Shooting Kabul

by N.H. Senzai

Fadi blames himself for losing his little sister, Mariam, who was lost while Fadi, his mom Zafoona, his dad Habib, his elder sister Noor and Mariam were trying to escape the unrest in Afghanistan, which was their homeland and the place where they were born, and then seek asylum in the United States.

 Mariam is lucky enough to have possession of a small Barbie doll, named Gulmina. Any toys that depicted human figures were banned by the Taliban because they were considered sacrilegious. Books were also banned, so that’s why people would buy and sell them on the black market. Fadi only had one book, called ‘From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.’

While trying to board the army green truck that would take them to Peshawar, a city on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, his little sister, Mariam got lost.  Fadi’s father had paid human traffickers twenty thousand U.S dollars, which was the family’s entire savings to get them into the adjacent country of Pakistan. Before Fadi could safely take Mariam to the truck, the Taliban arrived, and in that rush, poor Mariam got left behind. Later, all his family except Mariam were safe in the U.S. But Fadi never really fitted in his new school, only making a few friends. But then, along with the devastating news of 9/11, came the misjudged wrath of two American boys upon Fadi and a few other Afghani boys....

For me, this book was appealing because it showed and proved to me that not just the families of the people that were in the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre were affected but also the lives of many prejudiced refugees around the world escaping the Taliban but at the same time, being mistaken FOR the Taliban or al-Qaeda and framed as terrorists liable for all the terrorist attacks around the world.

It also made me realize how losing someone close to can feel, and the sense of guilt that one may feel.

It was a page-turning, exhilarating book that made me never want to stop reading. Definately a re-readable book in my view.

Camp Nelu

Camp Nelu has all that the new Grade 5’s in my class and the other classes could EVER want in a camp!

When we got to camp, we got out of the buses, took our bags and rushed to the lapa to meet our counsellors and find out which cabin we were in. I had diverse feelings about this camp. On one hand, I was happy to be away from school for three days at least, if not a week, while on the other hand, last year’s camp not being too good, I was a bit hesitant of this camp.....

But when we saw the cabins, the pool and the counsellors all my fears and suspicions were washed away with the fresh, crispy wind blowing gently in our direction.

Straight after that the counsellors introduced themselves to us as ‘Cupcake’ ‘Biscuit’, ‘Chomp’, ‘Mama Gigi’, ‘Peanut Butter’, ‘Nick Knack’ and ‘Dukes’. All of us knew that those weren’t their real names but we went along with it anyway. After the introductions, we divided into groups of 16 for our cabins. In our group there was Kiasha, Kika, Caitlyn, Gabriella, Tashmika, Eva, Alex, Taryn, Zindzi, Reuben, Masego, Mimi, Ashwarya, Neha, Priya, and..... ME, of course!! We were in the ‘rhino cabin’. We explored the cabins, claimed bunk beds, unpacked our sleeping bags and pillows and generally settled into the cabin which was our home for the next three days.

A bit later, a bell sounded and we ran to the lapa, hoping we were going to eat, but noooo we were getting divided into groups and then doing the activities that we did in our groups. I was in group 1 with Talya, Dylan, Babtiste, Gabriella, two Naledi’s, Misty, Fabian, Kate, Jabu, Moi and a few others. Mama Gigi was our group leader (yay cause she’s really nice). After meeting our group leaders and staying with our group for a while, we finally got to eat and fill our hungry stomachs with hot dogs and juice. Oh boy! the food at Camp Nelu is scrumptious!  Mama Gigi told us we could have seconds.

Later, we went to our cabins and put on sunscreen and our caps because it was time for our activities as a group. Our group went straight for the Discovery Hike in which we literally were BOILED, ROASTED and FRIED on the hot summer sun! Anyway, we got to scratch our names in rocks on the hike. It was kind of fun, I guess.... After the hike we went to do this seriously hard obstacle course called ‘Mission Impossible’ ,named after the new movie. The course’s name sums it up- ‘Mission Impossible’ it is..... I think it took us nearly an hour to finish it, THAT’S how hard it is. Another few minutes later, we ZIPLINED over the dam which is strapping ourselves into a harness with a hook attached to it and then attaching the hook to a strong cord that is stretched between a tree and a platform in a tree we then jump across the line. IT IS SO FUN!!! You get this adrenaline rush when you jump off and open your eyes and see the water rushing up to meet you.....

At night, we were learnt some songs. Here are two-

‘Baaaaby Shark, doododdodddododdo

Baby shark dododddddodododoo

Baby shark ddododododo

Baby shark.

