Sylvia's Journal

Yesterday we had another dust storm, the now dreaded khak-bad. It sweeps a fine dust into the air from there it has free play. When we arrived home our guard Rabbani had a scarf wrapped around his head with only his eyes showing. The driver quipped that he was now ‘mullah Rabbani.’ It made everyone laugh even though mullahs here are no laughing matter.

This morning all the surfaces in the house were covered with the brown dust that we know contains lots of very unhealthy particles that float around Kabul. The guard took a big hose and sprayed water on everything to wash it off the terrace, trees, plants, arbor, windows and furniture. And so it falls back on the ground until the next wind takes it up again. It will always be like that.

Although we still can’t see the low hills behind our house (obscured by the same dust), above our heads the sky was blue and the wind was down this morning. We sat outside and enjoyed the late summer sun while we ate our breakfast. It’s is a short lived pleasure because once the sun is gone we realize it is actually fall.

We stayed home all day except for our Dari class. I found out that I am reading an Iranian fairy tale (the lady of the 1000 stories), which explains the many words that were new. The teacher and I decided to read on, it’s good reading practice. And so now I am learning words that are only spoken further West. It is a third grade book with pages that contain only words, no pictures – I am reliving the experience of a beginning reader who sees all those words and no pictures, a little intimidating at first.

Our house guest went carpet shopping, a nearly obligatory experience for which time can always be found. She returned very content with an old Turkmen carpet, an AndKhoy runner and a Baluchi carpet that are now spread out in our living room.

More stuff came to our house when our Turquoise Mountain friends delivered a liquor cabinet that had been made for Prince Charles. He had not taken it and it was for sale. Doug had bought the pricey chest, partially because of its exquisite woodcarving but mostly because of the Prince Charles association. He likes stuff that has a story attached. We had the chest for only a few hours and then it was delivered it to its rightful owner.