Ethiopian Adventures

Before I met Eyerusalem, the thought had never entered my mind that one day I would visit Ethiopia. In fact other than Egypt, slightly maybe, I would not have ever thought to have visited the entire African continent. Well now I have, and I can tell you, at least Addis Ababa is nothing like I thought Africa would ever be. Addis Ababa is a sprawling city that lies at the foot of the Entono and is at about 7500 feet above sea level, comparative to Kabul which is at about 6000 feet. It is considered the political capital of the Africa due to its historical, political, and diplomatic importance to the continent. It is an old city, founded in 1886, this site of which was chosen by Empress Taytu Betul.

Addis Ababa is located in a temperate part of Africa just above the equator. I had thought that meant hot and dry but it being, June the beginning of their winter months, it was cold and rainy. June, July, and August, in order are the wettest and coldest months. However, the temperature in Addis hovers around two or three degrees of each other (21-24 degrees celsius) each and every month. I was ill prepared for such moderate and rainy conditions as I took mostly shorts and t-shirts, other than my wedding apparel. When I say wet, I really mean wet. Each and every day we had downpours of a torrential nature. Streets flooding, rivers and creeks swelling, the whole nine yards.

Ethiopia is a very poor country. Its average per capita income is much similar to Afghanistan’s. However, I can say Addis Ababa is much more developed than Kabul. It reminded me, though, of pictures of Kabul in the late 60’s to early 70’s which many say was the Kabul heyday, and prior to the Russian invasion of the country and before the ravages of war here set in.

I will say something for Afghanistan, the internet connections in Addis were much worse than anything I have ever experienced. Far worse than Kabul and worse even than the old dial up days in the U.S., thus the reason for no updates from Addis to you all.

Ethiopia is an old culture. Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world. It can trace its roots to the 10th century B.C. Anthropologic evidence suggests that it, perhaps is the oldest culture known to mankind. At least the oldest remains have been found in Ethiopia. That being said, it is a country steeped in tradition dating back thousands of years.

I had read that Ethiopian culture was based in religion, but I was not prepared for how based it was. History suggests that the religious ties to Christianity and the bible go way, way, back. Ethiopia is mentioned in the The Queen of Sheba came from Ethiopia and, if you remember your biblical history, bore Solomon a son, and returned home with that son. Thus the religious aspects of Ethiopian culture go way back to Solomon’s day and to the, previously a monarchy, rulers of the country being direct descendents, so they say, of King Solomon, himself.

Christianity, it is said made its way to Ethiopia very early on. The Kingdom of Aksum (northern Ethiopia) was one of the first nations to officially adopt Christianity. In Ethiopia, converted the King during the fourth century AD. Many believe that the Gospel had entered Ethiopia even earlier, with the royal official described as being baptized by Philip the Evangelist in chapter eight of the Acts of the Apostles. (Acts 8:26–39).

While the name "Ethiopia" (Hebrew Kush) is mentioned in the Bible numerous times (thirty-seven times in the King James version). Abyssinia, an ancient name for Ethiopia, is also mentioned in the Quran. Islam in Ethiopia dates back to the founding of the religion; in 615, when a group of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to Ethiopia via modern day Eritrea, which was ruled by a pious Christian king. Moreover, Bilal, the first muezzin, the person chosen to call the faithful to prayer, and one of the foremost companions of Muhammad, was from Abyssinia Also, the largest single ethnic group of non-Arab Companions of Muhammad was that of the Ethiopian's. (Wikipedia) Today 62.8 percent of the population is Christian and 33.9 percent is Muslim. Christians and Muslims live, work, and interact side by side in society with little or no tension in the country. Mosques are beside churches in many areas.

The Christian religion can be compared closest to Catholicism, I would say. Although, my wife, among other Ethiopians, might object to that comparison, as well as some of my Catholic friends. That being said from an outward perspective that is what I would compare it closest to. Religion, though, is a strong part of all aspects of their culture.

Something that I was not aware of prior to traveling. Ethiopia is also the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari movement, whose adherents believe Ethiopia is Zion. The Rastafari view Emperor Haile Selassie I as Jesus, the human incarnation of God. The Emperor himself was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, which also has a concept of Zion, though it represents a separate and complex concept, referring figuratively to St. Mary, but also to Ethiopia as a bastion of Christianity surrounded by Muslims and other religions, much like Mount Zion in the Bible. It is also used to refer to Axum, the ancient capital and religious centre of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, or to its primary church, called Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. (Wikipedia)

In addition a little known fact A small ancient group of Jews, the Beta Israel, live in northwestern Ethiopia, though most emigrated to Israel in the last decades of the twentieth century as part of the rescue missions undertaken by the Israeli government, Operation Moses and Operation Solomon. Some Israeli and Jewish scholars consider these Ethiopian Jews as a historical Lost Tribe of Israel.(Wikipedia)

Coffee and Ethiopian Culture

Coffee is very much engraved in the Ethiopian culture. Coffee goes back centuries. Its origins remain unclear. Many, however, believe that coffee was actually discovered in Ethiopia. One story, that of a goatherd, named Kaldi, who noticed his goats energized after eating a particular berry. Kaldi tried the berry himself and found he also had a marvelous amount of energy. He took the berry back to a monastery but the holy men dissaproved, thinking they were some sort of drug. They threw the berries in the fire and out came a wonderful aroma. The roasted beans were quickly raked from the fire, ground up, and put in hot water. This is said to be the world’s first cup of coffee.

