Schools, Gardens and Indoor Plumbing

The next day, I went out with a couple of the guys from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We went to Bibi Khala Girls' School in downtown Qalat City. The school is the biggest girls' school inthe province, providing education for approximately 1,500 Afghan girls.

The school had recently received a full scale renovation, to include a garden, a courtyard, working electricity, indoor plumbing and even a computer room!

Enough about that, here's to more photos!

QALAT CITY, Afghanistan -- A newly renovated classroom is ready to be filled by young Afghan girls at Bibi Khala Girls' School in Qalat City, Zabul Province, July 9, 2010. The school recently received a $135,000 renovation, which included foundation work, installation of new windows and doors, interior and exterior paint, electricity and a garden. Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, with the assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, facilitates 28 projects that improve the quality of life for residents in the province. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon)(Released)

QALAT CITY, Afghanistan -- A chalkboard displays the days of the week in English at Bibi Khala Girls' School in Qalat City, Zabul Province, July 9, 2010. The school recently received a $135,000 renovation, which included foundation work, installation of new windows and doors, interior and exterior paint, electricity and a garden. Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, with the assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, facilitates 28 projects that improve the quality of life for residents in the province. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon)(Released)

QALAT CITY, Afghanistan -- Young Afghan boys pose for the camera during a routine patrol by Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul's security forces in Qalat City, Zabul Province, July 9, 2010. PRT Zabul conducts patrols in an effort to extend the authority of the Afghan government and stabilize the province. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon)(Released)

So, I guess I'll try to catch up....

So, I'll start my story from July 6. My Lt and I left Kandahar Air Field the morning of July 6, 2010, to make our way to Forward Operating Base Smart, our new home for the next 5 or so months. We rode in a Chinook. "Neat-o!" you may be saying to yourself right now; I was definitely not thinking that at the time. The chopper rocked back and forth like a ship in a storm for the entire trip, not to mention the sound of the rotors whizzing above you. I'm not normally the person to get motion sickness, but with the sound and the rocking and the heat that morning, I was feeling it a little. Needless to say, we eventually made it to our destination.

After getting a tour of the "FOB" (I will be referring it as that from now on), I went to bed. I was exhausted. The Army cats in my dorm the night before were leaving bright and early as well. They had been there for over a month (and trust me, the smell of 100+ guys in one room with help of the shit pond that was next door, it smelled HORRIBLE).

Our first mission was a couple of days later. The mission? Go hang out with elementary school-aged Afghan girls and give them new head scarves. Humanitarian aid, that's a good thing right? I think so.

The guys in our little patrol had to stay outside of the school. Women only. Except me, and that's because we convinced them that the photos were to show the good things we were doing, or something like that. The girls were happy to get new scarves and they got to decorate them too. I wasn't really supposed to interact with the girls, due to the culture's rules about strange men or something like that. I was happy enough just clicking away on my camera that I had neglected since the beginning of April:

QALAT CITY, Afghanistan -- U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Georganne Hassell, Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul information operations officer, teaches Afghan girls how to recite the alphabet at the Zarghona Girls' School in Qalat City, Zabul Province, July 8. Members of PRT Zabul visited the school and distributed new head scarves as part of an ongoing humanitarian assistance mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)

QALAT CITY, Afghanistan -- U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Rebecca Heyse, Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul information operations officer, helps Afghan students decorate scarves at the Zarghona Girls' School in Qalat City, Zabul Province, July 8. Members of PRT Zabul distributed the scarves as part of an ongoing humanitarian assistance mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nathanael Callon/Released)


There's more photos of this. Just click one of the pictures and it'll open up on Flickr.