Still Alive

OK I admit I am pretty horrible at this whole keeping people updated about things with my blog, I didn't even realize just how long it had been. I apologize to all who have been faithful about checking and have been quite disappointed for so long.

Well reflecting back on the last two months,,,the middle of August saw another year roll through for me, making me now 25 years "experienced". It was certainly not the ordinary birthday, I spent the day with Andy in a place called Bamiyan Afghanistan. This has to be one of the most beautiful places in Afghanistan.The airport and city sit in a valley at 8000ft with 18000 feet mountains surrounding it in every direction.

I knew this was going to be an awesome place even during the approach to the airport. Flying down a 50 mile long valley, around a small hill on final to a gravel runway made for a pilots dream airport!

Bamiyan's claim to fame are three giant Buddha statues or what used to be. During the 6Th century these three Buddha were carved into the cliffs and had remained a major land mark for centuries. In 2001 they were blown to pieces by the Taliban because they were seen as idols. The statues are gone but the caverns and outline still remain. It was amazing stepping back in history 1000 years!

I was later treated to a 3 kilogram birthday cake and ice cream. For those rusty on the conversion that's a 6.6 pound cake!!!

Probably the most recent venture was a vacation back home for about two weeks. Following a stimulating 15 hour airplane ride from Dubai UAE to Atlanta Georgia and then onto Wichita I experienced a very strange version of culture shock. Driving away from the airport cars were stopping at stoplights, maintaining their own lane, and there was no white smoky haze from any vehicle in sight. Restaurants had every food listed on the menu and the waiter actually knew what he was doing, never mind spoke perfect "American" English. (there really is a difference)

Wal-Mart, wow talk about a sensory overload. Clean floors, rows of anything you might want, and raw meat that didn't have blood dripping from it and was even safe to eat. It was amazing what we get used to and often take for granted.

I realized how much I missed somethings; the freedom of driving a car, toilets that actually flush, fresh water and milk to just name a few things.

I had the privilege of being an usher for my friend Brian Kroeker's wedding, it was great to see Brian and Kristin begin their new life together.

I spent a weekend in Holmes County Ohio for a reception of Steve and Sari Bontrager celebrating their marriage from back in July. It was great to catch up with people I hadn't seen for way to long.

I was able to slip in a night of fishing and camping with my family, and spent the rest of the time catching up with people. Although I am afraid I still missed many! It was a great two weeks that seemed to slip away in no time.

Arriving back in Kabul and driving home I quickly remembered many of the sights and smells I had become accustomed to. Traffic going in every direction except what seemed logical, mule drawn carts mixing things up with that same traffic, the smell of trash and sewage tickling the nose and the grit of dust on everything you touched. Yet despite all these things it was good to be back and made me appreciate where I had just left a couple days before.

A day at the Airserv House

Well here is a bit of a picture tour of our house and life here in Kabul.

"The Big House" complete with a fountain, rose garden, 25 bedrooms, 29 bathrooms, 3 kitchens, 3 balcony's, and pool hall/Pub, all spanned over 5 stories of amazing Afghan Architecture.

The 4Th level and its giant chandelier that hangs sideways. My room is at the end of the hall.

Home Sweet Home

The main kitchen and our amazing cooks. They make the best French toast I have ever had, and keep the fridge stocked with MT. Dew!!!

Our first BB-Q (or Brai as its more commonly called)

On the left:

Our Fearless Leader shows off his Country Director skills and man's the grill all at the same time. What a Stud!!

City Driving

We aren't in Congo anymore!!

Well I have been in Afghanistan exactly two weeks now. The sights and sounds certainly have changed from Africa. The green jungle has changed to rocky treeless mountains in every direction. The tropical 80-90% humidity of the Jungle is replaced by dry gritty blowing sand and 100 degree heat. "But its a dry heat". Controllers speaking a combination of broken English and French has switched like a radio frequency to clear American English. The list could go on...


We are flying for the UN here, funded via USAID in support of the many development projects in process here. Your tax dollars hard at work! Road construction, dam building, and water systems are just a few of the many pieces of the pie.


The flying is quite awesome at times,,, like I said American controllers dominate the radios which is often a welcome sound. Snow topped mountains reaching over 20 thousand feet with trees nearly non-existent. This beauty is often contrasted by the 2 and 3 mile visibility encountered from the strong winds and blowing dust nearly making airports disappear at times. This picture is taken from about 20 thousand ft looking east towards Pakistan and China. You can see mountains in the distance extending higher than our level!!!



