Sylvia's Journal

This morning for breakfast (included) we realized that our place of lodging was a holiday making hotel for heavy-set holiday makers from Russia who were loading their breakfast buffet plates up with what looked like breakfast, lunch and dinner all at the same time.

The last leg of the trip we shared with 148 other people heading to Kabul. No kids. We are so curious what all these people are doing there. Some have their profession dangling on a lanyard around their neck: police trainers, security folks, embassy people, new CIA people maybe?

There was no one from the UN; people with light blue passports are not allowed to fly Safi, they have to fly on the UN flights. There are at least 4 flights leaving Dubai for Kabul a day (UN, Pamir and Safi) that is four or five hundred people in my book. There are more flights coming in from Delhi and Islamabad if you prefer that route.

All these people streaming in, making last night’s Pakistani taxi driver shake his head in disbelief about what the hell we think we are doing. For some it is about making a difference, for others making a buck and the rest to do both.

Back home we were welcomed by our cook who must have been practicing while we were away; he proudly told Axel he had made pizza, a salad and several desserts, all things we had never seen him prepare before. The pizza was more like a heavily loaded French dinner tarte, not quite a pizza but going in that direction and very yummy.

We unpacked our stuff and toasted to our safe return to our Kabul home with a glass of Corenwyn, the strong Dutch gin that comes out of a pottery flask that was partially responsible for our hefty excess baggage bill.

Axel delivered the gifts for our personnel, 5 pairs of heavy gloves, who, minus the housekeeper and the day guard were having a jolly time in their cozy and overheated rooms in the staff quarters behind our house.

And now back to work, which remains in a holding pattern now that we know that Parliament rejected the minister of health. For me, having to work with senior leadership, this means going back to square one at some point, but when that might happen is entirely unclear. We remain in the holding pattern that was established this summer, before I even arrived.