more on life here

As testament to how fast we adapt, I neglected to mention some parts of life here that might be, how shall I say, different than what I'm used to.

No mail. Well, that's not entirely true. No reliable mail. Don't see mailmen, post office vehicles, mailboxes.

Salespeople are men almost universally, even in women's shops. And they don't understand the concept of 'just looking.'

Kabul has a pollution problem - mostly dust/dirt in the air. It settles everywhere and gives the leaves a gray/green hue.

All the shops will take American dollars although in some it's best to have Afghanis. 100 Afs is about $2. Some things are really really cheap. A kite, for instance is about 20 cents, but then they don't last long. A tin of steak and kidney pie (my favorite) is over $5.

Ordering a vodka and tonic does not necessarily mean there will be vodka in the drink; you're better off ordering beer (Heinekin or Heinekin) or wine.

A 'sated aboringine' is not what you think. It was listed on a menu and I must admit I was tempted. However, it was the Afghan spelling for 'sauted aubergine' (eggplant).

Going to a tailor, for a woman, means taking something that fits and letting the man tailor take measurements from it rather than from you. If he measures you, the garment is liable to be big.

Muslims pray five times a day - one of the pillars (duties) of Islam: Just before sunrise, midday, midafternoon, just after sunset and at nightfall. The muezzins call the faithful to prayer, traditionally from a minaret, more commonly now through a loudspeaker. They are heard throughout Kabul.

Many Muslims pray wherever they happen to be at the time. Some at school have prayer rugs in their office and pray there. There are also prayer rooms in many public facilities and there is one at the University. I have been in a grocery story and seen someone kneeling in prayer behind a counter.

We have a wireless connection at the guesthouse and at school. It does not always work. But mostly.

I have not been able to find a bathtub plug.

The stove runs on a gas cylinder which is currently leaking so we turn it off when we're not heating something. Hopefully that will be fixed tomorrow.

The bathrooms are not designed for showers.

In place of the invocation, at the beginning of dedications and other formal get-togethers a man gets up to sing verses from the Holy Koran. It is quite beautiful. You don't clap when he finishes.

The 'safe' house in most of the guesthouses is the bathroom. The idea of multiple genders huddling in a room with a toilet and shower while waiting for rescue from attack is not a pleasant one.

Speaking loudly does not make English any more understandable for non-English speakers.

Afghans have beautiful hair.

Most women here do not care if their ensemble is color-coordinated.

Afghans generally don't like dogs, except for our neighbor who has a dog that barks most of the time.

I have not seen an obese Afghan.

I go to the bathroom before I leave for any ride, particularly into the City...just in case.

Pomegranates are wonderful.

Most cars are Toyotas.

The ATM machines don't always work.

Afghan police often won't let our vehicle take the shortcut through town which passes by the US embassy and United Nations. Our guys shout at them. It doesn't help.

We haven't had an accident - yet.

The guns are real.

more on 3 week school closing

I talked to some of the students today who are hanging around campus. The library's open and they can see their friends.

All of them say they're bored!

One student said, "we're wasting time being off in the middle of the semester."

No one mentioned the 'threat' of swine flu; in fact the joke among the students is to cough and then everyone laughs.

To make up for the lost time, we will continue this semester in January when we come back from our winter/Christmas break. Final exams will be in February. The spring semester will extend two weeks to the end of May and classes will be 10 minutes longer - to 85 minutes.

The bad stuff

It (Afghanistan) doesn't feel like a "collapsing third world country" - a comment I read recently.

In fact it's a beautiful morning: the rooster's crowing, the dogs are barking, there's the sound of hammers hammering and kids are shouting. And I'm off to the new campus for a walk. We haven't been able to walk there recently because of security problems...which leads me to...

A runoff election was scheduled for Saturday, November 7th, between current president Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah who came in second in the general election. (After the UN-backed Election Complaints Commission threw out over a million fraudulent votes, Karzai did not have the 50% majority he needed to win outright.) You can read all about the allegations surrounding the election and the arm-twisting that went into getting Karzai to agree to a run-off.

As far as the University was concerned, we were told there was going to be some problems, security-wise. Westerners are often targeted when problematic situations arise. And the run-off promised to be problematic, to say the least. Here's what our Head of Security had to say:

"Pre-election: During the build up to Election Day the aim of insurgent/anti-government forces is to disrupt the election process and dissuade the population from voting. This will increase pressure on the government and demonstrate to the wider world that the Afghan security forces are unable to maintain security and conduct a free election.

