Sylvia's Journal

We arrived together in Kabul in the middle of Sunday afternoon. First we were taken to the new terminal that has just been put in use after endless delays. Then, after waiting for the SUV cavalcade of the minister of finance to clear out, we were driven through the hot, dry and dusty city to our new temporary home at the other side of town. Axel has concluded that Kabul had not changed that much in 31 years. But he hasn’t seen the mega fortresses of the US and UN yet.

We were taken to guesthouse 0, my usual lodgings and, to my great surprise, to the room I always stay in. It had been transformed into a cozy lovers nest with a double bed and exotic wall hangings, carpets and objects from all over Central Asia, small but quite lovely (photos to follow). I am still trying to figure who I have to thank for this.

While in Dubai the air was so humid that our eyeglasses fog up the moment we left the air conditioned inside. Here in Kabul the air here is so dry that it takes all the moisture out of your body in no time. It is a bit of an adjustment to go from cool and wet Addis Ababa, through hot and humid Dubai to hot and dry Kabul; much wheezing, sniffing and coughing.

As if to remind me of Addis, the power cycled on and off as soon as it got dark, requiring each time to reset the airco manually – a major pain. Eventually the MSH generator took over and allowed for a fairly good night.

We are lodged here with a whole bunch of pharmacists (druggies we call them) and Sallie Craig, the only other woman. She’s leaving in a few days. I requested that her place be taken by Maria Pia so that there is at least one other woman in the house. That would be nice since I am going to be around men at work all the time.

Maria Pia is about to take a young Afghan kid home with her to Cambridge with his caretaker and so she is also going through some major life changes, just like me. We like to hang out together while we can and talk about such things. Once I am ensconced in Afghanistan and she in Cambridge with her new small family, we won’t be seeing each much.