in how to find information.

I have heard some say, that you can measure yourself by how you love, through your actions or inaction, by what you accomplish, by what you say, or by how much wealth you accumulate. Some say that you measure yourself by the people that measure themselves by you. This seems to fit the Google analogy mentioned above. Maybe the greatest success we can achieve is inspiring others.

I was fortunate to experience something of this nature this week. There is a young Afghan who NMAA is trying to hire for a physics position. I interviewed him a few weeks ago and recommended that we hire him. Unfortunately, there won’t be any positions available until this summer. But, Col Raghi invited him to “volunteer” to teach for free until NMAA might be able to hire him. I invited him to participate in my faculty get togethers as well. He has been faithfully participating in everything we have been doing for the last few weeks. Yama is extremely enthusiastic (and only 22 years old). The other day, I went to ask the faculty to come up with two more projects we needed for the first semester syllabus. He did not hesitate and volunteered to do one of the projects.

The next morning, he came into my office very excited. He had made a beautiful poster (in Dari) illustrating the theory and equations behind Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion. He was so very proud and said that he had worked all night to get it done. I said, “It was great work and I appreciate you doing it, but you didn’t have to get it done right away.” He started speaking rapidly and lost me fairly quickly, so I asked Dr. Wali to help out. And you know what Yama said to me? He said, “I didn’t want to let you down, I wanted to make you proud, I wanted to help make NMAA a better place. You work so hard for NMAA and Afghanistan and we should too.” Wow! It was quite humbling and all I could say to him was, “Tasheqor, rafik!” “Thank-you, my friend!” And then we shook hands and made a loud clap when our hands met. He put his left hand on top of our clasped hands and just looked at me and smiled for just a moment. Now, that felt like a success.

To Hoop, or Not to Hoop

As we were driving out today, there were cadets playing soccer in one field, a group playing volleyball and a bunch doing bar dips and pull-ups. It was spring in Kabul I guess ... very nice. So, the next day (Tuesday), Marten and I went to play a little basketball. It was kinda hard to play with my ABUs and weapon on, but we just wanted to get out in the sunshine and shoot a little. So we headed out. Well, all of the new cadets are back now and they were sitting in the courtyard between the dorms and we had to walk thru to get to the hoops. They saw us and immediately wanted to talk – to speak English. We got to the hoops and started shooting. A bunch started watching, then a couple of brave ones wanted to shoot so we let them. After about 3 minutes – every one of them (~ 150) were surrounding us, wanting to try. It was getting pretty chaotic and they were collapsing in all around us, so I broke them into 2 lines to take turns shooting.



They were funny, they would just laugh when people would miss and then they would all cheer and clap if someone made it. They had never played before and Marten and I were just cracking. They were so uninhibited to try and they were all such kids. Then they kept calling me Morris because they saw my name on my uniform and could read it. They kept saying, “Mr. Morris, I turn” or “Mr. Morris, hello.” It turned out that Marten and I didn’t get to shoot much at all. Tthey kept wanting me to shoot, so I did a couple of times, but I just kept letting them. It was fun and neat to see them laughing so much and having so much fun and just being kids ...



Marten was funny too. He is so young himself - he said, “Maybe we should make two teams of 5 so they can play a game?” I said, “Marten, there are 150 of them, they are laughing and having fun, just trying to do simple shots. Let's leave them be ...” He, said, "yes, of course, you are right." Later, he was inspired to make a physics problem about basketball. He was explaining it to me and then he said, "…then a cadet shoot the ball into the ....what's that called?" I said “the basket ...” Then the light bulb went off in his head - "Ah, that is why they call it basketball." We both laughed at that.



The cadets were disappointed when marten and I had to leave - they were doing work and wanted to play some more when they were done - I told them we'd be back. They were unloading all their new bunkbeds and trunks to put in their rooms. I told this story to Natalie and she ask “Do you think they think it's weird for a Lt. Col to be out there playing?” I don't think they know better. I think they thought it was cool that this old guy with gray hair was playing basketball and letting them play and laughing and having fun with them. They definitely thought it was cool that I was an American. I’m not sure they cared that Marten was French, but I think they liked Marten because he is just a kid like them too.

Marten has accepted a challenge from LTC Tim for a weekly basketball match on panj shambay (Thursdays). We're going to have a 5 on 5 basketball game after work - should be fun. Marten is our manager and Tim is for the other team. Marten is very energetic is everything he does and has designed cartoon characters of us and he wants to make t-shirts. He put photos of our heads on cartoon characters - he even did Khoja. Check us out!


Here are a couple of things that spread a little cheer:

Pi Day

One of the problems of living with a math teacher is that he expresses a bit of geekiness from time to time. And, he has many math friends that practice being geeky on a full time basis. Lem received an email from one, reminding him that March 14 is “Pi Day,” that is “π” Day. The number π is a non-repeating real number equal to 3.14159 … So, March 14, can be represented by 3.14 and to go along with that, everyone should eat pie at 1:59 pm. Get it? Ha! Ha! From my undergraduate days, in nuclear engineering we seemed to often have to convert quantities of stuff per second to stuff per year. After doing this countless times the long way, I realized that there are actually about πx10⁷ seconds in one year and I’ve been using it (whenever the need arises) ever since. Okay, I’m a bit of a geek too. Here are some other Pi Day sites you can click to:

A Pi Day Website
Another Pi Day website (complete with limericks)
Pi, Pi, Mathematical Pi (song segment)
More Pi music
Pi Sudoku (free for downloading and printing)

Jumma Song (to the tune of Mama’s Little Baby Loves Short’nin’ Bread)

This is dedicated to my old friend "Mike Diesel" who sent me an email this week that made me laugh out loud when I read it. Thanks!

