sgtdub

17 March 2007, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you, whether you remember him for why he became a Saint to start with or because you like green beer. Today is also my Happy Dance Friday,(since a dunce in Oklahoma made me rant yesterday, I had to move my Happy Dance Friday to Saturday). If I was a smarter man, I would have a video clip for you of several people dancing yesterday. Instead I just have still pictures.

This is the referee during an intermission. He provides the entertainment during the breaks.
Yesterday we had a treat here at Camp Phoenix. The national sport of Afghanistan is Buzkashi. Buzkashi is a very old game that when translated means "goat grabbing". It is played on horse back. If you watched Rambo III, you saw him join in the game with the Mujehadeen fighters. The idea of the game is to take a dead goat or calf, after the head has been severed off, and take it from a starting circle to around a pole and back to your team's circle.
Each round or session ends with a scoring. The rider who scored comes to the gallery and receives the prize. The prize differs as each session is sponsored by the gallery. Money and fine clothes are the best gifts.

It is a very violent game with players hitting each other, horses turning over or charging at you. It had been arranged that the Kabul International team would come to camp and play on our field. The hats are made of wolf's fur as the hunter seeking the prey. The horses are some of the best looking animals in Afghanistan because they get fed well and treated probably better than the women here. In fact, women aren't even allowed to watch the sport at all. You ask about our female soldiers. Well, they are the exception because they aren't considered women by the local population. However, there were two local women that work as interpreters for me that got to go to the event and also actually got to ride some of the horses off to the side. This was indeed a treat for them, and they were very excited about being able to attend. It was fun watching a part of the culture of this country and the interaction we had with each other. Be safe and have a great day.