Regardless if this story is all or partially true coffee is a rich part of the Ethiopian culture. I discovered this the weekend I had decided to propose to Eyerusalem. Being the romantic that I am, following a trip to the U.S., I had reserved a nice hotel in Dubai. She picked me up, however, from the airport and announced we were going back to her place for coffee. Not being a coffee drinker I sort of rebuked the idea and she became highly upset. As soon as I arrived, however, I realized it was much more. An eleborate setting was laid before me. One in which a ceremony actually occurred related to the roasting, brewing, and drinking of coffee. It was complete with candles, incense, nana (mint) spread on the floor, etc. It was a site to behold. I began then to understand the tie between coffee and the Ethiopian culture.

In Addis, many restaurants, hotels, etc. have coffee ceremonies similar to the one that I was treated to that night. However, what really surprised me was that you could not throw a stone in the street without hitting one or even two small coffee shops of cafes that served various forms of coffee from espresso to macchiato and those in between. Some of the cafes small mom and pops, some of the big, like the Kaldi Coffee Chain, similar to our Starbucks in appearance, and of course named for the famous goatherd of the legendary tale above. Addis was devoid of Mountain Dew, as many of you know my drink of choice. However, with the fresh roasted Ethiopian coffee, I had a wonderful substitute and even developed the taste for a good double macchiato.

The Wedding; the Reason I Came

So what was it like getting married in Ethiopia? WOW is all I can say. It was hard, it was an adventure, and in the end it was GREAT. We had a rather large wedding, by our standards, smaller by Ethiopian standards. 222 guests plus the wedding party in total. That was just the wedding, though. There was the marriage ceremony and there was the planning up to the wedding.

What a lot of work. Yes, I have been married before but nothing like this. Lots of planning had to go into this wedding. In the past it was always small and quick. This was a big deal and I knew it going in. Luckily, we chose a location, The Crown Hotel, that did a lot of the work for us. It was at a great price by U.S. or even Ethiopian standards, as well. They did it all. They would have even arranged the cars for us but wanted a large price for that but we were able to arrange our own. That plus a photographer/videographer and we were set. Or were we? We also had to do announcements and get them quickly to friends and family and get the word out. Normally, a wedding is announced 2 to 3 months in advance in Ethiopia, however, even though we knew enough in advance, we were not in country and could not do so. Therefore, we had to hit the ground running. Then we picked out bridesmaid dresses, accoutrements for the groomsmen, etc. All this in a few short weeks. In addition, however, there was the civil marriage process.

The Bifurcated Marriage Process

In Ethiopia, and I hear in other countries there are two parts to a marriage/wedding. One is the civil process that makes the marriage legal and binding. The other is the religious/cultural ceremony. Complicating the former was the fact that I was a foreigner and even more so was that I had been married before. I had to get a certified copy of my divorce papers to the U.S. Embassy to provide me a “Free to Marry” certificate. That was followed by taking that certificate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since I was a foreigner, and getting it certified in Ethiopia as a legal document. If you have ever visited either in a foreign country you or gone through other major bureaucratic steps you will know that this is not a simple few hour process. I was aware of the process and went prepared with a certified copy of my divorce papers, otherwise what took us a few days, yes a few days, could have taken much longer. Thank goodness for email and contacting the Embassy in Addis, in advance. So two trips to the Embassy, and two trips to the Ministry and we were set. She had to get a similar document from her local government office, or kebele, but that was only a few hours to get.

On June 9th, however, after traveling from kebele to kebele, a few friends and family in tow, we arrived at the correct one that would marry a foreigner to a local. We did the marriage signing ceremony in which we signed the “big book” but really less than an hour later we were married legally in Ethiopia and were told to come back after lunch and get our certificate. We did so but a major power outage happened and after waiting for a couple hours they suggested we come back early the next morning and we did. So our “Marriage Anniversary,” as I call it, is June 9th.

Other Bureaucratic Stuff

In addition to the wedding stuff, we had to get Eyerusalem a new passport, hers had been damaged and we were worried that traveling might be an issue with 4 or 5 pages having been destroyed. She initially thought it would be 3 days but it actually was 3 weeks of going to Immigration and sitting in line after line. The place was packed as Muslim Ethiopians were trying to get passports in preparation for the time of the Hajj a few months down the road. I am not sure if that increased the time of processing but it sure did not help. Finally, less than a week before the wedding we got the passport.

With no Afghan Embassy in Ethiopia we had to decide where to go to get her visa for Afghanistan. We decided Cairo would be a nice place to visit. We could have been in and out in a couple of days but we decided to spend an extra couple of days for a brief Cairo honeymoon. We booked out trips but she had to get an Egyptian visa to go to Cairo to get the Afghan visa. Luckily, that was only two half days worth of work, as it is fairly easy for an Ethiopian to go to Egypt.

The Wedding Day Arrives

Weddings in Ethiopia are a whole different thing than in the U.S. They have very distinct traditions that I had to learn very fast. The first is the groom and his party going to the bride’s home in a large procession of fine cars, ours were Mercedes, and picking her up to go to the place of the wedding after a small ceremony there. Yes, a few friends, Justin and Theo, came in from Kabul to participate with me. I feared the rain, and Eyrus’ home being on a dirt road, the mud. Mud and white clothes do not make a good mix. I even asked her a couple of times if we could alter the tradition for nature’s sake but it is so embedded that it was a must.

As I said each day there were torrential downpours. Our wedding day was no different. Just about the time to head to Eyerus’ home it started. It was huge. Rain, sleet, thunder, lightning, the works, it all came. We got down the dirt road as far as we could but when the cars could not go any further waited out the rain for a bit. It let up a bit but it was evident that it would not stop for a while so we got out of the cars and headed to the house where her family and friends had gathered to greet us. As we emerged from the cars and walked about a block in the mud, just before turning to go down her specific street, we noticed a river of black muddy water. Not a river, really, but a fast moving flow of water about 2-3 inches deep for sure. Stepping on rocks and such we got across, a bit wet, and a bit muddy, but we all, one by one, there was only one umbrella did it.

