New Place, New Time, New Work

My first workday in Kabul has come to an end, and though I miss the Herat staff like crazy, this is going to be a good move for me.

The first news is this: I don’t have to be at work until 9:15!!! Did I tell you that yesterday? I feel like shouting it from the rooftops! My body clock is back at work! Woo hoo! So today I got up around 7, hit the treadmill until 7:40, took a shower (boys, turn your backs) and got to SHAVE MY LEGS, and was at work at 8:52, celebrating the moments of my life. Does a day start much better than that?

My supervisor is going to be a good supervisor for me. She sat down with me, told me about the projects that are underway in the office and what my part in them would be. She gave me a project to do for the day, we figured out the best way to get it done, and then I started in.

At noon, I joined an English class for Afghan nationals. It is being taught by Afghan nationals, which to me doesn’t quite make sense – if I were learning Dari, I would want the most learned Dari linguist and grammarian to teach me. It seems that the students would want to be taught English by people whose native language is English. But that isn’t necessarily the way it is. Regardless, I am going to teach a class in technical writing next Tuesday, about how to write e-mails. The lesson will be KISS – Keep It Simple, Sweetie!

I finished my project in the afternoon, which pleased my new supervisor, and then I came back to my slightly larger room and talked to Max via Skype. Then I went to an exercise class that focused on abdominals, or as I call them, “flabdominals,” and then I ate dinner with four friends I had met in Washington and in Kabul prior to my time in Herat.

All in all, it was a good day, and I enjoyed the camaraderie. I also had plenty to keep me busy, which was a trade-off for the laid-back environment in the Herat offices - most enjoyable, but not too fast-paced. After all, what could be better than a day with just enough to do and then some extra time to find out more about Islam and Afghan culture from Esman and Hasat? The answer is – not too much. As I said last night, I have been a lucky girl.

Tomorrow, I will go with our section leader to a government office in Kabul, and tomorrow night, the camp is throwing itself a Halloween party. Then a friend will come over from the other camp on Thursday night, and she and I will go shopping for some winter clothes on Friday. A colleague here has arranged a bazaar on Friday afternoon and a movie on Friday night, so my day off will be as full as a day at work. I wonder how I will get anything done – such as cleaning my slightly larger room? It is a good problem to have.

I will have lots to tell you about my trip to downtown Kabul tomorrow. Now that Esman has told me how to add photos – I hope you look down to the last post so you can see Fearsome Handsome Ferocious instead of just hearing about him – I will try to take some pictures so that you can get an idea of what this city looks like – and feels like – and maybe sounds like.

My being in this far-away place evokes many feelings that I was not expecting, and here is one: I really like talking to you and sharing this experience with you. Being able to do that, and hearing from you when something I say touches you, makes me feel not quite so lonesome and not quite so far away from home. Tonight, when I was getting ready to flatten my tummy (fat chance, no pun intended), I talked about how Skype, Facebook, and e-mail keeps me in my life. I got the idea that the other women didn’t spend as much time as I do on this miraculous machine, but I thank heaven above that it is available for me. I never knew I counted so much on the touch of others – and obviously, I am not talking about physical touch. And for my Aunt Catherine (Susie to those special few) and for Vida, both of whom have complained about my general lack of contact, I promise that I will remember that lesson. Because really the lesson is that we have each other, and that itself is a treasure.

Thank all of you. Until tomorrow with a new experience.