Problog

Hello and welcome to my blog. It is a blog about an Air Force Physician that was reluctantly deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan for 6 months.

I have to admit, I did not exactly volunteer for the deployment, and I was a little anxious about how it would all turn out. I ended up making the best of it, and surprisingly, I actually had a pleasant, life changing, experience.

I decided to keep the blog up and running because I kept on hearing, "Why is it that you only hear the bad news coming from Iraq and Afghanistan." I figured that I was helping spread a positive message about what we are doing over. Even more important, I wanted to continue to spread the word about the plight of the Afghan people, 99.9% of which are the most incredibly friendly people that you will ever meet. The title picture is a great example of that. I have never encountered such genuinely warm and friendly people. It was so strange to see so many people with so little material objects, yet at the same time, filled with so much of the joy that comes with close family ties, abundant friends, and a close knit community. We could definetly learn a lot from them.

You may notice, as you read the blog in its entirety, my arc. I shift from focusing on myself and my personal comforts, to shifting my focus on the Afghan cause. It is very easy to get distracted by the hustle of daily life and the comforts that the U.S. provides. It is really a challenge to awake from that coma and to start to care and think about the welfare of other people unrelated to you. I think it really took me about 4 or 5 months before I really opened my eyes and became personally affected by what I was experiencing. I hope I was able to recreate it.

I have tried to keep the blog squeaky clean so as to not offend anyone (or get me in trouble-I am still in the military). Even though I am a political junky with very strong personal opinions I have been steadfast in keeping this site free of any politics. I was called to do a job and I tried to do it to the best of my ability regardless of my political stance.

I recreated the blog to read more like a book, or should I say blook (get used to the corniness it only gets worse from here) just to make it an easier read. I have removed some names and pictures just to keep it more anonymous. I hope that it helps in making it less about me and more about the cause.

Lastly, in the spirit of the blog, I decided to include the Chipin Widget that I used to raise money for Nazia. If I get any additional money I will send the funds to The Women of Hope Project and someone over in Kabul will discretely give it to her (unless I hear otherwise). You can also contribute directly to the Women of Hope Project website. They are a wonderful cause. If you enjoy this blog then feel free to contribute. I am sure that once you read her story you will be very moved.

So kick back. Get ready to hopefully laugh and definitely cry.
If you like what you read then post a comment. I will be continuously editing this site in an attempt to improve it. Who knows maybe one day it will become a book!

Enjoy. Thanks for reading.

-Shazdoc

Today Show Clip

Chipin Widget

Monday, April 28, 2008

Buzkashi

“Yak roz didi dost. Digar roz didi brodar”
Friendship grows into brotherhood
Literally: One day you see a friend. The next day you see a brother.
-Afghan Proverb

Last night I decided to go see Bill O’Riley just for the fun of it. I am not really a fan of his show but I thought that it may be a fun to see a celebrity. I walked down to the coffee shop called The Coffee Bean. Right away I saw a long line. I was not sure if he was going to give a little speech or what but I was curious so I decided to wait . Shortly after getting in line I saw him walk towards the back of the line. He was with a small entourage and was being escorted by a General. He must not of been in a very good mood because had an obvious scowl on his face. When I snapped a picture he stopped in his tracks and gave me the stink eye. I am not sure why. He might have been jet lagged so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. It ended up that he was only signing books and mugs so I decided to leave.

The next morning I saw his crew in the Goat House which is one of the two places around here where you can eat. I had to laugh to myself because they, of course, are from Fox News and CNN was playing on the TV. I had a really nice breakfast with 2 Albanians.

I just moved into my permanent housing. I have a descent size room with a very nice roommate. I really can not complain. I helped LtCol Johnson move into his new room and I visited my friend Adam. Here is a picture of him in his room.


Adam is an absolute crack up. My other good friend Puffy had to go back to the states for family medical reasons. He should be coming back by the end of the month. I am looking forward to it.

I thought that it would be fun to discuss some Afghan history and culture every so often. I will do it in pieces so as to not bore you too much. I find it to be extremely interesting and I hope you do too.

Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan. It is usually played around Oct through Nov. 20. The way it is played is 30 horsemen will split into 2 teams. This is not an absolute rule because at times hundreds even thousands of horses and riders take part. The aim is to get a decapitated calf weighing around 150 pounds to a heavily defended marked point and back again to the starting point.

Here is a Wikapedia article on the topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi

Thanks for reading.
Posted by at

2 comments:

Flag Gazer said...

I flipped on FOX this morning and they were making a big deal out of O'Reilly being away on secret assignment - AH HA!

November 17, 2007 at 11:04 AM
Anonymous said...

Hi everyone.

I truly enjoy this website, keep up the good work!
Let me know what you think about my explanations regarding hypnotherapy.

September 9, 2010 at 3:38 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)