As we each approached, the word got out we were there and we were greeted by the shrill la, la, la, la calls of the family and friends. One by one as we got there more and more calls erupted. We all assembled on the porch, waiting, finally on the photographer/videographer to get inside and set up his gear. A few minutes, seemed like long minutes, we were signaled to come inside, me first and then the calls all erupted in deafening unison. In an Ethiopian wedding, this is when the groom first sees his bride. I had seen the dress but, living with our wives tails and traditions, had not seen it on Eyerusalem. Much as a groom who sees his bride, in the U.S., for the first time in her dress coming down the aisle, I saw my beautiful wife. Stopping in my tracks, a grin came over my face, and my heart skipped a beat. Then I went to her, lifted the veil, and again my heart skipped a beat, WOW!

Of course there were the pictures at the house, then we left the house, all getting in our Mercedes, and then went close by to the photographers local studio, where we did some in studio shots. Of course, it was still raining a bit, and very dark cloud cover so we could not do outside stuff. Then it was off to the wedding in our procession of 4 white Mercedes, an adventure in and of itself. (Video soon to come).

The wedding, itself, was a sight to behold. I really cannot describe it. You should really check out the pictures at www.eyerusalemanddavid.com. Dancing, eating, drinking, more dancing, it was a big celebration. A few small Ethiopian particulars to the wedding I will point out, however. One is that fresh raw beef is a part of the Ethiopian diet and very much a part of the wedding ceremony thus what you see in the pictures. The second, you can see the ring ceremony, slicing of the cake, and champagne is similar but unique in nature. You will have to wait on the video, to really see the differences but can observe a few. I would say the biggest difference is the “thrown” on which the bride and groom sit and even the stage in which the whole wedding party sits is very unique. Now yes, we have a wedding table, but this was truly a thrown on which we all set and could see the whole of the goings on.

Departing Addis

Two days after the wedding my friends departed after a nice thank you dinner on Monday night for our wedding party. Our departure was the next evening. Of course departing that soon after the wedding was stressful. We really had no downtime to think of. We quickly got our belongings together and got on a airplane headed for Cairo. Many mixed emotions. Of course, many of my new friends and family were sad to see us go but equally they were happy that Eyerusalem and I would be beginning a new life together. The Addis airport is unique to any other place I have been, in that family and friends can sit with you almost until departure time. It has, of course, 2 coffee shops, etc. that make it very convenient for a nice send off. About 10 friends and family came along to see us off and it was very nice. At 8:00 p.m. we boarded the flight headed to Cairo and eventually Kabul.

Cairo Then Kabul

As I said previously, we chose Cairo as the place to get Eyerusalem’s Afghan visa. We did so for several reasons, including her ease in getting a visit visa to Egypt. Cairo also would be a nice change as neither of us had been there before and we had both heard it to be a nice place. We decided it should be a nice honeymoon, albeit a short one, in addition to a place for a visa run and it was.

How does one characterize Cairo? Cairo is a busy, very, very historic city. I don’t think I need to go into Cairo history for you all. Traffic is terrible, there appears to be no rules of the road, and it is chaotic. However, there seems to be a method to the madness as you zip here and her through the traffic. I will say, though, that the taxi drivers are crooks. The best bet is to get a metered taxi, if you can, as the others will rob you blind if you don’t watch out. They also have know idea about direction and nor how to find something. Our trip to the Afghan Embassy was not a fun experience as the taxi driver drove around and around looking. Luckily, this was not a metered taxi and we had agreed on a price in the first place or the meter would have killed us. 2 hours later we found it, finally, and just over an hour or so later we had Eyerus’ visa in hand to come to Afghanistan. However, having not got to the hotel until 4 a.m. and up at 8 a.m. it was nap time.

I collect a few things. Two of them happen to be t-shirts from Harley dealers and from Hard Rock Café’s both from throughout the world. Through our nap we missed the Harley dealer, but a good meal at the Hard Rock was meant to be had and that is where we chose to eat dinner, or at least I did. This particular Hard Rock is one of the oldest ones from a world perspective. It is built into a huge hotel, the Cairo Grand Hyatt. After a great time there, collecting my t-shirt, we strolled along the Nile river for a few hours after such a huge meal hand in hand. The Nile is, of course famous, but it is also a huge part of Ethiopian culture as a branch, the Blue Nile, originates in Ethiopia. The Blue Nile, originating at Lake Tana, Ethiopia, is said to contribute 80-90 percent of the overall Nile itself. Therefore one can say the Nile predominantly originates in Ethiopia. Therefore, for Eyerusalem to see it and walk beside her river was a great.

The second day in Cairo we decided to do a little shopping before heading to Kabul. Something, as I have said in previous blogs we certainly lack in Kabul. We grabbed a few items, had some good ol’ American fast food at the food court and headed back to the hotel for a rest.

That night, however, we planned a huge treat. We decided to take a dinner cruise on the Nile. It was everything we hoped. Great food, good entertainment, we were able to sit topside for a while, and we even got to “drive” the boat. It was a bit pricey at about $130 U.S. but that included cab fair to the boat, and all inclusive on the boat. Wonderful time.

That was it for Cairo. We will return for sure but the next day was travel day. We had breakfast at the hotel then it was time to pack and get to the airport. We left Cairo at 3:00, had a layover in Bahrain, then Dubai, and then to Kabul, arriving at 6:30 a.m. the following day. I could have done it a bit different but at the cost of about $500 so we did the layovers and the stopover in Bahrain and the redeye to Kabul.

