Sylvia's Journal

Today, exactly one year ago, I arrived in Kabul to take up my new position. It has been a wild and amazing year – with highs and lows, delights and frustrations; a year in which I learned more than I can remember.

It has been a year in which Afghanistan became real, multifaceted and not quite as dangerous as people back home thought; a year in which I mastered enough of the language that I can order pizza in Dari and converse with our drivers and guards.

Originally my assignment was for one year only. We would be home now. But we added another one. If it passes as fast as last year did we will be home in no time.

We celebrated the event with one of my Afghan colleagues, his wife and his four wonderful kids, one boy and three girls. They flew balsa wood airplanes, which disintegrated in exactly two hours; they blew giant bubbles with the bubble wand and smaller bubbles with wands made from a clothes hanger; the oldest two learned to hoola-hoop in about 10 minutes and wore themselves out; they played with the exercise ball and then they posed for a picture each holding one of the mustaches (brut) or beards (rish) on a stick that were leftovers from the wedding decorations.

We had pizza from Pizza Brasil which the grownups liked more than the kids. We put out sweets which they ignored in favor of a giant melon that their dad carved up expertly.

After tea we gave the family a tour of our house. Their house is in the process of being finished, has been for a long time, a bit like the main road outside our office. They were curious about how we foreigners fill our houses and said they got some ideas for their own.

The kids all had to try the elliptical machine which was a little too difficult for the youngest one (5) who could not reach the handlebars.

After the house tour they requested their leave (may we go now?) which probably was a literal translation from Dari. We sent them off with a bag with goodies for everyone plus the picture of the kids with their mustaches and beards.

I liked the way we celebrated my anniversary here because it was all about what is good about this country: good company, good food and good weather, and kids that played like kids do everywhere else in the world when given the chance.