One of my favorite airports so far is basically straight north about an hours flight. After crossing a few little 15,000 ft mountains we drop down among the valleys to find the airport. Crossing the last hill at about 9000 ft we turn a hard right and follow a valley down to about 3000 ft above sea level to find the airport. Another unique feature here is the runway is metal,, its made up of hard metal sheeting similar to what would be found on the side of a barn (obviously much stronger). The wheels make a nice rhythm and the whole airplane vibrates as you roll down the runway.








I returned home this morning from an over night in Islamabad Pakistan, a beautiful city and country. The people were very friendly and city like driving through an east coast city in the states. It was a fun trip and fun to see someplace new.



We are just finishing a move to a new house, our old house had just to many problems. We have upgraded from 16 rooms to about 25 in the new place and things are still getting settled. Needless to say they like large houses around here,, a few pics will be coming later for some examples. Both houses present us with an amazing view to enjoy.

Well hope all is well with everyone!! Till next time,,
JW

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Wow how things have changed. As you may remember our base in Kinshasa closed and I transitioned to Lubumbashi. There I had the chance to visit with my buddies Bruce and Steve as well as get to know everyone in the base there. Jeremy, Cindy, and Alan all welcomed me warmly and quickly became good friends.

It was awesome of spend some time with Bruce and Steve as well as getting to know Steve's fiance Sari. It had been almost a year since Steve and I had the chance to raise a little trouble together, and it didn't take long for us to pick up where we had left off!!

I really enjoyed getting some time in the Caravan, the flying in the south is challenging and also interesting. We regularly visit airports that few others go to. The need to be spot on every time is crucial. En route massive waterfalls, giant cliffs, and open prairies help entertain the eyes on every trip. I would compare the Caravan to a flying tour bus, its never ending amount of windows and slower speeds make it great for enjoying the country side as it slips by. Lubumbashi is an interesting town, its connections to S. Africa provide great diversity of people and products. Yet it still has a bit of the "Congo" feel to it. It was nice to be able to walk around town and only feel slightly out of place. Its a much more relaxed feel everywhere you go, which was a nice change from the busy Kinshasa.

After my short time in Lubumbashi I proceeded on to Entebbe Uganda where AirServ has a maintenance base. Bill Kelsey our Regional Chief Pilot welcomed Bruce and I into his home for the week. Bruce was there on R&R, so we took the opportunity to be regularly tourists. We proceeded to Kampala and then Jinja. Famed for being the source of the Nile River off of Lake Victoria before it makes its 4000 miles journey to the Mediterranean Sea. This happens to be the spot for some of the best white water rafting in the world, and we weren't about to let the opportunity pass us by to try our luck at surviving a trip down this historical river. I have been rafting in Colorado a number of times and I have to say the rafting here was a notch or two above. Nine foot water falls and massive waves make the chances of staying in the boat,,,, slim to Nil at times!!! Our boat flipped twice and I found myself "swimming" the rapids three times. What a blast!!!

The next day we took an ATV safari through some of the back country of Uganda. Passing near villages and farms gave you the feeling of how much really hasn't changed. It was fun to get a little muddy and see the kids come running out shouting "Mzungu" (White Man) as we rode by.

It was interesting coming from Congo to Uganda and seeing some of the differences. Paved highways, public transport, public education, and even living conditions were such a contrast. The people seemed to have a different sense of pride for their country and the people around them.

Last Saturday I boarded an airline which took me to Dubai, Saudi Arabia. Yet another transition shock!! Dubai is kinda the Vegas of the middle east, with 7 Star hotels and indoor ski slopes. The amount of money flowing through this town was incredible to say the least. I did enjoy the generous helping of Western Ritz, and yet after only a day I felt like I had seen enough.

Now that brings me back to the current, as of last Monday I am a resident of Kabul Afghanistan. AirServ has a contract here with UN Ops and are flying two King Air 200's. One of the biggest highlights was being reunited with Dave Cathey who had left Kinshasa a month ago.

Afghanistan is certainly a change from Africa, but those thoughts will be saved for another day.

To all those keeping up with this, I thank you and hope your enjoying my brief observations. I am going to make a strong effort to do a better job of keeping you all updated.

Till next time, don't do anything I wouldn't do!!!

Jared

Extreme's

This past week I had the pleasure of flying the Caravan around with our Chief Pilot. The first night of our trip we slept the night in the Chalet in Kisangani. Kisangani is nice, river town. Most of the roads are paved with only minor pot holes, and the pace is much slower than Kinshasa. The Chalet is a very nice little hotel complete with A/C and a salt water swimming pool. Needless to say it was a nice beginning to the trip.

The second night we joined our passengers in Djolu, a small village about 180 miles west of Kisangani. Thick jungle surrounds Djolu in every direction. There is NO electricity in the entire town,, and certainly not cell phone coverage.

