The Ultimate Compliment

12 28 11 The Ultimate Compliment

The masonry stove workshop is going well. We're on schedule to complete it today. My team of 3 US Army Soldiers and 4+ local builders has been teaming up very well. We decided to use the local version of 'cob' (clay soil, cut straw and water) and local bricks to build it. Wilson welded together two large brake drums into a metal burning unit and a secondary air supply that will introduce fresh air to the smoke to reburn it. The whole thing will use around 600 bricks and should heat the NGO Center well. Despite the language barrier the comradery is terrific. We shared a meal of curry chicken and naan and then I served tea with the water heated on the rocket stove we built the first day of the workshop. I had red zinger tea for them...it was received with mixed reviews, but great humor. An interesting note: three of the four students went home after the first day of the class and built a brick rocket stove! The ultimate compliment to a teacher.

I handed out the rubber band 'snapper' magic tricks to the students too...it was as big of a hit as the class. Anthony Cronk, South Jeff Technology teacher is to thank for the production of these. We learned how to mix the 'mortar' from local ingredients and Wilson and I had fun working shoulder to shoulder with the local crew getting over a third of the stove built...this was the hardest part and the rest is much more simple.

Hopefully by the end of today we will have burned the first fire in the new unit. Class will be done and then we can do another one for the ANA sleeping unit made out of an overseas shipping container.

I have been asked by MAJ Egloff to find a source of crutches and canes for the locals near FOB Pasab. If anyone can think of a source or is willing to contact manufacturers it would be greatly appreciated by the lame and injured in our area. I will provide contact information and can probably arrange to have it shipped for free or to get the shipping reimbursed. (Dad: we have some really sad looking wheel chairs made out of those cheap, white Walmart lawn chairs and some bicycle wheels...I remember you were working with a group that built wheelchairs for the working people of 3rd world nations...do you have a set of plans or pictures so I can develop a minigrant to have them made here?)

Happy New Year! Love, -Jim-

ps We had a great day building the masonry stove. It is 95% complete and the class asked if they could come on Saturday...we agreed and will finish the detail mudding/cob then. I showed them how the world's simplest motor works today and gave them the supplies to make one...we also gave them gifts for their children...bad idea at the start of class...we spent easily a half hour helping the adults in building a little cardboard car. Okay it was fun anyway. We're also getting locals stopping by to give us hints on how to wrestle Afghan style. More fun!

pss from Krista: I have located some youtube video:

the recent Zharay wrestling tournament

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWn3p870EWE

the Spartan 3BCT midtour video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue7ujHrUwvU&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Jim also said to search ‘FOB Pasab’ and ‘Taskforce Spartan’ on Facebook.