Conclusion

I knew this trip would be one for the memory books even without the wedding. The wedding, added, it was definitely something very special. To marry Eyerusalem would have been wonderful. However, this was something over the top special. A storybook wedding, of sorts, in a different and, to me, exotic place with a brief honeymoon in of all places Cairo, Egypt. WOW is all that I can say. WOW!!! The only thing I regret is that more of my friends and family could not be there. You will see the video, though, and enjoy the pictures. http://www.eyerusalemanddavid.com/

Eyerusalem and I are in Kabul now. We are starting our new life here. We hope to see many of you when we come “home” to the U.S. for the Winter Break.

All Is Ok Here

For those that have emailed me or otherwise contacted me, I am ok and no one is injured. In case you missed it we had a huge explosion very near. It was actually closer to the new campus and even damaged part of the wall there but no one from the here was hurt. The target was a U.S. convoy and the bad guys succeeded there in that they took out 6 military, 5 U.S. and 1 Canadian, colonels. They also killed a larger number of Afghans as is usually the case.

As this was the first attack within miles, this was the first time our security procedures had been tested. They worked flawlessly, I must say. Great job guys! Also thanks to the U.S. Army Engineers who constructed the wall on the new property. The wall took a big portion of the blast and folks who were running on the track inside the walls said they did not even get any debris. They did, however, have a case of ringing ears from the loud noise.

A few links to articles on the attack:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/18/94325/suicide-bomber-hits-nato-convoy.html

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/afghanistan/Suicide-attacker-hits-NATO-convoy/Article1-545128.aspx

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article432924.ece

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/18/taliban-suicide-bomb-hits_n_579872.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100518/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703315404575251550415377756.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwLgK1nfhmo

Has it really been almost 2 months since I updated you all? I apologize for the delay but holding down two full time jobs at the University and planning a wedding has gotten the best of me. Did I say planning a wedding? Yes, I did and you read that correctly. I met Eyerusalem (translate to Jerusalem in English) in very late October in Dubai. I had not planned on doing so but there was not a pub in the hotel and I was alone and felt the need to get a drink. I saw her sitting all alone and, very uncharacteristic for me, I got up and went to sit with her and introduced myself. Why, I don’t know but something told me to do so. We hit it off right away and a romance started to bloom. So many trips to Dubai happened between October and my Boston trip in April. While in Boston and again in D.C. I realized I wanted Eyerus with me for the rest of my life and on the way back through Dubai I took the big step and ask her to marry me. She said yes and all the work and planning, and weekly, now, trips to Dubai began.

Eyerusalem is Ethiopian. She wanted very much to be married in her home country and I agreed. The big date is June 27th, 2010 in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Of course, all my friends and family are invited to attend. However, I expect that only a few of you, if any will be able to make the journey. But if you can you are welcome. RSVP’s are simple and you can do it online at http://www.eyerusalemanddavid.com/. Sorry no pictures on the website but our photographer promises to have me some advanced copies very soon. In fact, maybe even today. So keep checking back often.

Boston, D.C., and Home to Kabul

Well it was a whirlwind tour but I am now back in Kabul as of Monday afternoon. I had a little time to myself while away but for the most part it was long days and hard work for me while in the U.S. The trip started in Boston and the ACPA (College Student Educators International) 2010 annual conference. Luckily, I arrived a day early for the conference as our travel folks could not get a flight for me so I got to check out a bit of Boston in some great weather. Boston seems like a wonderful city. I might have to go back for a visit one day. However, right on cue as the rest of the 3500 or so attendees started arriving the next day the weather turned terrible. Rain, wind, and cold were the key words. The conference was awesome. I presented on the next to last day so was able to concentrate and take in many session before having to present myself. This was the second international conference I had been chosen to present at and by far the largest so it was a bit unnerving to say the least at first. As I took in other sessions, all the while learning, I got my bearings and was able to kick the jet lag as well. I knew I would be o.k. I have not attended such a large scale conference in a number of years and actually forgot how busy one can be. Sessions started early in the morning and ended in the evening then there are events later in the evening and once folks found out where I was from I was invited to dinner following that. So really it was nonstop 13-14 hour days consistently for a whole 5 day period which is tough. It is so exhilarating it carries you through though. At the end you pay the price and by the time I got on the plane headed to D.C. I was utterly exhausted. The work was not done though.

Thursday night in D.C. was a reception for the legal education project sponsored by Stanford Law and hosted at our institution. Friday, I had to get up early and head to the Afghan Embassy to submit my paperwork for my visa and then start to help plan our board meeting. Saturday evening the board meeting kicked off with a dinner and then Sunday the meetings actually started and a dinner followed that day. Monday was another meeting day as well as a follow up trip to the Afghan Embassy to pick up my visa.

The board meeting being over on Monday did not stop things as I had to go to the passport office to add pages to my Visa. I had questioned once if I would ever even use a passport let alone and after 18 months of traveling around I would have to add extra pages. I did but that is basically another blown day as I arrived back at my hotel at 3:00 p.m. after leaving at 7:30 to head in.

D.C. is a pretty neat city. Though the one thing I hate about any city is the traffic and crowds. D.C. traffic was not as bad as I remembered it but I found out it was Spring Break which alleviates it somewhat so that explained it. I was thankful for that. It was, though, the opening week for the Cherry Blossom festival which always creates a bit of havoc as the tourists and the locals all flock to the National Mall to check the festivities out and oh and ah over the new blossoms on the cherry trees there.

I actually had Wednesday to myself and was able to wrap up some personal things. Then Thursday it was time to get on the plane and head back home to Kabul. I have found that when away from the U.S. I do miss it. Also, though, when I am away from Kabul I miss it as well. Two homes, if you will. I caught a bit of the HBO documentary Afghan Star and it actually made me a bit "home sick for Kabul." If you want to know what Kabul looks like and/or see a great documentary, I encourage you to check it out. It was shot during the winter of 2008/2009, which as you know is when I was arriving. I can remember the snow and the beautiful fully capped mountains of the time.

