Sylvia's Journal

We are shivering again. For a brief moment there was sun and the fantasy of sitting outside; now we are back inside. Aside from experiencing a winter weather pattern we are also following the ash cloud that is back over Europe and has already closed one airport in Southern Germany.

Sita called because it was mother’s day. She had made it back just in time from Spain before the airspace was closed. Axel is hoping that the ash cloud reaches Frankfurt as he is not yet ready to go back. Our stress levels are back in the normal range. You don’t know this until it subsides. But then Axel read one of the ANSO reports that tell us in automatic emails about bad things happening in Afghanistan. II could feel my stress level shoot up immediately again. I didn’t want to hear anything from ANSO; it is never really good news.

We slept late, had another breakfast with too many difficult choices about what to eat and then walked through the university campus to a ‘lust and pleasure park.’ It was designed for some lordship about 300 years ago following a design from a famous Versailles garden architect. The lanes form a star pattern with each quadrant containing more lanes in geometrical patterns. The place has been fixed up after decades of neglect. Now, in the center, where all the lanes come together, a surprise awaits the wanderer: a shiny black cube provides four gleaming surfaces that reflect the trees. Inside the cube is shaped like a grotto where you can order a macchiato.

For lunch we drove to Charles who knows everything about micro credit in developing countries. Last time we met was in the KLM plane to Accra (and back again), some years ago. We finally made it to his lovely house near Breda, with both an inside and outside to die for. He sent us back to Tilburg with a couple of pounds of wild boar that he shot himself. Along the way we bought 4 kilos of freshly picked white asparagus, some to eat today and some to take back to Kabul, if the ash cloud will let us go. And if this was not enough he added some bottles of a local brew with high alcohol content.

We ate the wild boar; we ate the asparagus; and once more we are full. As it is our last evening in Western Europe (we think), we are taking advantage of the fast internet connection to download movies and take care of other business that is tedious with our slow internet connection in Kabul.