I knew the night was going to interesting when after we landed a local NGO staff member took me on a dirt bike for a 20 minute ride up a muddy trail. I was then showed to my room, complete with a bamboo bed with a small piece of foam on top for a mattress. We were given a tour of the town by a local boy,, through the market, by the old church, what once was a school, and women planting their rice in small fields. As the afternoon sun rose straight overhead we were told the "Djolu afternoon was coming" a time of the day when every one stops work to sip Palm Wine. Palm Wine is a local drink made from the sap of palm oil trees. The sap is collected similar to maple syrup and drank straight. Straight out of the tree is has no fermentation, but after 6-8 hours it becomes almost to strong to drink. The one thing about Palm Wine is that is has an odor similar to rotten eggs although the taste is not quite that bad. I managed to drink a very small glass and went quickly back to my bottle of nice pure water.

We passed the night by moon light, not even a candle to eat by. I have not seen that many stars since I was back in Kansas, it was beautiful.

We awoke to rain pattering on the top of the palm leaf roof, 1/2 km of visibility, and about 200 ft ceilings. We went to market for probably the best coffee I have had in Congo, in a little smoke filled hut. After a few hours the rain slowed and we were able to make it back to our trusty airplane, and en route to our next destination.

That night we were suppose to come home to kin, but due to the rain that morning and more rain at our fuel stop we slept the night again " in the field". This time in Basankusu, another river town that has also seen its share of degrading times. We took the chance to was through the hospital, you could see how nice it must have been at once. And now it was scary that people came here to get better. The market in Basankusu was also another interesting place. Fresh catfish, crocodile tail, smoked monkey, as well as the other normal cuts of bloody meat laid out for hours on dirty wooden tables. What a place!!!

In more exciting news, it looks like I am headed to Lubumbashi for a week or so to finish up my Caravan training. Steve Bontrager and Bruce Yoder, both friends from the old HCA are down there so that will be great to see them again and see some more of the Congo country side.

After my week in Lubumbashi, I head to Kabul Afghanistan to fly there for a while. Our funding through USAID here in Kinshasa has been cut, which means moving some people around. I am excited to go to Afghanistan, and also a little overwhelmed by the in-security there. I think it will be an awesome experience to see a new part of the world and new culture. From the people I have talked to it sounds like the scenery is spectacular there. So keep checking back for more pics.

Good bye for now

JW

The past couple of months I have had the privilege of attending the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa (IPCK). They are one of the few churches here in Kinshasa that hosts an English service every week. I have attended Easter sunrise service over the mighty Congo river with them. As well as meeting some awesome people who are passionate about what they are doing here.

This morning I experienced a time that will stick as a wonderful memory from IPCK. The choir consists of mostly local people and a few expats,,, this morning in service they performed a song as they always do. The difference this morning was that this song was a native Congolese song sang in Swahili and another language I can not pronounce. The beat of the music and the swaying of the choir members moved through everyone in the building. There was no possible way to keep from tapping your toes and clapping along. The words of the song said something like "I have looked for Jesus and here I have found him". It was awesome to see people from Congo, America, England, S. Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Canada, and many others singing along together.

And now for a complete extreme to the great experience, a couple weeks ago I was out at the airport helping clean up the airplanes on a day off from flying. We all decided to go back to the office for lunch but realized there were about 6 of us with two cars and only one driver. (Airserv provides drivers to take us virtually anywhere, its a great help) Having been here a couple of months I knew the way home well and volunteered to drive. No big deal. It would be myself and our new mechanic who only had 3 days of Congo life.
About half way home we came to a corner with about 5 traffic cops standing around. One stepped into the road and motioned for me to stop so he could let the opposing traffic proceed. I had my blinker on to turn right and as I came to a stop my steering wheel went straight,,, thus automatically turning off the blinker. One of the other uniformed guys happen to see this and looked into the vehicle where he saw two white men sitting. He then decided to come across traffic from the other side of the road to "advise" me of my blinker problems.
We discussed in my very broken French and his zero English the now apparent problem as I sat in the middle of the road and other cars wizzed by. I should mention that 90% of these other cars don't even have head lights, brake lights, or blinkers. After a few minutes of shrugging and heated French sent my way he asked for my Congolese Drivers licence. Only problem being I have no Congolese drivers licence!!!! Even more problems!!
I managed to convince him via about 1000 Congolese Francs to let me go on and I would show him the licence another day. (550 Congo Francs=$1) It was at this point I appreciated ever more our wonderful drivers who stand waiting for our phone call.
I typical case of Driving while White here in the Congo.
Well there is a few more things of interest but they will wait for another day.