Daaaaaddy shark dododddddodododoo

Daddy shark dododododododododo

Daddy shark dododddddodododoo

Daddy shark

Graaaaandma shark dododddddodododoo

Grandma shark dododododooodoooooddodoodod

Grandma shark dodododdooododoo

Grandma shark

(the song goes on for giant shark, whale shark, psycho shark, swimming, shark attack, where’s my arm, where’s my leg, found my leg and found my arm)’

The other one:

‘Peeeeaaaaanuuut  peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

First you take the bread and you cut it, you cut it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take the jam and you spread it, you spread it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take the butter and you plonk it, you plonk it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take the peanuts and you crush them, you crush them

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take the peanuts and you sprinkle them, you sprinkle them

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take the sandwich and you eat it, you eat it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take your belly and you rub it, you rub it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you go to the toilet and you waste it, you waste it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take the paper and you wipe it, you wipe it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Then you take the toilet and you flush it, you flush it

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam

Peeeeaaaaanuuut peanut butter and jam’

The first song’s called ‘Baby Shark’ and the second’s ‘Peanut Butter and Jam’ There were more songs we learnt, but those are the only ones I remember....  

That night, we first played these funny games in the lapa before going to sleep. What it exactly was, it was like ‘A minute to win it’ that show on TV, except we were competing for points, not cash. The games were funny and kind of average in the ‘difficulty’ area. We played lots of games but I found this one the most interesting - we were in pairs, and one of the Naledi’s was my partner and we had these two pencils each, all the four pencils tied to two strings. We picked up two of the pencils, placed another pencil on the middle of the strings and tried to put the pencil into a cup. That was easy enough but we only got one pencil in and that didn’t count. That was the only annoying part of the games.

That night, all the girls in our cabin didn’t sleep, like last time, but this time, no one could sleep. It was no one’s fault, but it was frustrating and annoying. I managed only about four hours of sleep.

After been woken up by Tashmika, (none of us were happy about THAT) we dressed and went to the lapa for morning exercises, breakfast and the morning activities. Long story short- fun exercises, yummy breakfast then we had our morning activities, which for us were the challenges and the low ropes. First up were the challenges- they were mostly games and logic games as well. 

There were three games but here’s the best one-the game was an entertaining logic game in which there was a half-circle of chairs. All the girls sat on one half of the half circle, and the boys sat on the other chairs, leaving only one chair empty in the middle. The objective was to get all the girls to where the boys were currently sitting and vice versa by moving one girl or boy to the empty seat. It was hard, but finally Reuben cracked it.

After a tiny break, we went to do the low ropes which was another, easier obstacle course in which we had to climb these taut cords stretched between trees and small logs..... but it WAS kind of hard since it was extremely easy to fall off. In the end, we all (luckily) finished it.

That evening it started to rain when only two people had started (and finished) the rock climbing so we had to abandon the activity and sprint to the lapa as fast as we could because there was already lightning in the sky.

At the lapa, we made a huge circle with our chairs and Biscuit called out things like “If you are wearing pink socks, find a different seat!” and anyone with pink socks on had to get a different seat. We played that game until it was time for dinner. 

After dinner, we all went straight to sleep. That night we slept wonderfully the whole night!!

The next day, straight after breakfast, we finished doing the rock climbing that we left off the day before. I got to go after the other Naledi in my group. Rock climbing ROCKS but is hard since you need to pull and push yourself up this nearly five meter wall with only Mama Gigi pulling you up.

When we were nearly going to go, we did archery with Chomp. It was fun but I only got one arrow in the target.It was challenging.

After we left Camp Nelu , we drove to Spur for lunch before going back to school and home again !

AND THAT WAS MY (AWESOME) CAMP NELU EXPERIENCE

http://www.campnelu.org/

My Kindle's First Impression

When my holidays started, I had mixed emotions. I was happy to be out of school for a month but... dread filled me when I thought of the bi annual cleaning out of my cupboards. My cupboards get so messed up in school days, it’s necessary to clean them at least two times a year. While doing my last clean up for the year, I was amazed by the astonishing collection of books I had amassed over the years. When I showed my mom my literally overflowing cupboards of books, we were both thinking the same thing- if we buy even more books to satisfy our thirst for knowledge and reading, our cupboards will burst!! It was a moment of inspiration when my mom said “What about one of those e-readers?” Then and there started our search for a good e-reader that would delay, and hopefully stop the impending problem of the books.

The search went on for shorter than one might think, the reason being there is only a diminutive selection of the e-readers available on the market anyway. We went through customer review to customer review on various sites and finally decided that the Kindle would be our best bet so far. When we found out that the Kindle was only selling on Amazon, we were first dismayed for Amazon only delivers in the US and nowhere else. But our spirits were lifted when we found out that Amazon was doing international shipping on the Kindle e-reader now!

And then we ordered the Kindle and luckily it was a very quick delivery.

