In 2007, I visited Aschiana at the invitation of an acquaintance who was volunteering as an English teacher. Students created oil paintings and watercolors by copying images from postcards and photographs. Most of the students had never been outside of their neighborhood, let alone Kabul. My friend Sandra and I decided to organize a ‘field trip.’ We rented two Pakistani buses for the bargain price of fifty dollars. We purchased a new supply of pencils, sharpeners, paintbrushes, paper, and Russian watercolors from the local stationery store. Two days later, forty-four students set off on a hastily organized field trip to Band-e Qargha Lake. After students got bored with painting, they skipped rocks into the lake; a universal pastime enjoyed by children and teens across the globe.