Election Day: On Election Day a spectacular high profile may be conducted against government, military targets or polling stations in order to draw attention away from the voting and demonstrate the government’s inability to secure the capital against attack.

Post Election: Insurgent groups will want to disrupt the collection of ballot boxes and the general election process."

Nothing had been decided as to what the University was going to do, but the people who were here on August 20th for the first election told tales of a five-day lock down when no one could go anywhere and everyone watched movies and mostly drank.

Days before the rumblings in the political arena became deafening and deadly, the earth did some rumbling of its own.

We had an earthquake. Early in the morning of Friday the 23rd of October. 6.2 on the Richter scale occurring in the Hindu Kush mountains of Badakhshan province in the far northeast of Afghanistan. No one was hurt. It happened 125 miles underground and 160 miles away, but the tremors reached Kabul. I woke up because it felt like the earth was being stretched beneath my bed. Only way to describe the sensation.

I knew that it was not just my imagination or a dream remnant: the mobile hanging from the light fixture was swaying with no wind.

An earthquake seemed to be exactly what we were missing to complete the picture of life here in Afghanistan: security issues, lack of privacy, restriction on movement, unsafe water, erratic wireless connection, head scarves, and now an earthquake. But, in fact that wasn’t all that was ‘missing,' as it turned out.

On Sunday the 25th there was a demonstration down the road from us, centered closer to the Kabul University. Demonstrators were reportedly students and it was supposedly set off by a rumor that NATO forces had burned a Koran in Wardak province. (The allegation was denounced by both Afghan and Western officials.)

The demonstration started in the morning and led to a stopping of all transportation between the University and the guesthouses. If you were at school, you stayed there. At 'home' that's where you remained. Gunfire could be heard from at least one guesthouse and a stray bullet found its way onto the campus.

There was also a demonstration at the Serena Hotel, related to the protesting of a banking issue and one near a Kabul park.

The protestors dispersed in the afternoon and the ban on travel was lifted.

The story is that the Taliban who make up a large percentage of the student population in the other universities in town, are responsible for encouraging these demonstrations, again to disrupt the election process and discourage voting.

The next day, Monday, the 26th, another demonstration. No word on what was the spark. Another ban on travel to and fro. The election was still 12 days off and I, for one, was getting nervous.

Also that day 14 Americans died in two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan.

Tuesday, the 27th, another demonstration. Another ban on travel. It was getting old.

We were then advised that we would, in fact, be locked down for three days around the election (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

And then on Wednesday (the 28th) a UN guesthouse was attacked and five of the UN staff were killed along with three Afghan guards. The attack was claimed by the Taliban who announced that they were targeting those who were working on the election. The same day several rockets were fired at the Serena Hotel, a popular international hotel in town. No one was injured.

A western journalist who was at the hotel was interviewed on NPR and stated that foreigners were ‘leaving in droves’ from Kabul. I’m not sure about the ‘droves’ part; no one from the American University of Afghanistan left.

And here’s part of what we got from our Head of Security.

"As you are aware, fighting erupted in Kabul this morning as Taliban gunmen stormed a UN guest house close to the diplomatic district of the capital… In the run-up to the election it is possible that there will be similar attacks.I do not want to alarm anyone, but...

he had my attention!

…I am recommending all residents be prepared for lock down or short-notice relocation to a safe haven, if required. The advice on 'go bags' sent by email yesterday should be adhered to. "

My ‘go’ bag consists of two toy animals, a favorite mobile, a change of clothes and hygiene stuff. We all stocked up on food. And booze.

I asked one of my students what the dorm residents thought of what was going on vis-à-vis the UN bombing. She looked a bit shamefaced when she said that they were largely hoping that the midterm exams would be cancelled. Inured to violence or just students being students?

So three days worth of demonstrations and an attack on the UN and, of course, more restriction on travel.

The next day: another earthquake. Again a 6.0 on the Richter scale and from the same area, and again we felt the tremors.

That night we were having a going away party for a colleague heading back to the states at 'my' guesthouse. Maybe 10 people sitting around a couple of tables, drinking, eating pizza, being silly and the room started shaking. We assured each other that it was not alcohol-related shakes, but in fact another ... earthquake. Ha! Ha! Drinks all around!

Next up: Swine Flu.

