Wet Month(s)

The last couple of months have been pretty wet by Afghan standards. Keeping in mind that they've endured a ten-year drought here, some of the younger folks are truly amazed with the rain. We had some "global warming" fall in the city on 8 April, even the "old people" my age don't remember snow in April in Kabul. While we've had many inches of rain, the mountains around Kabul have had several feet of "global warming" to remind them that Nature will do as she pleases.

One of the guys I work with has family in Bamiyan Province to the west of Kabul. They get lots of snow in the winter, but rarely after the middle of March. It snowed again two days ago on top of snow that has been falling almost every day since mid-March. Now the big concerns are avalanches and the floods that are sure to follow when the snow melts. And we are "downhill" from that melt.

In Kabul, the big concern is that with all the flat, mudbrick roofs, the slow steady rain presents collapse danger. Many of the homes are wet inside due to the leaking roofs. In spite of the gloom brought on by day after day of rain, most people are pretty happy about it and between showers there is a flurry of gardening and planting. Trees and shrubs are hot-selling items right now as the residents take advantage of the moist soil to get things into the ground.

Flooded Streets
Pedestrians have it rough in this weather.
With few sidewalks, there's nowhere to walk.

Bring Out Yer Wellies!
The two girls in the back seem quite pleased with their footgear.

Umbrellas have been a hot-selling item of late.

A note about covered faces.
When girls cover their faces like this, it's more often to filter out the yucky air.
The schoolage girl population in Kabul explodes during school season.
Families in less secure areas send their daughters to Kabul to live with relatives so that they can go to school where it is safer. Additionally, many of the remote areas have no facility for education beyond 8th grade.

Snowy Mountains.
This view is looking west from downtown.

Old Man Begging
Between the showers, the beggars pick up the pace.
The Dari word for beggar is "faqir."

Pashtun Mom and Son
She has her burkha open as they look for sunglasses during a lull in the rains.

Misty Mountains
As storm clouds break, the mountains are shrouded in mist.
One of the reasons I love the mountains are all these cloud effects.

More Rain
Dad walking daughter to school.
Afghans understand the importance of education for their daughters.

That damn American influence again!
The local Marlboro stand.
Seriously though, our culture is the best weapon we have against "the forces of darkness."

Another Storm Approaches
Downtown by the river, this storm looks like waves crashing over the mountains north of town.

Afghan Sense of Humor -- They Have it BAD!

This past week saw April Fools Day. And believe it or not, a couple of my translators really got into it. While I was out of the office at a meeting, the two younger guys told the other two interpreters that I had received complaints about all the translators' performance. They were drinking too much chai (tea) and talking too much. In addition to that, their translations took to long. Since they were being so unproductive, we were letting a couple of them go and before lunch, the letters would be delivered.

After I returned to the office from my meeting, the room was deathly quiet. This is really serious stuff afterall. Our interpreters make more money than an Afghan Major General, so losing this job would be a huge blow to their families. The two younger guys kept looking over their computer monitors grinning at me, knowing the other two were really sweating. They had already prepped the envelopes and placed them in my drawer. Yeah, they got me in on it.

When I next left the office to go down the hall to talk to the Afghan Colonel I work with, I grimly handed the two older guys the envelope and walked out. The scene was reported to me when I came back. With downcast faces and trembling hands they opened the envelopes and read the letters.

APRIL
FOOOOOOOLS!

When I got back to the office they were all still laughing. All in all the rest of day was not very productive because jokes were played at each other's expense until we went home.

This week's Kabul Scenes

Early Morning Soccer
As we drive past this field at 6AM each day, the game is in full swing.
Exception is rainy mornings.

Sisters Walking to School
With the start of the New Year and more daylight, school is in full swing.

Gathering the Flock of Wee Penguins
If we abandon these people again, scenes like this will be history.
The Taliban don't think girls should be educated.

Talented Lad
Sign painter on the way to a job.

Blogging buddy Momcat didn't think people were smiling enough on the first day of spring. Well, I'm here to prove that Afghans do smile...alot!

Unemployed Taliban?
Well, ok so this guy isn't smiling,
but it's probably because of all the other people smiling.
Maybe he's an unemployed Taliban reminiscing about the good old days
when he could beat women in public.

Are you looking at me?
Well, maybe a bit of a grimace.
No really, he's smiling.
When he saw the camera he pointed to himself to get his picture taken.

There is a sizable Hindu/Sikh population in Kabul.
I'd say he's contemplative. He might be smiling, but
with that dead animal on his face it's hard to tell.

SMILES!
Pretty mommy with new wee one.
Note the cell phone in her hand.

Happy Hazara!
He's pulling a cart with about a ton of rugs,
but he smiled for the camera.

Something really funny in those coconuts!
I almost had to break out the shades for this smile!

Two smiles!
The woman on the right was a good six foot two!
Note the ever-present cell phone.

Aw come on!
You mean you can't see her smile?

Diversions

Just because there is a war on and the bad guys are about to take Kabul, is no reason to not have a good time. Although General Order Number One does not allow us to drink booze or get nekked with the opposite sex, we can on occassion enjoy the simple things in life...like breakfast on a mountain top.

It's a tough climb, but the scenery isn't too bad.
Umm, you'll see what I mean by that a little later.

The view is worth the climb.
The "fog" you see in the low areas is actually smoke from the fires used to heat homes.

Though this was early December, the sun warmed everyone quickly.

Breakfast served by an Irishman.

A wee spot of hot tea and and some cakes. Our Colonel on the left.
He's recently ended his tour and has returned to England.

The Irishman, the Colonel and the Major on the left have all returned home.
The Regimental Sergeant Major in the Army sweatshirt is from Glasgow.
When he speaks one of our Air Force guys frequently asks for a translation.

Breakfast on the edge.
One wrong move for those at the edge and it's a thousand foot drop.

UK Embassy Babe.
Remember when I talked about the good view going up?
It was the south end of this lady...a real motivator to keep climbing!

After the climb, several dead Taliban were discovered.
We presume they died of heart attacks.
Some of the guys in our party almost perished too.

I always find the way back down to be harder than going up.

Destroyed tank from the Afghan Civil War.
That was the period betweent the Soviet departure
and the arrival of the Taliban.
From inside the turret if you look through the barrel, you will see that it is sighted on the King's Palace.

The ladies took possession.