Meetings are over, faculty are gone
Today is jumma eve, so it won’t be long
Get all your gear, it’s almost here
Let’s get movin’ to what we hold so dear

All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma, jumma
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma day.
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma, jumma
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma day.

Head to the DFAC, it’s pizza tonight
Rumor has it, there’s also cherry pie
Finish it up, it’s movie time
You want “There Will Be Blood”, but “Charlie Wilson’s War” is mine

All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma, jumma
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma day.
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma, jumma
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma day.

Sleep in late, no rush to the morn
Jumma’s our day, a day to be reborn
Refresh our minds, refresh our hearts
Jumma goes quick, then a new week starts

All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma, jumma
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma day.
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma, jumma
All of NMAA’s mentors love jumma day.

Thanks for reading.

Empty Backpack Campaign

Well, the website is not quite completely functional, but I want to get it out there, so here is the link to the

Colorado for Kabul Kids Empty Backpack Campaign

Please pass it on to everyone you can ... The website will continue to evolve, so standby ... And, you don't have to be from Colorado to participate - "come one, and come all!" And you don't have to wait to contribute - start now.

It is really beginning to warm up here, which means classes for kids will begin soon - probably in just a few weeks (school schedules here are based on the weather and seasons). So, please consider helping out with the Empty Backpack Campaign.

Hope and Determination

I came across a recent and interesting interview of Sarah Chayes (author of The Punishment of Virtue) by Bill Moyers. You can view the interview or read the transcript here.

Per usual, she pulled no punches and really dug in on NATO and the U.S., the Afghan government, and Pakistan’s (and indirectly, the U.S.’s) formation and backing of the Taliban, to mention a few. She is amazingly articulate, brash to an extreme, but oh so caring for the people of Afghanistan. They truly have a “rafik” (i.e., freind) in Sarah Chayes.

However, I have to say I have to disagree with some of her closing comment, "I don't think that hope is relevant. I think determination is all that counts. You just have to try. It doesn't matter if you hope you're going succeed or not. You have to keep trying." I know what she is saying, but I truly believe that it is hope that fuels determination to a great extent. Even false hope can charge the heart to endure – to be determined, as it were. Isn’t that what many Afghans do already? Perhaps she was referring more to the international community “hoping” that things will work out in Afghanistan if we just keep pouring money into the corrupt black hole that exists?

Although my experience is extremely limited here in Afghanistan and truly not out in the community like Sarah's, I have noticed at NMAA that the Afghans I come into contact with really are lacking in hope and really don’t have much faith in their government (as she also mentioned in the interview). Hmm, isn’t having faith, having hope? And, why should they hold out for any hope in their futures, they’ve had three decades of terrible war in their country and as I hear over and over, “we have had to rebuild again from nothing.” It’s strange because on one hand they really want to live peacefully, to have and give respect, to prosper; but on the other hand, they really do lack the determination that she alludes to as being so essential to achieve that.


There is a puppy outside the gates of NMAA every morning waiting for us to drive through because he hopes that we will feed him. He wags his tail at the sight of our vehicles and runs around excitedly, but crouches down so low and submissively if approached by anyone. I can’t help but to think that this dog and its behavior are a reflection of the Afghan people. Dogs have it rough here and this dog has never had anything to look forward to until a couple of months ago when it stumbled upon these dog-loving Americans. It’s adjusting, but it is terribly difficult for that dog to trust, and perhaps hope that we’ll be driving in the next day.

One of the more frustrating things I’ve encountered here is the Afghan ability and tendency to be completely non-committal to schedules or planning. Assuredly because of the attitude of “what’s the sense of planning anything when it could all be gone or they could all be dead tomorrow?” Things will get done – “Enshala” (by Allah's will)! I came here to try and accomplish some things, and of course have had to curb that way back because of the reality of the situation. But, I have made headway in several areas – small victories, that would not have come about at all if it weren’t for me pushing my Afghan team of instructors to try thinking in a different way. And, they aren’t victories for me, they are victories for them and most of those stem from them just working as a team, standing up for just few basic rights, and making changes – not for the sake of change – but because that change is what will help them, help themselves.

I think a big part of my job here is to help them think in a different way, to help them realize that it is o.k. to have hope and that determination can pay off. I think I’m here to carry that hope for them to some extent and by doing so, it provides fuel for their own determination. Whether it’s me acting goofy in the classroom, or “lowering myself” by willing to grab a mop to get our new storage room ready, or being overly determined in practicing a new Dari phrase on them every day, I think they can sense that I have hope for them and for Afghanistan. Of course, Sarah is right - I can have all the hope in the world, but determination is really what will get things done here, but really, the hope through compassion has to come first. In my opinion, that’s exactly what Sarah Chayes has done herself.

So, what do you think? Is hope irrelevant and determination for the sake of survival all that matters? Is Sarah Chayes hardened from her experiences in Afghanistan and living by determination arising from the frustrations of dealing with a corrupt government and a hopeless society? Are the people of Afghanistan just truly an exceptionally "yahastan" (ungovernable) people as Sarah Chayes has referred to them before? Start blogging ...

DISCLAIMER: Per GO-1A, Paragraph 2i, the NMAA military personnel have not adopted this or any other animal or living creature as a "mascot" which may hinder them from performing their duties. If you are a dog-loving American that would consider helping the stray animals of Afghanistan, check out the Afghan Stray Animal League and this story about soldiers and their prohibited pets.