The Other Side of the Sky

Prologue–Chapter 3

Reading Check

1. In suburban Chicago (Chapter 1)

2. The ride’s machinery sets off sparks. (Chapter 1)

3. Kabul (Chapter 2)

4. Germany (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Alyce Litz is an American volunteer with World Relief, an organization that helped Ahmedi immigrate from Afghanistan. Ahmedi did not feel that she had achieved anything worth writing about when she met Alyce, but Litz told Ahmedi that, given all the hardships she’s endured, simply surviving is an achievement. (Prologue)

2. After the incident, Ahmedi would dream about riding a bicycle, running around her yard in Kabul, or simply walking around. In the mornings, sometimes she began to rise from bed, but then remembered she needed to put on her prosthesis. (Chapter 1)

3. When Hussein came of age, he wanted to change the family’s fortune, so he apprenticed as a tailor in Kabul. He became a master tailor and, after several years, earned enough money to return to the village to pay off his father’s debt and to buy the land back. (Chapter 2)

4. Ahmedi says that the rocket explosions and gunfire were off in the distance, and that the occasional warplanes created captivating patterns of white smoke in the sky. She felt like the war was distant and it did not affect her day-to-day life. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. 6 years old (Chapter 4)

2. High heels (Chapter 5)

3. The German mother of a child in another ward (Chapter 6)

4. A year and a half (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. A “bad rocket day” referred to days when school was cancelled because there were so many bombs descending on Kabul and the surrounding area. Ahmedi reflects on her childhood as happy time, but things like “bad rocket days” are a reminder that she grew up in wartime conditions. (Chapter 4)

2. Ahmedi was late for school. She was rushing to get dressed and gather her school things before running out the door. To save time on her route to school, she took a shortcut through an overgrown field, which is where she stepped on the landmine. (Chapter 5)

3. In Germany, the hospital workers softened Ahmedi’s bandages with warm water before removing them; they were sensitive to making the experience as pain-free as possible for her. In Afghanistan, by contrast, hospital workers yanked the bandages off as quickly as possible with little regard to Ahmedi’s pain. The difference shows how the wartime conditions in Afghanistan left doctors and hospital workers desperate and overwhelmed. (Chapter 6)

4. Ahmedi does not speak Farsi very well anymore, which contributes to the sense of alienation from her old life. She also has trouble readjusting to the daily onslaught of gunfire and rocket explosions. She misses the modernity and safety of Germany. (Chapter 7)

Chapters 8-11

Reading Check

1. They were at the bazaar, picking out fabric to make Ahmedi new clothes. (Chapter 8)

2. They live in the bombed out remains of their home. (Chapter 9)

3. In that region of Pakistan, men dress in the style of the Taliban. (Chapter 10)

4. Domestic labor, where Ahmedi and her mother take care of the merchant’s five children and clean their house (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. The Taliban forbids women from venturing out alone. As such, Ahmedi and her mother cannot go into Kabul without a male escort. Since Ahmedi’s father has just been killed, Ahmedi and her mother must rely on neighbors for assistance. (Chapter 8)

2. They lack money for safe and reliable transportation. Also, as a woman and a girl, it is difficult for them to travel freely. When they finally make it to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, there are hundreds of Afghans trying to escape, so they must sneak out with another refugee family, going illegally through a mountain pass rather than the official border crossing area. (Chapter 9)

3. The camp is simply a large collection of tents, which does not provide Ahmedi and her mother much protection from the howling winds and freezing temperatures. Life is difficult in the camp; Ahmedi’s mother is frequently ill, and she loses a great deal of weight. Ahmedi’s mother frequently needs to be taken to the hospital in town for treatment, she is barely surviving. (Chapter 10)

4. Ahmedi speaks directly to God in this moment, and she speaks from her heart. In that moment, she totally and completely surrenders to Allah. In that surrender, Ahmedi is changed. She gains an inner strength that allows her to cope with the difficult circumstances of her current situation. (Chapter 11)

Chapters 12-15

Reading Check

1. World Relief (Chapter 12)

2. Because the organization was prioritizing the relocation of wounded and disabled individuals (Chapter 12)

3. New York (Chapter 14)

4. An allergic reaction to medication given to her at the hospital after an asthma attack (Chapter 14)

Short Answer

1. To migrate to America, Ahmedi and her mother need approval from the US Embassy in Islamabad. The Taliban have a stronghold in Peshawar, which they’ll need to pass through in order to make it from Quetta to Islamabad. (Chapter 13)

2. Ahmedi and her mother are forced to meet several difficult layers of bureaucracy, all of which cost money and time—both of which Ahmedi and her mother lack. What’s more, to meet these bureaucratic requirements, they must travel long distances across sections of Taliban-controlled land that are extremely dangerous. (Chapter 13)

3. With Ahmedi’s mother ill, Ahmedi played a crucial role—with the help of her case worker—for filling out official paperwork and visiting government offices and other agencies to organize the logistics of her and her mother’s status in America. After a few months, Ahmedi’s case worker told her that World Relief had done all that they could do for them and, going forward, Ahmedi and her mother were on their own. (Chapter 15)

Chapters 16-20

Reading Check

1. Alyce provides Ahmedi with a phone, a TV, kitchen utensils like pots and pans, and clothing. (Chapter 16)

2. She learned math up to second grade in Afghanistan. (Chapter 17)

3. The Litzes (Chapter 18)

4. Because she walks with a limp (Chapter 19)

5. Being a doctor or an engineer who designs prostheses (Chapter 20)

Short Answer

1. Ahmedi experiences profound loneliness in the US, and her friendship with Alyce helps alleviate that. What’s more, Alyce helps guide Ahmedi through American culture; Alyce helps her with doctors’ appointments, accompanies her to the grocery store and introduces her to new experiences. (Chapter 16)

2. Ahmedi teams up with a program that modifies cars for amputees and anyone who might need to operate a vehicle with their hands, but Ahmedi finds these cars too difficult to use. So Alyce finds a mechanic that can modify a standard car so that Ahmedi can drive by creating a platform that clamps onto the gas and brake pedals. (Chapter 18)