It was a pretty whirlwind tour. Despite the running around and rush to get things taken care of, in the week that I was there I was able to catch up with a few friends here and there. Thanks to those that took time out to meet up and good to see everyone.  For those that I did not catch, see you on the flipside!

Jet Lagged & Getting Lost in Boston

Let me tell you this go around the jet lag has been terrible.  I am up when I am supposed to be asleep and sleepy when I am supposed to be wide awake.  Trying all the tricks like getting on a regular schedule but it just is not working this go around.  WOW.

For the most part I have been chilling around local to the hotel but today I got out a bit.  Found the Hard Rock for my usual t-shirt stop and happened across the Harley store across the street.  Definately a good twofer.  I even stopped in Cheers and had myself one just because.  The girl at the Harley store told me I really should go by the big store in Everett.  This was something I had considered already and had looked up and took down directions from Google Maps.  So off I went and holy cow if I did not get lost in Boston.  However, all was not a loss as I walked for about 2 hours from the metro stop in Charlestown past the historic Bunker Hill and back into Boston's North End to get on the subway and head back.  A heck of a walk that included a big bridge with those yucky slip resistent, see through grates.  The acrophobia kicked in then for sure.  However, it was a good walk as the weather was ideal in Boston.  So all was not lost even if I was. 

Back in the U.S.

So I am back in the U.S. after a loooong flight.  First it was  2.5 hours to Dubai then 14.5 hours to Dulles. I admit I was dragging by the time I hit D.C. because it is hard for a big man to catch an z's on a plane.  Also 14.5 hours is rough on a smoker.  So after wading through immigration and customs, then a pretty intense security check, (thanks underwear bomber) I hit the smoking lounge, of course.  After that I had to get a move on down to another concourse.  I am moving at a pretty good step when I look to my left and I would be darned if several of the cast of my favorite t.v. show, of course a bike show, Sons of Anarchy weren't sitting there in the Dulles airport.  So I stopped in my tracks to say hi and tell them what a great show I thought it was and that I did not miss a single show even from Afghanistan.  Of course, they were very interested in what the heck I was doing in Kabul and in fact, were just returning from a USO tour in Iraq and Kuwait.  They said Afghanistan was too hot for them right now but they would get there soon.  We talked for some time and even walked a bit toward our respective gates.  They were very, very cool guys.  I must admit, I feel like I could go back to Kabul now and the trip would be a hit.  However, I still have 2.5 weeks to go so time will tell.

 

Thanks to the SOA guys for being so nice and supporting our troops  -

 

• Mark Boone Junior - Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson
• Dayton Callie - Chief Unser
• Kim Coates - "Alex 'Tig' Trager
• Theo Rossi - Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz

and last but not least

• Mark Boone - who plays Robert "Bobby" Munson on the show

Whew......

I am sorry I have neglected you all. In fact it has been well over a month since I have posted, wow. It has been crazy in Kabul. Holding both an administrative position and now a full time plus teaching position is rough. Barely time to think let alone sit down and even pen a sentence. Well I have a very short break so I will do so.

Spring Break is coming up which will be a much needed break. This year, due to the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) conference in Boston, at which I am presenting, I will be “home” for a bit during spring break. In fact, combining that with some business in D.C.,  I was able to maneuver a two week break out of it beginning in Boston and ending in D.C. Boy do I need the break.

I think I left off just after arriving back in Kabul. The first major thing was celebrating my birthday for the second time in Afghanistan. We also, again welcomed new staff and had a wonderful time doing both. See the photos for proof. That night Latmosphere, where we went after dinner was crazy as someone was also having a party there. Folks literally dancing on the bar. No not me or any of our other folks.

The first weekend in February was an enjoyable one as I treated myself for the weekend in honor of my birthday. If you will recall last year during Spring Break, I had stumbled across the Dubai Bike Week. From there I put it on my calendar for this year which was slated for this particular weekend. This year, however, I did the entire event and was able to get a photo pass out of them. The big draw to the event was the evening concert which featured Nickleback. Although my photo pass did not cover the big concert, I was still able to get the camera in and sneak a few shots from the crowd. Bike Week felt much bigger and better than last year but I will let my photos speak for themselves.

If you recall our swine flu closure from November caused a big stir and a big shakeup in the school calendar. Finals week forced a month long shift in the academic schedule. Finals week moved from December then to February. Immediately following Bike Week, therefore, I was forced to kick it into high gear for finals and grading for my three sections of my class. This also forced us to immediately recoil and get ready for the Spring ’10 term which was very tough. More so than any of us imagined as enrollment increased 30 percent and our sections swelled at the seams and forced many of us to teach more. It actually forced me into becoming a full time faculty member and full time administrator.

We were literally so worn out that by the end of the month, which also happened to be a three day weekend we needed a much deserved break and headed for Dubai. Seven of us in all decided to hang together in Dubai for the weekend. It was extra special as we were also welcoming Justin back to our midst as he had decided to return for a bit and we were able to catch up with him in Dubai and have a heck of a weekend.

Time is flying by so fast it is literally a blur. It is hard to recall what happened in the past day or so let alone what happened even the previous weekend. However, the big event was a Rock and Roll concert on our campus sponsored by or Music Club to raise money to buy blankets for the area refugees. The concert, probably the first rock and roll concert on a college campus in Afghanistan, and definitely the first of such featuring the all Afghan, Kabul Dreams rock band was a huge hit. It was sponsored in part by a local radio station, Kabul Rock Radio, Afghanistan’s only rock and roll based station and was even broadcast live for all of their listeners.

