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!