Sunday night, the 1st of November we first heard the rumor about a possible school closing related to Swine Flu; the next day it was a reality. The Minister of Education announced that classes at all public and private (that's us) schools in Afghanistan would be cancelled for three weeks to prevent the spread of Swine Flu.

That was the official story; the unofficial and widely-accepted one is that the government did not want people to be able to congregate (at schools – notorious for fermenting dissension!) for fear of demonstrations and other manifestations of civil unrest.

And what better way to instill fear in a populace than to say ‘Pig’ and ‘Disease” in the same breath in a Muslim country.

On Thursday, the 5th of November, five British soldiers were killed by an Afghan policeman who had been working with them.

On the same day the UN decided to pull out some 600 (of 1100) staff here in Kabul: moving them, temporarily, to a 'safer' locale either in Afghanistan or out of the country. This was not good news.

The run-off election was scheduled for Saturday, but Abdullah decided to boycott; the run-off was cancelled and Karzai declared the winner.
The promised lock down did not materialize and we were free to travel, more or less.

Currently, Karzai is reportedly picking his cabinet, another 'security risk' for internationals. I'm not sure why this would be, but 'security risk' often simply means "we don’t want to tell you what's going on."

And...at least two restaurants, catering to drinkers of adult beverages, were closed on Friday night. Word is that this may be a move towards a more rigid non-alcohol serving Islamic state - arising perhaps from a promise or two made during the presidential campaign. The other word, and better one from my standpoint, is that it’s a temporary situation and may well change as the election recedes further into the past.

A couple thoughts on this mess:

I’m reminded of the question that I got so often in the States when I announced that I was going to Afghanistan. “Why?”

My answer is still "I want to save the world," but it's just a little harder than I thought.

Considering the importance of education to this country's future, I find it appalling that the government would shut down the schools for three weeks, particularly if there is any truth at all to the notion that the closing is politically motivated.

And, I didn't like the juxtaposition of events: a demonstration with gunfire over an unproven allegation of NATO burning the Koran and the deaths of at least 14 Americans and five British in service in Afghanistan.

I still have hope. I view the Afghans as powerful and resilient people and I sincerely hope that President Karzai and his government will get their act together and start moving this country forward. Decent roads and a clean water supply would be nice for starters. Oh, and less corruption in government, too!

But, I live here, at least right now. And, today, I had a great walk on the new campus. I also bought kites for the boys next door and a kite for me. My current project is to learn how to fly the darn thing.

New Campus

For the past few Thursday and Saturday mornings I've joined several of my colleagues at the 45 acre plot where the new campus will be built: to run, walk (that's me), be outside and play. We still have an escort, a driver and an armed guard with us, but there's lots of land and a chance to almost be by oneself.

The site is in the shadow of the Darulaman Palace.

And I never got tired of taking pictures of it.

Like the Palace, the land here took a fair amount of shelling during the fighting between warring Afghan factions in the 1990's.

Only recently were all the landmines removed. The white stone indicates 'OK;' the red flag: 'landmine', but all gone now - I hope.

Excavation of a mine?

Left over tank from the Soviet occupation in the 1980's.

Soviet artifacts.

This was once part of Kabul University which was housed on the original site.


Here's me, looking important.

Actually, I was looking at the dead sunflowers in the courtyard of the bombed building.Part of the Veterinary School of Kabul University which is still on site. The dog barks and barks when I approach, but also wags that tail. The cows just do their thing.

The fat-rumped sheep. Only two willing to pose; the third said 'baa.'

The goat.
And his friend.

This gentleman (the caretaker, I think) and I manage to have a conversation in Dari. Not much: 'how are you?' and 'I'm fine and you?' sort of thing. I did manage to crank out in Dari that I was a professor at the University. He told me the words for goat (boz), sheep (gospan) and cow (gaw), offered to shake my hand and posed for this picture.

There is no money for construction of the main buildings yet - estimated to be $50 million, but the facilities for the guards are currently being built.

Trees have been planted and it's possible to visualize the final roads.

Here's the soccer field which is almost finished - missing bleachers.

A downed kite. Recent, I think.

Me trying my hand at kite flying. Not as easy as it looks!

The darn thing just kept spinning and crashing.

Here's our driver trying his best to help out.

The kite is aloft, but I didn't get it there; the driver did and then let me hold the string. I think the guard wanted to join in but he was in charge of the gun.