It’s been a month now and we’re still satisfied. We’re still of the opinion that it was a good decision. It’s actually a good thing that I have my books on the light-weight Kindle, because one of my books has at LEAST 700 pages- no lie! It is so much of a relief to not have to lug a big, fat book around now! I used to think some of my books as ‘cuddly’ when I was much younger but I’ve outgrown that stage now. The screen of the Kindle isn’t in colour but it doesn’t matter now since all my books are black-and-white.

I remember when, not so long ago, I used to use pieces of tissue,ribbon, sweetie wrappers,pieces of rope etc. for  bookmarks while now I can make a bookmark at the touch of a button.I can change the font size at my pleasure.

Even though the screen is small and I cant cuddle up with it, its still a cute little thing!

The James Hall Transport Museum

Well, you can’t say we weren’t surprised that we would be going on the minibus as a class instead of on one of the bigger buses with another class, but it was fun anyway. Jennifer told us the museum was to the south of Joburg so it was a looooong drive. She said it was only forty-five minutes but it seemed like sixty-five!!

                                                                         

 When we got there, we saw a big park, but Jennifer said we weren’t allowed there. (And for good reason!) The museum itself – at least from outside, looked a bit new and modern, but once we got in, it was like stepping into a time-warp!! We saw cool olden day vehicles -a few Model T-Fords and Mail coaches and a tiny Model T-Ford and a way weird Shell petrol station!! WOAH!!! The boring  guide told us lots of stuff we already knew, like people used to call automobiles ‘horseless carriages’ since it was the first vehicle that drew itself without using horses and that children never used to go to school, but they educated at  home by a governess. Then, we were free to roam the whole museum, take pictures of the ten items on our list AND photograph the six QR codes hidden around the museum.

The first item we found was the Model T-Ford car. It was easy, since the car was just where we were. The next one we found was the governess cart. Our next item was the horse-drawn hearse .We found a QR code by the hearse. Next, we made our way to the bus area. It was an open-air space, quite dirty and a bit of a maze. It had a canvas over it, but, sadly, the birds had got in, and done what they do... (Heehee) So, it was a bit of a mess.

We saw the Christmas Bus, which, in the olden days, used to rove around the poor part of the south of Joburg, distributing sweets and other things to the children. It was pretty and in good condition. One thing amazes me, that how the vehicles in the museum are in SUCH good condition! I mean, you’d think that vehicles from the 19^th century would be deteriorating in the earth by now, not in a museum in near-perfect condition!!!

The next few items we had to look for were easy, we found the fire engine, the Penny-farthing, the electric Tram, the Trolley Bus and the Stage coach in quick succession. We also found the last 5 QR codes easily.

We also had an unpleasant encounter with TINY SAVEGES on an ANTIQUE double-decker bus! (I’d rather not talk about it!!)

Oh yeah, my friend Kika also disappeared for a while, but we found her eventually....

http://www.jhmt.org.za/

The Woodland Flood

I guess it all started when I was going to be sold as an exotic pet in England, but escaped and ran away to the nearest patch of woods I could find .I made friends with all the friendly animals there .There was a family of 3 squirrels,2 bunnies, 5 hedgehogs and a raccoon, just like me! Her name was Rella, and she seemed to like my name, Rolla. We soon became fast friends.

What we didn’t know that that since our patch of peaceful woodland was near a huge dam and there had been a lot of rain lately, that dam was on the brink of releasing an enormous amount of water and causing a flood mainly in our space of woodland.

 I was clever, since I was taught to read and write by my wonderful mother and father, who also taught me to scavenge and read discarded newspapers from bins. I again put those skills to use by stealing the newspapers and reading them. I found out that the dam near our woodland was about to flood our home! The safest place for us as I worked out, was the RSPCA.

  

We went there, played dead outside the building to make the people notice and take us inside, one by one. They put us in comfortable cages next to each other so we could talk.  In a few days time, when the flood had subsided, the RSPCA returned us to the forest.

Once we got over the shock of seeing our homes partially destroyed by the flood, and repaired them ,we had a feast of berries ,nuts, carrots ,lettuce, fizzy berry water, and my favourite, sweet chocolate cake soaked in the fizzy water! When me and my best friend, Rella, were tired,(and stuffed!), we went to our tree top house, which, luckily hadn’t suffered major damage from the flood, settled down and talked about the last few days. 

When there was no more to talk about, we wished each other goodnight and hoped that there were no more natural calamities in store for them. I swore to continue reading newspapers everyday !

Roberta Jones

Ro was a weird girl. At least, everyone in the township where she lived thought so. Ro’s real name was Roberta Jones, but she was better known as Ro. She and her parents lived in a small, two-roomed shack in the outskirts of a big city. The township’s men travelled to the city on foot to try and sell homemade wares made by their wives’, daughters’ and young sons’ for a bit of money or food. The girls and the boys under the age of 14 helped their mothers make simple toys, little dream catchers and carved figures of wild animals.

