Sylvia's Journal

Today the physical therapy crowd was happier than last week; there was less moaning and more chatter. We compared notes on injuries in shoulders, knees, feet and arms. Some women are on the same schedule as I am, so we are starting to know each other. I am finding out who is the mother, the sisterm the daughter and what caused the injury. My rudimentary Dari is coming in quite handy to satisfy my curiosity

I had another painful deep tissue massage – self inflicted because last week’s massage left me pain free for the entire week, something I had not realized until I was asked.

Judy has arrived from the US for a short course on good consulting. I registered all our provincial staff because I want them to be less focused on ticking off activities from a to-do list and more on the results that these activities produce (and if they don’t, do something different).

Judy and I had lunch (baguette au jambon – imagine that!) at the French Pelican restaurant and caught up on not having been in the same office for 8 months, besides preparing for this week‘s activities. I think this time I was a little better prepared than I was for Anddy’s workshop last week.

I completed my first Dari reading book. It ended well with the two protagonists learning to read and write in Dari and then teaching their wives. It’s a literacy primer so this was not much of a surprise. My homework for the next few weeks is to read book number 2. I can’t wait to learn what the second primer in the series might be about.

For dinner Sabina came over. Sabina reports to a German radio station and was finally let out of the Intercon hotel, having followed the Peace Jirga from the 5th floor press center’s perch. She watched the rockets that were lopped, unsuccessfully, at the jirga tent, while a German military officer provided on the spot expert commentary.