Afghanistan's version of electric blankets

We use these heavy blankets at night. Really heavy. Each weighs about 10 pounds. You’d think they would keep you warm, but it is made of some synthetic fiber I have never felt before. Kind of like felt, but heavy. They also have an added feature: they spark. Seriously. If your skin is a little dry (and every one’s skin is dry here), the friction of your hands against the blanket makes it spark. I almost want to bring one back with me to show off, but I think it will put me over the edge on my weight allowance!

Well, hello Mr. Driver ...

One of the little idiosyncrasies abt Afghanistan is that they get their cars from all over. Now, I don’t mean they get some cars from japan, some from the US .. what I mean is that some of the pieces of the cars come from all over. I’ve ridden in what says on the outside to be a Toyota, but the steering column says VW, the chassis has that American comfort car feel .. the whole car is a sum of its parts. There is also little way of knowing which side the driver will be on until you get in the car. Our security team recommends that we sit in the back seat of the cars so we are harder to see, but I’ve grown tired of seeing Kabul through a head rest and since most of our cars have tinted windows (and I wear a scarf over my head), I’ve started to sit in the front seat. It was dark one night after work and a new driver was coming to pick me up. There was still a lot of snow on the ground so I was looking downward as I opened the door to grab the little hang bar to hoist myself over the poopy mess. It was just as I was angling my bum downward, that I introduced myself to my new driver who (as my unluck would have it) was in a right side driving position. Now some might be able to laugh this off, but in a country where you shake hands (at most) with a man you already know, sitting on the lap of someone I had just met flies in the face of the cultural norm. Naturally I sheepishly said my best version of pardon me in Dari (boo bash-een) and sat behind him in the back seat figuring we both could use a little “alone time.”

A Happy New Year afterall

I finally got my bag. I finally have my own warm clothes. I slept last night without freezing (thanks to the sleeping bag I packed). I can feel my toes for the first time since I got here. Kabul is suddenly a much better place (so long as you don't mind the colors gray and tan, don't mind not walking freely, and don't mind having your heart skip a few beats every time there is a bang in the distance. Yes, 2007 will be a goodie.

Happy New Year

Well, this might be one of my more memorable New Years, but not because of any hoity-toity party. In fact, I was nestled under 5 blankets by 10pm with a cup of lukewarm water (take that you champagne drinkers!) and a decent book (why oh why didn't I bring Danielle Steele along?). The New Year did not bring me my luggage (yet), but I did manage to get out to the PX and bought some quasi-non-atrocious fleece pants (or maybe they are atrocious .. I am just so happy to have another pair of pants to wear).
Standby for more fashion updates from cosmopolitan Kabul ...

Eid Mubarak

Our daytrip to the Salang Pass (through the Hindu Kush) coincided with the first day of Eid. The feast of the goat. All across Afghanistan and other Muslim countries, goats were being slaughtered (no pictures .. yet). Not only do they get slaughtered, but a small incision is then made into their leg so people can blow in to it. Blowing air in to the incision apparently makes it easier to remove the pelt from the animal when you skin it. Tasty.

Mining 101

We took a great day trip out of Kabul (in retrospect, the trip itself might not have been great, but getting out of Kabul felt fantastic). The weather was nice, the sun was shining, and you forget how mice it is to feel like you can walk around without someone snatching you. We headed out towards the Salang Pass which cuts trough the Hindu Kush (mountain range). The only problem is figuring out what is (and is not) considered a “mine clearance” (or MC). So we looked for the rock markers (white on rock for clean, red on rock for danger), but since everything was 2 foot deep in snow, finding a red or white marker proved a little difficult. So as not to tempt fate, we stuck to walking along the road and wandered off into a little village only when we saw well-used tracks. Another graffiti symbol to become familiar with is HT or Halo Trust, the group responsible for putting many of the markers on the rocks and de-mining (or is it mining) the area. Meanwhile, I think Halo Trust sounds like a good name for a Christian Bank, but I digress.
These pictures show some of the area we were in, as well as some village children who came out to play. It doesn’t matter where you are, a snowball is a snowball and throwing it at adults (especially strange ones like us) proved to be an enormous amount of fun.

An unexpected surprise

The past few mornings an unbelievable luxury has befallen us here in Kabul. We have electricity when we wake up. Apparently Kabul powers much of the city with hydro power, ans all of the snowmelt is giving us that little extra we need to see (without candles) when we wake up. Now I am sure you are thinking, “that must be beautiful, Kabul must look like Venice with all that water runoff.” Well, Venice it is not .. unless Venice’s waters have turned to a gooey mud swamp thing .. but not to look a gift horse in the mouth, it’s been a little slice of heaven in the mornings. (mind you: the extra power isn’t enough to flush the toilets or warm the water .. for that we need the generator).