 |
| |
 |
 | |  | |  | |  |
Sent: 26 August 2003 07:54
To: David Clark; Jen Clark
Subject: Hello
It rained last night. I slept through it but I am told that it was quite a downpour.
We have had impressive sandstorms the past few afternoons. Visibility drops
right down.
Went into town again yesterday. The OC's Iltis had caught fire at the British
camp so I took small column out to pick him up. The British camp is quite nice.
It is in an old warehouse of some kind. The troops live in buildings that look like
dormitories. They do three month tours here.
On the way to the British camp we were passed by a column of pick-up trucks.
Five were occupied by Afghan National Army soldiers with machine guns, while
the sixth had an RPG gunner and the seventh had a recoilless rifle. They looked
unlike any other local troops I've seen to date. The Yanks have been training
local troops, and I think that this was one of those groups.
The Germans are starting to draw down their forces here, although one Battalion
will remain. Their main camp, Camp Warehouse, has a more European and
informal nature than our camp. Their soldiers run 27! bars and discos. Dutch,
Swedes, Bulgarians, Spaniards and others are the main denizens, while the
Canadian HQ staff live in an orderly Canadian Annex.
I had my closest contact with the locals yesterday when I conducted interviews
for interpreter positions. Most were young medical students, while one was a
Canadian citizen! I was assisted by the "Chief Interpreter" who asked them "give
a sentence in the past perfect" and other such things. I am pretty sure that I
would have failed the grammar test. One question was "What is "four wheel
drive?" The candidate answered that it was a kind of vehicle. Nope. "What is
four wheel drive?" The candidate was flummoxed and I was also somewhat
confused. The chief interpreter gave a hint. "It is a noun. What kind of noun is
it?" "A compound noun?" "Very good." I tried to keep a staight face, and
prayed that I would be spared any grammar questions.
I would then run a little role-play where the prospective interpreter would pretend
that he was my interpreter and that the chief interpreter was a local. I think that
it was a better way of seeing who could do the job, and it was also a little fun.
The process took two hours in the sun, but it was actually quite interesting and I
wish them all well.
The young Afghans were keen, and I think that they'll work out just fine. Some
were in Pakistan during the Taliban regime, and have since returned. The
Canadian fellow had moved to Quebec in '93 and had returned to Afghanistan
after the Taliban were deposed.
Well, enough of my rambling. I'll try to call later. The website is great!
Love
Iain