Thursday, June 7, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Trip to Panjshir
A few days ago we were able to make a trip to Panjshir with ADRA. Probably the most memorable part of our trip to Panjshir was on the way there and on the way back.
On the way there we met some Cuchis who had lots of camels. They even let us take pictures of them.
The way back was a totally different story. We took 2 cars. My family was in the old vehicle with Ayub, Serge, and Twyla. The rest were in the new land cruiser.
The old truck has lots of problems and is constantly having to be repaired. Thankfully, on the way to Panjshir it only stalled a few times. But, on the way out it seemed like every time we went down hill it stalled. When we saw ADRA ahead of us taking pics, we decided to stop and take pics to. The only problem with stopping is that once we decided to get in the car and leave, the car refused to start. (ADRA had already left.) So, the next option was for the guys to get out and push. After a little pushing it started again. It seemed to just get worse and worse. When we finally got to Charekar the truck decided to stall again. Except this time in traffic. But, when the villagers realized we were having trouble an old man asked if we wanted him to push the car for us. It started and we went on our way. When we finally got on the road to Kabul it seemed like it stalled at every bump in the road. As we were passing mechanic shops it stalled and we decided to stop and get it checked. About 10 minutes and 4 dollars later they had it "fixed". At first it ran pretty smoothly. But, when we got to Kabul it was stalling at every bump again. When we finally got to the appartments, Ayub told us to quickly get out of the car so that he wouldn't have to get it started up again. It turned off anyway. This time it refused to start so he took the new land cruiser home. I thought it had died for the last time. Fortunetly, it still works.
Camels
The truck being worked on
On the way there we met some Cuchis who had lots of camels. They even let us take pictures of them.
The way back was a totally different story. We took 2 cars. My family was in the old vehicle with Ayub, Serge, and Twyla. The rest were in the new land cruiser.
The old truck has lots of problems and is constantly having to be repaired. Thankfully, on the way to Panjshir it only stalled a few times. But, on the way out it seemed like every time we went down hill it stalled. When we saw ADRA ahead of us taking pics, we decided to stop and take pics to. The only problem with stopping is that once we decided to get in the car and leave, the car refused to start. (ADRA had already left.) So, the next option was for the guys to get out and push. After a little pushing it started again. It seemed to just get worse and worse. When we finally got to Charekar the truck decided to stall again. Except this time in traffic. But, when the villagers realized we were having trouble an old man asked if we wanted him to push the car for us. It started and we went on our way. When we finally got on the road to Kabul it seemed like it stalled at every bump in the road. As we were passing mechanic shops it stalled and we decided to stop and get it checked. About 10 minutes and 4 dollars later they had it "fixed". At first it ran pretty smoothly. But, when we got to Kabul it was stalling at every bump again. When we finally got to the appartments, Ayub told us to quickly get out of the car so that he wouldn't have to get it started up again. It turned off anyway. This time it refused to start so he took the new land cruiser home. I thought it had died for the last time. Fortunetly, it still works.
Camels
The truck being worked on
Sunday, April 15, 2007
The New Suzy
There's a new dog on the compound! Yes, you heard me right. When uncle Mike knocked on our door to tell us a dog was coming, I was simply surprised. He had talked about getting another dog, but I didn't think it would happen so soon.
You can tell she wasn't treated very well in the past. She's kinda skiddish and doesn't know what to do when you pet her. She's still a puppy so we'll have to train her not to bite. I have included a few pics so you can see what she looks like. ~Emily
Exploring her new home
The dog and I
You can tell she wasn't treated very well in the past. She's kinda skiddish and doesn't know what to do when you pet her. She's still a puppy so we'll have to train her not to bite. I have included a few pics so you can see what she looks like. ~Emily
Exploring her new home
The dog and I
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
In Honor of Suzy
Yesterday our guard dog died.
She was always very sweet to people she liked. She liked pretty much everyone. Every time I went outside she would come to meet me. She really liked going on walks.
Suzy had another side too. She was especially vicious to other dogs. You would want to stay far away from her if you knew she didn't like you.
She took a lot of pleasure in her job. She'd do her rounds around the compound. She really liked to bark and sound mean.
Often you could see her plotting how to get out the gate and to freedom. Who knows why she thought the world was so much better out there. But, everytime she got out she'd find her way back in the wee hours of the morning.
Recently, she hasn't been acting normal. She seemed to sleep a lot more. When you called her she didn't seem so anxious to see you. Once I even saw her eating grass. She didn't even seem to look wishfully out the gate anymore.
