6 Months In Kabul: Laughing Camels

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

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Laughing Camels

The title picture was not taken by me. It was sent to me from someone that participated in a previous VCR drop.

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”
-Khalil Gibran

That quote is courtesy of a reader. I really like it. What a great way to turn something that is negative into a positive. The quote is kind of is fitting for the week that I have been having. I have found that if you have a positive attitude then it will usually outlast whatever difficult time you may be having.

I am about to have an overdose of Swedish Fish. I just can not stop eating them. They came as part of a care package. Today was our one "low tempo" day of the week (our one day off). The VCR program planted apple trees today but I was just too tired to participate. I heard that it was a lot of fun.

Take a look at the mail that came in today.

This care package from someone from Sherman Oaks, California. I added that garland to the tree already. I got so many movies today that I decided to dedicate an entire shelf in our office so everyone can enjoy them.

Someone from Encino, California sent me a CD with a very nice card.

Here are some more movies and CDs. This package was from the Books For Soldiers group. They must have sent us 30 CDs. I thought that one of the band's title was really funny, The Flesh Eaters.

These cookies are from "The Cookie Lady" and her "Crumbs" from Treat the Troops. It came with a number of really great letters. One of the bakers calls herself an "Old Crumb." She says that she has been baking for 9 years.

Here are some presents for some of our team members from an Angle from Inyokern, California. I put them under the tree already.

Some stuff for kids- hats, sandals, stuffed animals. I will give these to the VCR program.

A ton of cards from second graders from Surprise, Arizona. Here are some other team members that you may not recognize.

Lastly, I wanted to end with a great picture of Adam when he was in Herat. He is so full of positive energy and a really fun person to be around. He has helped to make this deployment really fun. Here he is goofing around with a camel.