GO BIG BLUE!!!

I purchased a couple of UK sweatshirts to give to my little friends over at the RHQ.  I wanted to give the sweat shirts to the kids before I left for leave as a Christmas gift.  I didn’t have the time, though.  So I put them away until after my R&R.

Wahid, Shoaib and I took the  sweatshirts and a few other items (puzzles and candy) to the kids today.   It was fun playing with the kids and explaining them the meaning of the puzzles.   I explained to them who Donald and Daisy  Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie are as well as the 101 Dalmatians and the Cookie Monster.  As I was doing it, Shoaib reminded me that I used to call Wahid the cookie monster.  When I first met Wahid, he scammed one of my cookies off of me.  I got mad and told him that I’d kick his ass if he ever touched my stuff again.  lol  Then I started messing with him and nicknamed him cookie monster.  It ran on for a year and finally I just let it tail off.  He was pretty embarrassed by it.   Of course, that just made me rub it in all the more.

We gave them the sweatshirts and the candy.  Baba brought over his baby girls as well.  They were cute little girls.  One of them was scared to death of me and the other just looked at me as if I was a curiosity.  I laughed and laughed.  Kept tell ing her; “so you’re the brave one of the family” and laughing.  She let me hold her and talked to me and generally was a fearless little gal.  I loved it.  Too cool.

After the boys put on their sweatshirts, I got them to pose with the flags and yell “Go Big Blue!”  It was too funny and too cute.  I wish I had my vidcam, but, I left it in Thailand with Unny.  I had to coax Nahida over to get into the picture.  She gets shy when the camera comes out.

I sometimes wonder what these kids think of all of this.  I’m some strange American man and I bring them things for no reason.  Shoaib teased Nahida today and told her that I wanted to take her back to the States to marry my son.  She didn’t take to the idea.  I told her that he was joking and I don’t have a son.  No need to worry about that.  Even so, she seemed nervous the whole time.  As if she thought we might take her away.

I kept re-assuring her that it was in no way going to happen.  Although, I’d love to adopt her and take her home with me.  Get her away from the fate that most likely awaits her as an adult Afghan woman.  Send her to school and lead her to a happier life.

I gave Shoaib the camera and he snapped away as I played and acted like a kid myself.  I think they enjoyed it.  Little Jalil called me Dear Uncle today.  I can’t remember the Dari word for Uncle  or I’d type it here.  Then Jalil and Ali started calling me Dawood Khan.  lol  That’s what was on my name tag on my uniform when I first met them.  I laughed and laughed.  I got them to yell “Kentucky!” and “GO BIG BLUE!”, “Patrick Patterson” and “John Wall.”  I was trying to get them to say “The Great Wall of Kentucky!”  But I think it was too long.  lol

Then I got them to yell “UK is Number One” and “Go Big Blue!” again.

It was a fun time.  Always nice seeing my little friends.  Peace!