Yesterday morning my Mom and I looked up the symptoms of rabies. She had a few of the symptoms.
While we were taking our walk yesterday, suzy seemed quite normal and was wagging her tail happily. I even mentioned to my Mom that I didn't think she had rabies.
Last night Hakim came to get Dad. He usually doesn't come so late.
The story is that suzy was barking at some dogs at the dump. Suddenly she started to vomit and just keeled over and died.
Who knows why she died. Cheri mentioned that maybe she did have rabies and God let her die early so that she didn't hurt anyone else.
Here are a few pictures of suzy.
Hiking with Suzy
Uncle Sidney and Suzy
UPDATED. The autopsy report says she was probably poisoned. He(Dr. Tom Kraner) found strings in some meat in her stomach. He also said He heard reports that the government was trying to poison dogs to get rid of them.
Why an autopsy on a dog? Suzy was only a few years old. She was in the prime of her life. Everyone was wondering why so soon.
She was always very sweet to people she liked. She liked pretty much everyone. Every time I went outside she would come to meet me. She really liked going on walks.
Suzy had another side too. She was especially vicious to other dogs. You would want to stay far away from her if you knew she didn't like you.
She took a lot of pleasure in her job. She'd do her rounds around the compound. She really liked to bark and sound mean.
Often you could see her plotting how to get out the gate and to freedom. Who knows why she thought the world was so much better out there. But, everytime she got out she'd find her way back in the wee hours of the morning.
Recently, she hasn't been acting normal. She seemed to sleep a lot more. When you called her she didn't seem so anxious to see you. Once I even saw her eating grass. She didn't even seem to look wishfully out the gate anymore.
Yesterday morning my Mom and I looked up the symptoms of rabies. She had a few of the symptoms.
While we were taking our walk yesterday, suzy seemed quite normal and was wagging her tail happily. I even mentioned to my Mom that I didn't think she had rabies.
Last night Hakim came to get Dad. He usually doesn't come so late.
The story is that suzy was barking at some dogs at the dump. Suddenly she started to vomit and just keeled over and died.
Who knows why she died. Cheri mentioned that maybe she did have rabies and God let her die early so that she didn't hurt anyone else.
Here are a few pictures of suzy.
Hiking with Suzy
Uncle Sidney and Suzy
UPDATED. The autopsy report says she was probably poisoned. He(Dr. Tom Kraner) found strings in some meat in her stomach. He also said He heard reports that the government was trying to poison dogs to get rid of them.
Why an autopsy on a dog? Suzy was only a few years old. She was in the prime of her life. Everyone was wondering why so soon.
Earthquake!!
This morning while we were eating breakfast my Mom looked at us and said we're having an earthquake. For a few seconds we didn't believe her. Then everything started to shake! Since none of us were dressed we all hesitated to go outside. Mom and Mike went to the door and I climbed under the desk. No way was I going outside in my PJs! It's amazing what goes through your mind in a few seconds! Thankfully nothing bad happened. Just as Mom and Mike were about ready to go outside it stopped. It made me think at how a few seconds can change your life drasticaly! If it had been any worse the story might have been different.
Emily
Emily
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Hiking
We just got back from a sabbath hike on the wall hill. It was amazing how a few months of rain every other day or so can make lakes! It was absolutely gorgeous up there! Although it hasn't rained in a few days so we ran into a few dust storms.
While we were on our way down through the village, a few boys were sitting by the road. They must have cued the dog to come up and bark at me. So, I kinda jumped and ran. I was very scared. Those of you who know me know that I love pretty much all animals. The dogs here are different. Here dogs are trained to fight to the death. (We have seen this first hand with our guard dog.) Maybe the dog was just trying to tell me to stay away. I've seen Suzy playing with a dog and seconds later trying to kill it. Those boys sure got a good laugh out of it! I'm glad they thought it was funny. From now on when I go through that part I'll stay extra close to the group! ~Emily
P.S. I'll post pics of the hike later.
While we were on our way down through the village, a few boys were sitting by the road. They must have cued the dog to come up and bark at me. So, I kinda jumped and ran. I was very scared. Those of you who know me know that I love pretty much all animals. The dogs here are different. Here dogs are trained to fight to the death. (We have seen this first hand with our guard dog.) Maybe the dog was just trying to tell me to stay away. I've seen Suzy playing with a dog and seconds later trying to kill it. Those boys sure got a good laugh out of it! I'm glad they thought it was funny. From now on when I go through that part I'll stay extra close to the group! ~Emily
P.S. I'll post pics of the hike later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
