Why I was in Budapest

I was in search of a husband. Just kidding, kinda, the people there are beautiful, all of them. I've never seen anything like it. I am considering swinging through to pick up a husband on my way home.

NATO is now the lead on something we call Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). A country will supply and send a team into a province of Afghanistan and they build things that help the community. They stick to quick projects like building schools, bridges, digging wells... And these small things significantly improve life for the Afghans. They are set up all over the country and many countries sponsor a PRT.

Over 30 countries met in Budapest to talk about what works, how to make things better, what struggles are faced and what the future looks like. There were a few countries there that are going to start their own PRT, which is fantastic. I learned a lot on this trip and it was encouraging to see the international community to come together to help Afghanistan.

Tim-why and where are you going to in Europe? email me where you are going, I might have an idea.

Budapest

The Castle on the hill

Do I work for the General, or does he work for me?

I got sick one night with a fever I think and the next morning I had the hardest time staying alert. After lunch my boss sent me home to get rest for a few hours. He took my cell phone, which gets all the calls on it and proceeded to answer the incoming calls "Lt Charron's office, General C speaking". Some people laughed and some told me they didn't even know what to say because, Generals don't answer Lt's phones. so funny.

Later the same day I had a gate entrance code on a post-it that someone dropped off for me. I had to share it with one of the marines and handed him the post-it note to look at. Before I copied it, he took one look at it, crumpled it up and ate it. I wasn't really sure how to react so I asked what it tasted like. He said the sticky part makes it chewy.

Then I got attacked by someone blowing bubbles at me. I didn't mind so much since they smell like blueberries.

Is this really an old saying?

Mom~ Don't give it up easily Joanna, you know the old saying.

Me~ No, what's the old saying?

Mom~ Don't give it up easily.


I think the real question is what does my Mom think I'm giving up?? haha. I love my Mom.

OK here is a picture of a little Donkey and big Man. I'm convinced he stops it by dragging his feet.

When Worlds Collide

Look at all those stars... and my little baby bar.

Whyz it's got to be so flippin' hard Yo?

Secretary Rumsfeld was here the other day and I heard one of the soldiers go off on how much he dislikes him. I think a lot of opposition that comes up has more to do with party identification than from being knowledgeable on issues and the complexity of problems being addressed.

I am in the middle of a book called the Tipping Point. Most of you have probably read or at least heard of it, it discusses why things tip to become the trend. It has me thinking about the trends here and what real problems we have to address. They are complex to the point I believe very few people understand, I hardly do myself. I am going to very briefly throw out a few instigators to the problems we face.

War war war:
The Power of Context is an idea that children/people are shaped by their external environment. I see evidence of that being true here. There are two generations of people missing due to the war this country has seen, almost all people living have lived through war or under Taliban regime. The latter being a state of terror where public executions during the halftime of soccer games were common. Therefore an entire society has to learn to live in a functioning democracy and teach their children to do the same.

Say what?
There are many ethnic groups who have a history of animosity toward each other. 2.5 mill people are nomadic and the literacy rate for the whole country is under 35%, and that is being generous, VERY generous. Over 30 minor languages are spoken in Afghanistan, the largest city Kabul, uses the "national" language of Dari. Less than half of all the population speaks Dari.

Yer Moms so... uh, nevermind
Socially, Afghans are loyal to their family's and small clans. There is a lack of national unity. In effort to protect and feed their family, out of necessity, they will support terrorist cells so as not to be harassed or killed by them.

The Virgin Suicide
People are susceptible to fall for fundamental/militant versions of the Koran. There are many reasons for this, one being hopelessness and a desire to belong and stand for something. Hopelessness leads to anger which leads to wanting to find someone to blame... us. There is no freedom of religion and this is one option. For some the only thing to look forward to, are the virgins they are promised after blowing themselves up.

Afghani is money, an Afghan is a person
The average Afghan makes $2 a day. For some farmers, poppy fields enable them to live. Poppy fields support the drug trade that support terrorist cells. There are limited to no options to offer poppy farmers, therefore they support Taliban cells. We can give them wheat, but there are no roads to take things to market... There is no power grid or running water, so complex modernization could not be used. We start basic but the schools and roads we build are the hottest targets these days.

Glamour shots, bang bang
What's a young adult male have to look forward to in Afghanistan? For some, they think they will get "heroism and glory". Uneducated, poor and with out a hope for what we consider "the American Dream" there is little to aim for and less to look forward to. Terrorism is appealing like street cred.

The Hills are Alive
The mountainous terrain between Afghanistan and Pakistan is so harsh and uncontrolled we will never have the manpower to constantly patrol. Nor will we be able to have the regional expertise of navigation the natives have.

A One Man Show
The democracy people are trying to thrive under is new, the president and his ministers are learning how to operate together but there are so few qualified potential leaders that the president now is THE man for the job. Corruption is hard to combat because there is not enough qualified people to replace the corrupt.

I could keep going with more point as well as expand on all the above, but I'll spare you. If you made it this far, I owe you a beer. *Offer expires April 11, 2007.

2 very rare pictures... I am in them

This is why I rarely post my pictures online, I'm normally doing this.

In a rare shot, I'm actually in the picture. I'm the one on the left. I know, I have beautiful long legs. It's easy to look past the bulky knees when they are this long.

Happy Birthday America!