It’s off to Seattle and Tokyo to give talks about the work that SIO does.  Preparing for these talks presents butterflies in the stomach but when it’s the actual talk, it’s always wonderful to share the day to day events that we have encountered.

School Is Open will take to the road soon - not for trainings, science gear procurement, or to find a far away village to go to, but rather we will be giving a slide show and talk about our work.  In February we will be in Seattle, Washington and the head to Tokyo, Japan. Both are invitations to friends of SIO. This means the lecture/speech and Power Point needs polishing.

The warbler is said to prefer a secluded lifestyle.

Scientists say they have for the first time discovered a breeding site for the world’s least-known bird species.

Little is known about the large-billed reed warbler, but researchers have found a thriving flock of the birds in a remote corner of Afghanistan.

Robert Timmins from the US based Wildlife Conservation Society discovered them when he was conducting a survey in the area.

The tiny brown bird, first spotted in 1867, has not been seen since 2006.

Mr Timmins says one of the reasons why so little is known about these birds is that they are often mistaken for other types of warblers and they are a very private species.

“Reed warblers are very good at hiding and they don’t like to be seen. They usually like to skulk in thick vegetation”, he said.

Mr Timmins taped the rhythmic song of these reed warblers, and with colleagues used the recording to entice other members of the colony from their hiding places.

DNA analysis confirmed this was a distinct breeding population of the large-billed variety.

While the scientists are excited by the discovery, they are concerned about the long-term survival of these birds.

Ironically the ongoing war and the remoteness of their location have helped their survival - but according to Mr Timmins, this might change.

“We don’t wish a war-like situation on anybody. But once peace comes and development starts, you really do have to think about what will happen to the natural environment,” he said.

As well as a flood of new information about the large-billed reed warbler, this discovery will hearten researchers that species can survive in even the most difficult of environments - there may well be other birds out there that have been presumed extinct, but are in fact surviving in some remote corner.

The last person I thought I’d see in Jalalabad, Mr. King Jr. He clearly was given as a donation. I promptly made sure that the principal knew who he was.

“Nobody is secure,” Masood told the BBC. “You never know when you leave your house whether you’re going to come back alive to your family.”

As I called and spoke with many of my Afghan friends to see if they and their families were safe. They all said something similiar - the above - and then, “It’s the same old story as it has been.”

They live with these sorts of numbing thoughts day in and out. How can they feel anything when this is their daily life?

It really doesn’t matter if you have grass, fake turf, mud, or dry dusty ground, playing outdoors causes children to get dirty, dinged up, and sun drenched. Boys tend to bare the bigger dents and carry pounds more dust and grime in their creases. I can say that with confidence, as I’ve partaken in more hours on recess duty than most, and have logged a few hours visiting recess yards in foreign lands.

These children are refugees who have returned to Afghanistan, living on donated land in Jalalabad, just east of Kabul. They don’t have much at all, but they do have homes with solids walls. Many of the refugees in Kabul live in tents.

As a welcome and congrats on the success of School Is Open, I received a bouquet of FRESH flowers.  What a lovely way to celebrate and keep my otherwise very drab room bright during a lonely holiday season.

Yup - hours in the car have now turned into a chance to use a Flip. December 30, 2009

Downtown Kabul - Shar-e-Now

Click on this link, cross your fingers, and a video might show up.

A simple second grade lesson - no matter if you are a student in SF or AFG - “Tell me what is the same and different about these pictures?”

In brainstorming some ideas - think gender - think eight years old- think school hallway.

Sort of simple, one photo is from a group of second grade girls and the other second grade boys. Hum

In a spirit of looking forward - how about some peace in AFG. While I was gone, though I don’t keep track of these things while on the ground there, 7 CIA agents died, a car full of Afghans and a Canadian journalist killed, huge bomb explosion and many civilians dead in Kandahar, several hijackings of both international and nationals. That’s just the news worth stuff.  Kids cried because they were hungry, mothers begged because their husbands were dead or left them, therefore no income, drugs sold, cars blown up, and in the corner of this chaos - someone learned how to read today. Some kid cracked the code, and therefore may go to high school. That kid just might pass the entrance exam and go to university and then in turn stay in AFG and help the next round of kids learn to crack that same code.

Resolve to keep my eyes on that prize called education. It’s the one thing that is going well in AFG - not perfect - but better than some other things.