So I think you all are caught up. Once again Spring Break is coming and I will be back in the U.S. in less than 10 days and in the NOVA/D.C. area in just a bit longer. Although I now question where to call home as my bike is in Arkansas/Missouri and my stuff is in a storage locker in NOVA, I still have a few friends and such left. Those that have my U.S. number give me a call when you get a chance.

Lots of photos to follow very very soon.

Adventures At Home Now Back To Kabul

Well the trip home is over and I am back “home” in Kabul now. All I can say was that it was an adventure. It all started on the trip home. As I was packing to leave and checking and hearing about the forecast for the Metro D.C. area I began to wonder if it was not meant to be. Record snowfalls does not equate to good air travel. I hoped that the forecasters were just trying to be careful. However, wouldn’t you know that they were right on target with a foot and a half of snow. I did not choose my dates but they were chosen for me by our travel office based on what I told them, cost, and the semester calendar. I actually could have left a day earlier but I was lucky this time in that the day’s delay kept me out of the direct snowfall and gave the crews at Dulles time to clear the runways. Where they failed was clearing the planes that could not get out of Dulles due to weather from the gates. We were a bit delayed leaving Geneva, where I laid over, but the pilot made up the hour in the air actually plus some and we were on the ground about 10 minutes early. That is where the delay really kicked in and we had to wait 10 minutes short of 3 hours on the tarmac for them to get a crew out to clear the plane from our gate. Luckily the pilot was conscious of us having been in the air for almost 10 hours and allowed us to roam a bit. Though they did run out of refreshments, food, and all but tap water. I don’t know if they eject the bathroom waste at 40,000 feet or what but luckily we also had facilities. When I got off the plan I was tired and hungry and just ready to get home. Passport control was terrible as ever and 5 hours after landing I was in a cab. Luckily the Fairfax and Loudon County road crews did an excellent job and the cab ride home was uneventful.

All in all I was really impressed with the road crews. 2 days later I was even able to go get my bike on time and ride it to Lorton, VA, the beginning point of the Amtrak Autotrain. Snowy, Icy roads and motorcycles do not mix. Thanks to their hard work I arrived having only touched the tires on a very little bit of snow.

The Autotrain was a truly delightful experience. If you have not done it you should. They are so well organized and things went off without a hitch, almost. We had an incident overnight during the trip in which a guys wife thought he was having a heart attack and they stopped the train for emergency medical crews to board. I actually slept through the whole ordeal but was told all about it by fellow passengers the next morning. The conductor, however, made up the time lost and we arrived outside of Orlando at the destination of the train early, in fact. An hour later I was on the bike and on the road.

It was a delight to be back in the saddle and the weather the first day was awesome despite hitting about 5 miles of rain just before the hotel stop. The next day the weather adventure began, though. Record lows across the whole south including the Florida Panhandle and pretty much everywhere in the south. For those that know me, I am not a 50/50 rider (one who only rides above 50 degrees and with less than 50 percent chance of rain). 40 degrees for 8 hours, though, is a bit tough and very uncomfortable but I forged on and that was pretty much apropos for the entire trip. Stops included Destin, FL, Pensacola, FL, and a 4 day visit with my daughter and a cousin I had not seen in many years in Biloxi, MS. The cold lifted to 50 degrees, still not a normal mid 60’s for the trip to New Orleans for New Years eve.

New Orleans was great as always. I had not been back for almost 10 years and I enjoyed most of it. The part I did not enjoy was the bike breaking down just outside Harrah’s Casino off the French Quarter. But after a call to the Harley Owners Group for a two back to the hotel, I was still back in the Quarter a few hours before the magic New Year’s Eve bells to toll. The Quarter was packed with revelers, most of them awaiting the January 1 Sugar Bowl. Thousands of drunk Cincinnati and Florida fans rejoicing in pre game merriment. If you have not been to New Orleans for New Years, and up to this point I had not, I fully recommend it.

The following day, New Years Day, I spent the day dealing with the bike. Nothing I could do really on a holiday and it was not readily fixable to my novice mechanic’s hands. That combined with the cold convinced me to reserve a U-Haul for the following day, load it up, and head north in the comfort of a heated truck cab. Really that is where the motocycle adventure ended. I spent the evening, again, in the Quarter, returning by half time to watch the rest of the Sugar Bowl, one of the worst I had seen in years and really one of the worst bowl games.

From their I drove north to Arkansas seeing my eldest daughter, further north to Jonesboro, Arkansas to see my son. I dropped off the bike at a shop in Jonesboro which is near my family as the intention was to have them watch it and ride it while I am in Kabul. My brother loaned me his truck for rest of the time there and promised to pick up the bike when it is done and ride it home to his house where it will be garaged kept waiting my next big motorcycle adventure which will probably occur in the summer. I also will have a bit more custom work done to the old Hawg while she is in the shop. Oh, I failed to mention the previous work didn’t I? Well check out the pics of what my old black bike has now become. Soon, though, it will be a complete softtail bagger!

A few days with my parents and brother then back to D.C. to spend a few days there and back on the plane to Dubai in route to Kabul, I was. I arrived in Kabul to all sorts of news. That news included quite a few personnel changes and the biggest fact of all, that they are closing our guesthouse. Therefore, I have to move! I went and took a look at it today. The digs are much nice but still, I have to move. I like my stuff and with the trips home, our shipping allowance, etc. I have collected quite a bit of stuff. What a pain it will be to move. However, my new room is almost twice the size. I have a bathroom with a real tub. I am on the third floor and a huge balcony adjoins my room. Best of all we have a completely finished out basement which will be ideal for group gatherings. So all in all a good trade. I still have to pack though. YUCK

It was great seeing those that I got a chance to see and for those that I did not, I am sorry my short time in D.C. did not allow. Will be back sooner than every before, I promise. Those that I did not get a chance to tell the story, I will be in Afghanistan longer than originally intended. I am doing such a good job, or so they tell me, they wanted me to stay and we are all slave to the almighty dollar so I elected to stay. July 2011 is now my new final return date. Yeee haw!