 Ro had other ideas. You see, Ro had a talent for selling. She would go from door to door instead of standing at the traffic lights. She had a simple theory, that people in cars were rushed and in most cases, agitated, so they were not in the mood for people selling them little decorations and toys. Their houses were already filled with much more priceless items of finery than you could ever imagine, and their children had an endless supply of toys, including T.V’s, PSP’S and Xboxes. Now, at home, people would be more relaxed and maybe even tempted to buy some of the trinkets.

Once she had thought a great deal about this concept, she took some trinkets from her family’s stash, and set off to the city with her friends, Nadia and Joise .When they got there, they decided to try and sell some of the things. Fortunately, the first few houses they visited, owners were sympathetic, so they made R20,50 by selling 5 dream catchers. At the next house, they were invited in by a principal who asked them to tell her about themselves. So they did, and the principal, Mrs Grace thought for a few seconds. “Well, I can’t say your story isn’t sad, but how would your village’s children, and you, like to have lifetime scholarships to my school? You won’t have to pay for anything!!” Mrs. Grace smiled at their surprised faces. All the townships’ parents agreed, and all the children went to school that fall and had fun at their new school.

Thaba Morula

Well, it was  my  first  trip  without  my mom  and dad, so  you  cant  say it  wasn’t exciting !  I felt a mixture of excitement,  nervousness and  apprehension , just like everyone else. Our luggage was loaded onto the bus and everyone was in a rush of excitement. Yes ! We were off to a 3 day tour to get to know our Grade 4 classmates.

After saying goodbye to our parents and promising to be good, we went to our class. Once in the class, we shared our feelings  with our friends and literally jumped for joy. When Jennifer, our class teacher, arrived, we went over our bags and did general last minute checks. Josh was only coming for a day,poor boy ! He missed so much.

On the bus,everyone was chattering ,and for once, the teachers didn’t seem to mind ! We started singing silly , babyish songs like ‘The wheels on the bus ‘ and others ,that I didn’t normally take part in before.

When we got to the Elephant Sanctuary, we were divided into two groups. The first group was taken to pet the elephants while my group, the second group, was taken to learn about the elephants .We felt inside their skull . It was weird ! I don’t know what we were feeling for, I think it was the brain ! Yikes! When it was the first group’s turn to learn about the elephants, it was our turn to pet them.

We went in pairs to feel the elephants. I went with Rabeah , who unfortunately left the school few days after  camp.Jennifer and Mrs.Welsh came along to pet the elephants. We felt the elephant’s foot , its skin and its underbelly.It was rough.We went into the elephant’s nightrooms and learnt that the coloured marks on the walls were made by an elephant rubbing against them.It sure was stinky in there ! They like to eat a fruit called Marula, which if eaten in large quantities , makes the elephant drunk!

It was time to go to our final destination,Thaba Morula. Once there, we dragged our bags to the hall and got introduced to the camp counselors ,Nico and Marcus.We chose our cabins.The boy’s cabins were on the other side of camp.Me, Kiasha,Rabeah,Kika,Emily,Alande,Mia,Lara ,Leora and a few others shared a cabin. Rabeah and I were bunk mates.

At night we were to go for a night march in groups but Jennifer decided at the last minute to go in groups of our own classes. Jennifer came with us , so it was fun.We didn’t use flash lights.When we came back, the cook had made a delicious cake but we got a tiny piece each.

That night we couldnt sleep as some kids thought that there was a ghost in the camp.Everyone got scared but of course , it was just a trick of the light . We were all homesick and scared as it was the first time ever to sleep on our own , away from home, at a camp.

The next day we swam in the pool and the water was sparkling blue even though there was a frog by it.The tuck shop was open and it was pretty cool.I bought a braclet for myself.They even had beer and baked beans there !

We went on a game drive to see the animals in the bushveld. We arrived at a big rocky hill where we found marulas! We brought some home too. They were sweet.The view from the hill was wonderful.  When we got back to camp, we were supposed to play stalk the lantern.It wasn’t that fun and we were never got to finish it because Hina couldn’t breathe .We also boiled some eggs from a fire made out of dry grass. It was to teach us to how to survive in case we ever got lost in bushveld.This night we got some sleep !

The next day was our last day ,so Nico and Marcus let us swim in a dam that had murky but dirty water! We got messy but it was fun. We also did an obstacle course that was fun.It was now time to go home.I took a few pictures at camp , though not many , with my camera.

When we arrived at school in the afternoon, some of the children were crying and looking as if they were lost.We were very exhausted but I was happy to go on a tour with my new classmates.

I wonder where will we be going for Grade 5 tour.Cant wait!

( The tour was from 7 - 9 March 2011 but didnt get time to write about it . Too busy with school ! )

http://www.thabamorula.co.za/

http://www.elephantsanctuary.co.za/