I asked Hakim to translate again as I wanted to make sure that Colonel Safi and I were able to communicate. Hakim was very excited to help as he felt like he was contributing to something very exciting.
When Colonel Safi first invited me into his office, he looked very busy. He had about 20 Afghan National Army officers in his office and he was speaking on two cell phones. Hakim and I sat in some very comfortable chairs and waited for our turn. Colonel Safi quickly completed his phone calls and introduced himself, ignoring all of the patiently waiting officers. He then started telling Hakim a story about how his friend was telling him about a water polo program in Pol-e-Charki and how much they accomplished last year.
Needless to say, I did not need to say much to convince Colonel Safi to get involved in the water polo program and to get the pool fixed. Through Hakim, Colonel Safi promised that he would have a team ready and the pool fixed in one week. He then asked if I had any questions. I asked him if he had any questions about my vision for the program or what my plans were. His response was that he knew enough about me and my plans and did not need any other information.
Colonel Safi was very keen on the idea of starting an organized sports program aboard Shorabak Garrison. What better way to accomplish this than to start a swim and water polo team? He said he would take care of the pool issue.
I am going to wait to express my excitement about this meeting until after the Shorabak Swim and Water Polo Team starts practicing. I do not want to get my hopes up again like I have in the past few weeks, just to get let down.
I look forward to the next meeting with him about introducing water polo to Helmand Province Afghanistan.
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