Sylvia's Journal

Karzai really meant it when he said the concrete blast walls and road barriers had to go. This morning, on my way to my massage appointment, we passed several areas where the barriers had already been removed. The Serena Hotel looks decidedly naked as its natural entrance has become visible again. Another street has suddenly become twice as wide. It’s exciting to see more of the city and the removal of the walls makes the town just a tad more normal.

The ‘security chatter’ continued and we received an email from the US warden that all sorts of places we usually go to are off limits for US embassy people; we ‘other’ Americans were warned. What to do? Give up my Friday massage? I listen to our own security chief who is sufficiently connected to get prompt warnings. He is not holding us back. I heard our security systems described as ‘surfing’ – it is about listening to all the chatter and to circles inside the Afghan security forces and sliding along the airwaves. So far it has worked: not too tight, not too loose.

Axel picked me up at the spa and from there we headed to the carpet place where I had bought his birthday present, a kelim that neither of us liked after we had spread it out in the hallway and looked at it for a few days. So we went back to return it. Axel got to pick one for himself, something that looks more like a Yomut, the one we gave to our nephew Daan and his bride Jane for their wedding. Axel had to add some money in addition to the returned kelim as it was an old carpet and therefore more expensive.

Having finally bought his first carpet he got a taste for more. We drove to the place where he has been drooling over the same carpet for 6 months now and, against everyone’s admonishments, had not bought it. But I knew he dreamed about it and now he is earning his own money so he didn’t feel guilty about spending ours.

When we arrived at the shop the carpet was no longer hanging on the wall and his heart sank. Too late? But no, the shopkeeper remembered him and was able to locate the carpet in a pile of folded ones. He smiled and said, “you know this one was made for you!” Of course we all knew that. Axel didn’t even bargain, so happy was he to find it.