Back in DC Safe and Not Too Sound

I must say that the dreaded snow storm of December 2009 put major cramps in my trip home. What craziness. It did not help, either, that I had this insane flight arranged by our travel office. Kabul -- Dubai -- Zurich -- Geneva -- Dulles. I heard about the snow storm early as it was all over the news, etc. From Kabul I watched as it beared down on Virginia, specifically Northern Virginia on the edge of my seat. After over 2.5 years in NOVA I knew that the weather men/women often are wrong and it goes north of the D.C. Metro area. However, for once, the weather forecasters were right. They said 12-24 inches and record snow falls and it happened. It seems, however, that everyone else, including road workers, etc. knew about it. I was really surprised at how quickly they worked compaired to previous experience in my tenure here. I arrived to see mostly cleared roads. It was not just all the major thoroughfairs. I guess a little planning goes a long way. I was impressed.

Well at least it was all but airport planners. Airports closing? What is up with that? We took off an hour late in Geneva, giving Dulles time to open and assess the Dulles situation as our scheduled take off in Geneva was just before Dulles' scheduled reopening time, 6 a.m. So we waited to get the thumbs up and then were off. The airplane was absolutely full, a product of the closing the day before, I was told. We even had about 6-10 folks on standby get left behind in Geneva for the next day's flight. A full plane does not equate well to good service or even a pleasent flight. On a 10 hour flight that is not too fun. They did not run out of food, as I have seen happen before, but they did run out of softdrinks and any other drinks but beer and water. I also was crammed into a normal seat as all the exit rows and bulkhead seats were taken before I got to check in at Dubai. Which for a 6'6" dude that aint to fun. I was seated next to a kiddo but that did not turn out too bad as he behaved mostly ok. Still, it was pretty much 10 hours of my own personal hell regardless. Every hour or so I tried to stand, though, and walk around. It worked out ok. I did not die, at least until landing.

The pilot did a great job of catching our time up in route. He actually made up 45 minutes of the time we were delayed so we were only 15 minutes late. Not bad for an intercontinental flight, eh? The delay, however, came after we landed. The pilot reported, after we got on the ground that a plan was at our gate and would have to be moved and that we would have a 30 minute delay on the tarmac. Ok, I could deal with 30 minutes. He and the rest of the crew were very apologetic and even allowed us up to go to the bathroom, walk around, etc. However, no soft drinks and the water faded very fast. At about 20 minutes in, the pilot came on and told us that Dulles was severely understaffed, as there folks could not get to work and that it was going to be maybe 30 more minutes. 15-20 minutes later again, then again, then again. All in all that 30 minutes turned into over 2.5 hours, almost 3 hours on the tarmac with a plane full of folks ready to get off after a 10 hour flight. Even though the did let us up and down, it still got to be pretty chaotic with kids running crazy, folks fussing, talking on cell phones, etc. We were told at one time, that there were only a few gates international flights could go to that directed to customs and passport control. Under normal circumstances they would pull us close enough to get a people mover out there, the pilot said. However, Dulles did not have enough folks that had made it to work therefore they could not send us a people mover. My question is, why did they not put employees up close by or even in the airport and keep them there. Not like they would not have plenty of food, etc. Poor planning = pure hell!

When finally we did get off the plan we also found that Homeland Security was not prepared either and it was over an hour wait in that line. So for a flight that landed at 3:30, I left the airport at almost 8 p.m. I calculated the hours from the previous days start in Kabul and it was over 36 hours from the time I left the guesthouse in Kabul and arrived at my destination in Northern Virginia. The trip from hell was over, though!

Monday, I went and saw my customized bike that I had done while I was gone. I must say I am very pleased. It makes me sad that I will only see it for a few weeks before going back. However, she and I will get pretty close with the planned road trip you have read about. Things are still on schedule and I am off tomorrow for Florida. Woo hooo!

Just Over A Week

So things are winding down here.  I will be home in just over a week.  It's about time.  Almost 6 months since I was on U.S. soil.  Wow.  So I guess you are wondering about my plans.  I have a heck of a ride planned.  It starts by me and the bike getting on Autotrain in Lorton, VA then down south for some warm or at least warmer riding weather.  I know it is too much to hope for but I am really hoping that the long ride will make me not want to ride for a while. 

Anyone want to join me?

Hope to see at least a few of you while I am there.  Boy will you get a surprise if you happen to catch me on my bike.  She is looking totally different for sure!  Talking about a dream mashine.  See you all soon!

A Long Semester - 3 Weeks and 2 Days Left

What a crazy semester it has been here. First we started only to have Ramadan which was an experience like no othere, then a full month of activity then in case you have not read they shut down all schools, public and private, for the Swine Flu. Speculation was that the shutdown was political as it came the day after they announced Karzai as the victor in the Presidential election and not wanting a repeat of the student protests in Iran the easiest way was to break up the crowds by closing the universities and throwing everyone in a panic. Regardless of the reason crowds were dispersed indeed and the new fashion statement in Kabul became the little green medical masks. We still had to work though as it was not a holiday and work we did.

On Monday classes resumed for two days only to be interrupted again for the Eid and Thanksgiving break. If you recall last year, I blogged about Thanksgiving. We had the usual three day weekend but then the next week we had Eid. Well the Muslim calendar is shorter than the English calendar so Eid this year immediately followed Thanksgiving so we have 5 days off.

