Wednesday March 14

Today started pretty normal. I slept mostly until my alarm at 6:30 for the first time. I was showered and ready for the class. I even had time to read a little last night after my prep. We were developing a routine. Before breakfast, John went out to get some coffee and I took some time to read my Bible. (I am making my way through Luke making it the first time in a long time I have lingered in a gospel…though I am finding the language of the Psalms to be really resonating with me here. I try to read one at the beginning and end of the day.) While I was reading…BOOM!! The little window in our basement apartment rattled and shook. Actually, the window shook before the sonic wave hit us so for a second it sounded like a tornado strength wind…until I heard the explosion (and echoes). John came back and we met up with the other two people in the house (USAIDers). I called Amanda immediately and, for the first time, got through. I left a message. John and I decided to get ready to go. We had breakfast and then called the motor pool to confirm our 8:30 pickup. The motor pool was locked down. We weren’t going anywhere. We called the ministry to tell them we weren’t coming. They said it was just a propane gas line explosion and that the Army would lift the lock down. We called Dan. He had heard it was a gunpowder stash. Regardless, the motor pool was scheduled to be released at 900 so it looks like we might be able to get in today anyway.

I had a bunch of fresh pineapple and cottage cheese for breakfast and John said that pineapple is supposed to make you dream and remember your dreams. Hmm. It feels like in the dream I remembered I was in a compound in Afghanistan with government aid workers (and we were sharing bowling ball sized chocolates…it was a dream after all). Funny.

One of the AID workers here is working with locals in one of the provinces to train them in maintenance of their new micro-hydro plants. Apparently the Corps is looking for an engineer to help build these units. The woman at our house said that the Corps is good at building these little projects and that they are really useful. Seems compelling. It is a sustainable, local technology that would certainly be applicable elsewhere in the developing world. Wayne is going to have something to say if I spend some time working on micro-hydro. Maybe he should go.

Over the Rhine oddly makes me feel at home. I’m listening to Ohio now and feel like she is describing a place that has a sense of gravity for me, especially when I am in half a world away.

We finally left and actually got to class on time. I gave the toughest lecture and it was slow going. Two and a half hours. The first workshop is this afternoon.

I found out today that Kandahar means 5 brothers referring to the legend in which 5 brothers were sent south to build and ancient dam. Water engineering is even in their lore here.

The class went really well today. I had the most technical lecture of the class first. It took 2.5 hours with translation. I think some thought it was of marginal applicability but I think most got something out of it. I probably should have gone with a simpler routing lecture. After lunch we did the first workshop. It started out a little rocky, with us walking them step by step…but by the end most caught on. Some stayed late and most finished the workshop to their delight. It was a really positive experience and, I think, a bonding point for the class. I think my relationships with them developed more over those 3 hours than the previous 2.5 days. John said it was his favorite day in Afghanistan and one of his favorites as an engineer to be able to work along side them

A couple other thoughts.

John’s quote “How better to make life long friends than a bomb blast and a very bad bathroom.” About hanging out with the 2 AID PRT’s in our house after the blast.

I am really enjoying Charles Williams Descent into Hell, he seems to be exploring the idea of ‘the terrible good.’ It’s a really fruitful line of thought. His characters are really layered. I love his description of real life situations. He is poetic without seeming self important. His dream and fantasy sequences are ponderous, though.