I killed the battery on the car. Hamid, the office driver, came to my house on Wednesday to help me try to find the problem with the window washer fluid. We didn't find it and I somehow managed to leave the keys in the ignition, on accessory, for several hours. When I finally remembered, the battery was done for.

So I asked around among people I knew with cars, trying to find someone with jumper cables. Nobody did. By Friday I was desperate enough to ask Hamid for help despite my embarrassment. He said he did not have cables, but he had a charger and we’d use that on my battery. As he drove me home, though, Hamid said somewhat sheepishly that he’d forgotten to bring the charger, but it was okay, we’d start my car with his battery. I figured he did have jumper cables after all, and it had been a language problem.

But no. When we got home, he took the battery out of his own car, and brought it over to mine. He said that we would take my battery out, hook up his, and then start my car. Once the car was running, we’d take his battery out and put mine in. He said he thought it would keep running while we swapped – it worked on Soviet cars.

When we got Hamid’s battery into my car, we had a problem. It was much larger than my battery, and the leads would not attach to it. I told Hamid not to worry, and that I would find someone with jumper cables. He said no, we could do it, and got out a wrench. He set his battery into the car so that we could attach one battery lead. He told me to get in the car, and he held the wrench with a pair of rubber handled pliers. He used the metal wrench to make a connection between the battery and the lead, holding it with the pliers. He had me start the ignition. The car started, we switched batteries, and the car kept running. Hamid told me to run the car for 30 minutes after that.

I did, and all is fine now. What American would be able to do that?

ttttttttttttttt

Went to the bazaar today after the gym. Since it’s spring, the bazaar is full of little trees. Well, trees, bushes, and all kinds of plants. It was the trees that really affected me – these things that look like muddy sticks with labels like “apple” and “cherry.”

The were also selling raspberry and rose bushes. I wonder if I could get one of each? Do they require special care? I would love to have raspberries and roses. Would they even bloom the first year or do they take time to get used to their new home?

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USAID is one of many donors for the project I work for. The views expressed herein are the author’s own views and do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer or especially those of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. And I mean it. I probably give the US government heart attacks.