Random Observations up to this point

I thought that I would jot down some random observations at this point so that I can see how much they may change as my time continues here.

First off, the driving is horrible. I have driven in some bad places, Manila, Bangkok, Yangon, LA, London, Atlanta, Nairobi, Kampala, Grand Island, Nebraska (well, that is a joke) but here it is amazing. People, cars, trucks, bikes, carts with donkeys, and motorcycles just go any direction without looking and honk their horn continually. Then on top of that you will have police, army, and security folks come barreling through honking their horns pushing everyone aside to get through. Or when someone important comes through, they just block off the road so you have to find another way to get through. It is crazy. Then toss on top of that the treat of suicide bombers and kidnappers and you get the full picture. Just today, a series of trucks pushed their way past us....I mean pushed, you either get out of the way or you will get hit. Then once they were past us, they slammed on their brakes and started exiting the vehicles with AK47s. It scared me at first and then I realized that they were escorting someone they blocked the road until that car could go into their home compound. Nice....happened all the time in Grand Island or Dannebrog, Nebraska....well, they were shotguns not AK47s and farm trucks not military looking trucks.....and typically hunters just hungry heading to the local bar....so not scary just life during hunting seasons....and they typically didn't carry the guns into the bar but they were in the back window of the truck. Okay, so nothing like Kabul....

Another observation is the dust. There is a fine dust everywhere all the time. You are covered in it day and night. Since I don't have AC, I have to keep the windows open otherwise the room is way to hot. So all my stuff has a nice film of dust on it....including me...all the time. Between sweat and dust, I am a real treat. And I have a light that stays on all the time in my room so I have started covering it with a sock to get it dark at bedtime. So when I look up from my bed, I see the sock hanging there....kind of funny.

Another thing that I found out was that the city provides electricity from 6 pm to 6 am so the outlets in the house work during that time and then a generator runs the other 12 hours and they use extension cords to run things. It is fine...as long as you know that. My first night my fan quite working and I was sticking to my sheets since there was the plastic on the windows and no air flow and then my fan quit and I didn't know the extension cord trick. Now I do.

The Afghanis people that I have met have been fantastic. All them have taken care of me and offered a friendship that is hard to match anywhere. It is unfortunate that a handful of bad people have ruined the image of a place that really has such good people. And I feel bad that at times I become concerned when in the traffic jams that something bad could happen. Most folks are just going about their business but then look at you because you are a foreigner but with no anger or dislike for you just curiosity of someone different. The folks at the university have really taken me in and made sure that I am taken care of. The first night after the wedding party Jim and a couple Afghanis faculty members drove me home and one of them inspected the guesthouse before he would leave. So I feel very safe with these folks.

Another thing that I have noticed is that many of the older street light poles have huge bullet, RPG, or tank rounds through them. This must have been done to bring down the electricity or lighting but they are still there....but have a hole in them.

And lastly the roads are horrible. Some are paved but most are not and both have lots of holes. So it is a bumpy ride.

Enough for today.