It's a dragonfly - relaxing on the soccer boundary line.

Some Answers

No, we can't drink the water. We use bottled water to brush our teeth and we don't stand under the shower with our mouth open. The housekeeper washes the dishes in tap water and lets them air dry. Bacteria don't live well without a watery environment.

I eat fresh vegetables and I don't peel tomatoes. I do wash them in bottled water.

In the guesthouse I eat a lot of packaged foods - I've developed a taste for lentil (Dal) anything. In restaurants I have ordered hummus which is ever so much better than what I've had in the States, a dumpling affair with meat (Montoo) and wonderful feta cheese, of all things. There is a great Lebanese restaurant in town and last night we went to a place for Sufi music that served a thin form of their traditional bread (nan) stuffed with, I think, spinach, which was delicious.

The University has just hired a cook that can make hamburgers and we're getting a pizza oven. On Thursday nights at the guesthouse we've been ordering pizza - I get the pepperoni.

We have to make special arrangements to buy booze. It's illegal in this Muslim country, although at least in Kabul, it appears to be tolerated for the international community. Thank God!

Today it was 19 C (about 70 F); tonight it's 10 C (about 52 F), but it's getting colder, fast. And we're already starting to hear the horror stories about just how much colder it's going to get.

I am not using anybody's real name in this blog. The only people I know here in Kabul are people I work with. I am trying to get out and about, but it's difficult considering the security concerns.

Everyone has cell phones that are issued by the University. We carry them with us all the time. There are land lines in Kabul but from what I understand they are used mainly by the ministries and other organizations that are looking for secure ways of communicating.

I wear a head scarf whenever I am in a vehicle; I don't wear it at school and I don't wear it when I'm in a restaurant.

I wear a top (or a tunic) that covers my butt and either slacks or a skirt. I show my ankles!

I do not answer the question 'how old are you?'

I do not offer to shake hands with a man unless he makes the move first. I don't touch men, although I'd like to. Afghan men are drop dead gorgeous!

I try and say 'tashakor' (thank you) as much as possible and am trying not to be an ugly 'Amrikayi.'

Any other questions -- that I can answer?

Morning

And the 'dawn comes up like thunder.......'

National Gallery of Art

Today we went to Kabul's National Gallery of Art.The gallery is just down the road on the right. That road is one way: note the flow of traffic and the arrow sign.

For some reason (?) rather than driving the long way around and approaching the gallery going the right way on the one way street, we didn't.

The driver just aimed up that one way street, going the wrong way. I seemed to be the only one in the vehicle reacting to all the cars whizzing by and pretty much dodging us. Everyone else was calm-ish. I have yet to develop that Zen place in my inner being - or whatever.

Oh well ...we made it and didn't get arrested or anything. The prevailing sentiment seems to be that Afghanistan has a lot more to be concerned about than one way streets and which way people travel on them.

The Gallery:

And the gardens which, of course, are beautiful.

The sign says 'Welcome to the opening exhibition of the Garden of Peace and Hope for young Artists and Musicians.'

A 'four o'clock?' with a two-colored blossom.

We were the only guests in the gallery. It costs $5.00; a ticket was written out for us.

We left our shoes at the door and we were given others to wear inside. We were told if we wanted to take any pictures it would cost us 50 Afs ($1). A docent accompanied us and filled us in on the history behind some of the paintings and our escort translated.

Salang Road (artist Yousf Asfi), the road from Kabul to Mazar-e-Sharif through the Hindu Kush mountain range.

Amanullah Khan (Artist Gargani ). The reformist king of the 1920's and according to our escort, the greatest Afghan ruler. It was listed as 'needle sewing' (needlework). A registry number of 572 was assigned to the painting; I wasn't able to find out what registry it was.

Habibullah Khan, father of Amanullah Khan (Artist Prof. Gh. M.Maimanage)

A case full of 210 Destroyed Relics of Taliban Regime.

Torn up pictures.

Our escort told us they mainly destroyed pictures of women.

They missed this one. Date is 1956 - before the Russians came, before the Taliban.

The lighting was mostly bad, the picture frames were damaged, many paintings had no labels and at one stage the guide wiped her hand over a picture to remove the dust. Like the museum and the zoo it was a sad place. But once again I was impressed : impressed with the guide's concern about the dust on a painting and the museum's bravery for displaying what the Taliban had done to their collection.

I'm glad I went.