Sylvia's Journal

The work days are long here even in the weekend, which it is today. A couple of hours after the workday ends here the workday starts on the US East coast. I am working on three assignments here in Kabul and another challenging one a month from now. I guess what I am really saying is that I am kind of tired and also a little anxious about getting all the assignments to be designed in such a way that they produce the intended results. I sometime struggle with the notion of ‘not being attached to outcomes,’ which is hard when everybody is urged to use results language. But predicting results is rather tricky in this context and add to the anxieties, not just of me, but of everyone.

Last night I joined the family of M at the Intercontinental for dinner. We met early because of her two young boys who eat early and go to bed early. Afghans generally eat late and the place didn’t fill up until we left, around 8. At that time weddings were going on left and right and the place was full of families. There were a few hotel guests. A group of men entered, grim looking men with their pakul caps and long chemises and baggy pants. We tried to guess who they were and why they were there from. Afghans can tell where other Afghans are from but to me they looked like warlords.I was glad that the Intercon has a strict policy of ‘no weapons.’

The wedding in the hall next to the restaurant was a modern one, which means men and women together in one room. I would call it ultra-modern since the bride wore a bright red dress – hemline above the knee, short sleeves and a daring décolleté. It’s good no Taliban were in the room as they would have ordered her out of the building or maybe stoned her to death. I truly wish the couple well and good luck as they might need it. I also applaud them for doing what they want to do.

Dinner was wonderful. The boys can now speak English quite well because they go to the international school. I brought them books which may be a bit of a stretch but, once started I hope they get hooked. It is hard not to get hooked on Margaret L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.

Today my housemate and I worked hard during the morning and then went to have a Bento box at Bentayo in Shar-e-Nao with friends and MSH consultants who had not seen much of Kabul. It was a gorgeous crisp winter day with the sun trying to break through the smog. We visited a place to buy gifts and then returned to our respective guesthouses and back to work – Boston and Arlington are just waking up, which reminds me that I am tired and would like to go to bed, even before dinner as I am still full of my Japanese meal.