Sadiq the woolman came by to bring a gift from his wool company which is called, I only now found out, Sadiqat which means loyalty, honesty. We talked about marketing and quality control and branding and all that. He needs some help and a partner. I promised to check out whether there is any USAID small business support project that can help him put basic business concepts into practice and keep helping the widows he employs to earn a living, however meager. He brought me a cashmere scarf knitted by one of the ladies, wrapped neatly in a box with a dried flower arrangement on top that someone had spent much time on constructing to look like a heart.
I packed up my sewing machine which has already left for its temporary home until Nancy will explain it to her sewing ladies. I threw in various knitting and sewing odds and ends for good measure. I packed up the printer and the DVD player and except for the HEPA filter vacuum cleaner which I am still trying to sell, there is nothing more to pack.
For lunch I went to one of my staff members who lives across town with his extended family in two apartments, one above the other, in one of the old Russian housing blocks – ugly and pockmarked from flying bullets on the outside but quite comfy on the inside. The salon had been re-done for eid, new tushak covers, new curtains, newly painted walls.
I was treated to a delicious meal, followed by gifts, one for Sita, bride for one year, from his daughter. We watched videos of various weddings, one in Germany where two of his children live. It could have been Afghanistan except for the mixing of the sexes but otherwise, the dresses, the music, the make-up, the hairdos, all was as Afghan as Afghan can be – modern Afghan of course.
Back home I discovered that the large bottle of ketjap ( a dark and sweet Indonesian soy sauce), set aside for my Dutch friends, had fallen over and emptied half its contents on the beige wall to wall carpet, luckily behind the couch and near the window where it could be hidden from sight. Still, it was a royal mess. Mopping it up made the spot grow in size.
For dinner I joined Ankie and Annemarie, fresh from Holland, who are here to do an impossible task in very little time. Ankie used to stay at my house when here on MSH business but now she’s here on another project and put in a guesthouse across town. This is just as well as I am using her room as a staging area for the luggage that is flying home with me on Wednesday.
I took pictures of the other rooms that are now waiting for the moving company to come and pack things up.
Sylvia's Journal 
Recent Comments