Heat, Dust & Roses

Hello from Kabul, Afghanistan!
We arrived Thursday morning at 7 Afghan time....about 12 hours later than Seattle time.  All of our luggage arrived, no extra charges after Seattle as they checked them clear thru.  We did have to stand in line with hundreds of others in Dubai at midnight for what seemed like a couple hours as they checked passports and visas scrupulously.  All we needed was to retrieve our carry-on luggage that had been checked only to Dubai where we ended our United flights.  But, we found them, walked an interminable distance to the new gate, found ColdStone Creamery and had an hour's rest before boarding the last flight on Safi. The Dubai airport is a scene to behold......oppulance on every hand.  WE were about to descend into something else... 

 Careful instructions had us leaving the airport with hired boys pushing our two carts of 7 bags.  WE passed thru one gate with guards, then the boys dropped our carts and quit.
They were unhappy with the pay we were advised to give, argued. But we picked up the carts ourselves and found the next gate and another boy with a cell phone.  He called our # for the Faders and we hired him and another to take us to the next gate where we found our welcoming committee! 




Of course, we were exhausted and have spent these three days napping between activities.The Morning Star Guest House is a refuge for us thru July.  Ken and Debbie are the hosts and have bent over backwards to orient us. We have our own bathroom, even.  And two fans!  Meals are prepared and we just show up.  Today I put the laundry downstairs and...voolah, it  washed itself!   And the room will clean itself!  I like this.  Of course, dust gathers on everything constantly, so pretty soon 'grit' is the new feel.


We hit the social circuit Wed. afternoon as guests of PAC-TEC, pilots and mechanics who serve rural areas.  They have built an outdoor pizza oven and love to party around it.  The Faders graciously introduced us to nearly all of the young families.  Why is it everyone is so young anymore?  Hand-cranked ice-cream was also  on hand....a good start!  Musa, the driver took us women home while Jon and Tim attended a celebration at CURE hospital.  They were sorry they'd eaten so much earlier as a full-spread Afghani meal was offered!
Thus ended Day 1!


Yesterday was the Holy Day for Muslims...Friday, so the ex-pat community meets together every other week as a whole and then as small groups in between. Dr. Tim and Patti Fader were given a farewell following and we were introduced.  Names are swimming around in our heads, but they belong to very interesting people, of all ages...even our age! 


After our nap, Tim and Patti took us to High Tea at the Serena Hotel.  This is where they go  when they need a respite.....a *****Hotel, all of it behind high walls, with security checkpoint and gates.....the inside is a different world.  We strolled the beautifully landscaped grounds, checked out the swimming pool, then found the Tea Cafe and Ice-Cream Bar....yum.  They even serve espresso there!  And there is evidently a  "Starbucks" in town....I'll have to find that.    So, now we know where to go, other than a flight to Dubai, for a change of scenery.
Thus ended Day 2!


That brings us to today.....July 9.   We became locals with the purchase of cell phones!  It was quite the process, requiring giving copies of our passports, a passport photo, and checking them out for originality...meaning, they haven't been used and reboxed.  Musa, our faithful driver, helped do this......of course, after pulling up to the roadside bank (a man holding a fistful of money who gave us his exchange rate. It was excellent so we did business)  This intersection of town teemed with people, buses, cars, shops, craftsmen.  The shoe repairman was sitting on the sidewalk under a tree with his machine to punch leather....a few shoes spread out.. 

 So, now we had Afs(their bills) and cell phones.  We next drove to see the house we will live in, beginning next month.  It is beautiful, once you get inside the gate)  Our room needs a little fixing- up  to be homey and comfortable. The Silk Road people are being very generous to loan us their furniture and use of appliances, air con, etc.  The peacocks were penned up and the doves cooing in their cote.  The yard is surrounded by rosebushes...Darla, the primary renter, is a rose specialist and has trained her gardener.  The marble patios will be cool places to roost ourselves once we get a chair or two.  The whole house is shared by two couples and two singles.


So, how are we faring with all the changes?   Our heads are clearing up, Jon's throat is sore,
I'm feeling clothing-challenged( my meager efforts don't match the requirements), etc.   But these are minor compared to the devastation we see around us as we bump along the streets with our drivers.  The smell of sewage, the constant fog of dust, the crazy driving, the shambles of the city....all hit us head on.  But we hear of the school for women near our house that has enrollment of thousands of girls.  We hear of the efforts of M's and NGO's for years who see progress and pray that opportunity remains open.
There is HOPE! 


We thank God for you,
Marita and Jon