I moved, or my blog moved at least...

Joe and I post here now:

http://www.gymnasticals.com

Hawaii

First Stop, ER. Not for the kids, for Mom, who took some stairs head first. Off to snorkel, sail with dolphins and ride the ocean swells

and Dad tolerates, uh, us

Accomplishments:

solidified our gang sign

Found Comp USA, it's a super store

Jill named Ski-ball master

gained 10 pounds...

My Home Dog

Last Day

Yesterday was one of the most crazy days I've been through. In the middle of it we took Command Group Photos. This is all the aides and XOs to the Generals. We found this appropriate since we are all on our phones constantly.
I'll be home in just a few days now. Hello America!!

LAST CALL

I'm so excited to finally say this...

Do not send me anymore mail! Although this green wig I got in one of the last boxes has been very useful, good thing it made it here just in time.
If it is not in the mail right now, I don't think I'll get it before I GO HOME!!!

Buzkashi

Without a doubt Buzkashi is the strangest “sport” I have ever seen. I was just told it is a sport that is left over from the mongols. That explains the chaotic nature of this.

I didn't fully understand what was going on. This game can be played as 2 teams or each man for himself, I have no idea which one I was watching, I’m guessing each man for himself…?

The day or week before the match a small calf and/or a goat is killed. They take the head off and sew up the hole and soak the body in cold water or brine, to toughen the hide. The carcass is like the ball they use to score with.

Then a bunch of men on completely wild horses run around, scoop up the carcass by hanging off the side of their horse and try to drop it in a white circle. Like in half court basket ball, when the other team attempts they have to drag the goat all the way around the arena around a post to come try to drop it in the circle.

Above is a man, reaching down to grab the goat on the ground. You can see how the horses are yanked around.

There are no rules, as far as I saw. The horses are basically in a massive pushing, kicking and whipping match, they are jumping up on top of each other, everyone is using their whips on other horses and often they also beat the person who has the goat. It is just this wild fight over the carcass. Sometimes two people will get hold of the carcass and they just have a tug of war over it. I felt bad for the horses.

Above picture the man has the goat, he is circling around to the white ring he has to drop it into, you can see it under the other horses who are blocking him.

I don’t know how the game ends, we left early, but I have heard the game can go for days. That has to be one of the strangest things I have seen.

Sri Lanka

I've been slaking on keeping this up. Here are some quick highlights from our 24 hour visit to Sri Lanka...

It started off in the Dubai Airport, where it takes a maze and a long bus ride to get from the 3rd world country airplanes to the 1st... Once you get to the 1st world section, things get very pretty.

While there, we found very little muffins and very large crossants, but we just had coffee.
Sri Lanka is a little like Mexico in how dirty it seems, mixed with what I only imagine India is like in traffic, and architecture. We saw a Hindu temple with a tuktuk (not sure how to spell that) outside. We later rode around in a tuktuk, it was an adventure.
We had a really good tour of a Buddist temple where I fed their elephant and we were "blessed" by a monk I forgot this picture of a Buddha, we were told not to turn our back to it, but they were everywhere, this one was the biggest.

I will have to tell you more when I see you all because we are coming home in a little over 3 weeks!!!!