Holy Day

Friday is Holy Day in Kabul, Afghanistan so the cooking and cleaning staff at the compound have the day off. We’ll have a brunch at 10 am this morning, but cold meats and cheese later according to the ex pats living here with me. The dining room is adjacent to my living quarters (bedroom with corner, window office and bath) so while I put up with a little extra noise, I have the boiling water (tea being the drink of choice), frig stocked with bottled water and sodas, and snacks including cold cereals, bread and peanut butter a door away. Luckily, COSTCO had Starbucks VIA on sale, and I stocked up, coffee being my personal drink of choice!

The jet lag (12.5 hours ahead) has subsided a bit. Up at 5:30 am today instead of the usual 3 am. Imagine it had something to do with being up late last night with Glen and Azad completing a two hour briefing! Glen said I looked like I was fading at 9 pm though we went until almost 9:45 pm.

At 10:30 am this morning, Glen arranged for a security transport so that we might enjoy a trip to “Chicken Street.” This shopping location is secure and a place to “haggle” for such things as carpets, azurite, and leather goods. We’ll be out for about an hour and a half. Should be interesting! I will take my camera though I don’t know if I will be allowed to take pictures?

It’s cloudy here today, the ground damp so it looks like there was a little rain last night. Snow flurries are predicted for the weekend. Sun is shining now.

Yesterday I accomplished work on my training materials by starting the Power Points for the Public Administration workshop. We are still in a state of flux as to when the classes with occur given we are still trying to build attendance. Azad made a call to a Minister last night to rally a few more people. I think we’ll start the Governance training on Monday so I need to spend the majority of my day on those materials and through the weekend.  This topic is much more interesting to me personally.

I am learning alot just by sharing meals with the group of ex pats living here on the EQUALS compound.  So many of these ex-pats are here with real committment to the people of Afghanistan with many making a real difference in individual lives.  The Afghan locals working here  have taken their wages to send their children to school, buy homes, and change their futures for the better.  As it is here, my experience is that development happens best one relationship at a time.