Last year I blogged about the wonderful Thanksgiving meal we had. It was really great but we did not have turkey. Well the folks that put on Thanksgiving last year are not around so no one picking up that torch, I took on the role. I organized Thanksgiving at our guesthouse and guess what, we had Turkey, Turkey, and literally more Turkey. This year the markets had Turkey breast and whole Butterball turkeys so had three whole turkeys and a huge breast. I smoked the breast and two of the turkeys and a couple colleagues roasted the other. Along with it we had all of the traditional trimmings and a few extras. It was wonderful. All in all we crammed about 30 folks into our living room. We had room out in the foyer but folks wanted to all hang out together so cram we did. It was really great. However, today as I write this I am still tired. I guess I worked hard.

The day started yesterday at about 5:15 a.m. when I lit the smoker. Winter has come to Kabul and it was about 20 degrees, yes Fahrenheit, here. In fact, the water that I was soaking the wood was partially frozen and ice cold. So I got the turkeys ready, even though the were still solid blocks of ice. I guess they had hard frozen them for the trip to Kabul. I got them on about 6:00 and ensured they were cooking well. I then laid down for a few hours and got up around 11 and started going. I went for about 13 hours and got to bed at 12:00 a.m. warn out.

When I woke up this morning I was still worn out. We had cleaning to do though so I thought it time to get going. We cleaned last night but there were still dishes to do that we really did not feel like doing after the full days work. However, by the time I drug my self up, one of my housemates was already started on them. I noticed he had the door closed, had his radio on, and was going to town, so I did not disturb. I layed back down and got some more rest. By the time I, and the rest of my housemates got up he had finished the job and done so well. Thanks to him we did not have to do dishes. YES! All in all it was a great Thanksgiving and everyone was appreciative that I had organized it and that the house had shown them the hospitality of hosting it.

Yes, it has been a long semester but only a short while left. 3 weeks and 2 days and I will be off to Northern Virginia and a 4 week break. Counting the days.

 

One Year Today

Well one year ago today I arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan.  It is hard to believe. 

I am sure you have all heard that there were no elections this past week. However, I had my escaper the lockdown plans already in place, therefore, I still jumped to Dubai, despite only haven been there a couple of weeks back. After all, I am sure you have heard the news; things have been pretty stressful in Kabul. First the big U.N. attack and then the country was informed by the Ministries of Health and Education that all public and private institutions would be closed for 3 weeks due to H1N1 virus. Many speculate that the closure was election related and meant more to control public gatherings than to prevent the spread of Swine Flu but who knows. It sure put a shock in the people. The green masks are now what I consider the latest Kabul fashion statement. Though the numbers of H1N1 reports are relatively low and mostly isolated to military bases all of were closed. Thus the speculation of politics came into play. After all they did not want an Iran repeat. You cannot imagine he scramble of dealing with a shutdown with no notice! With hotel being reserved and flights paid for, I went for the trip to Dubai.

Dubai was much cooler than even in September when I passed through. Although still humid, temperatures hovered around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat index though made it feel 7 to 10 degrees hotter during the day, although the evenings were pretty nice. Still warm enough to be in the pool and at least one of the days I took full advantage and lay around poolside for a few hours taking a dip now and then to cool off.

I stayed at a different hotel than usual and in a different area. It was quite a nice break. The hotel was not too far off the Dubai Metro which is now about 1/2 open but running. It goes end to end of one of its routes but many stations are not open yet. I did utilize it at least one day for the heck of it. I must admit it was a great ride, although I went the wrong way on it, going quite some way out. It was super clean including all the stations and best of all is much better air conditioned than the D.C. Metro. It was actually a very pleasant experience.

Beside the great location, the hotel was overall pretty nice. It featured 3 restaurants included in which was the Sherlock Holmes English Pub, a quaint little dining/drinking pub. The pub had a live cover band which was made up of two Philippinos. The music was o.k. for the most part. But they really should stay away from the country and southern rock genres. You southern rockers out there can truly appreciate how my skin crawled when I heard Skynard being sung by a Philippino female. Their rendition of Dixie Chicks was also pretty darn terrible.

As usual, I ate American Food and shopped and walked. I hung out a bit with my friend Kevin, who taught in Kabul last semester, but deserted us this year for Sharjah. Each night a couple of his colleagues joined us for the food and fun.

It was not quite Deja Vu as I got on the plane to Kabul for my anniversary trip today. I am now the experienced Kabuli but I could not help but smile as a few newbies were headed my same way, all wide eyed and full of the same up and down feelings I had one year ago today. Oh and yes, contrary to the news about the U.N. decision this past week, folks are still arriving, new contractors are coming, etc. I do admit the shock that winter is settling in sure hit home after leaving warm Dubai and coming to Kabul where he high today was around 50 with a pretty stiff cool breeze coming off fresh snow powdered mountains. Brrrrrr

All Is Well

Thanks to those that have contacted me in regard to the attack on the UN guesthouse yesterday.  Yes, all is well.  Things were a bit tense for a while yesterday morning but I was unaffected other than our transportation and movement in the city is relatively limited. 

The AP photo below that many of you have seen provides an excellent terms of reference (clickable to make it a little larger) .  If you look to the right of the background that is T.V. mountain that I have mentioned several times in my here.  There is a pass between it and the mountain on the left.  Both mountains have the ruins of the old Kabul city walls, known as Sher-e Darwaza which translates to Lion's Gate, the -e being equal to the english 's .  In fact the mountain on the left is often refered to as Sher-e Darwaza Mountain.  To get to where I live and work one must pass between these mountains and I live and work about 3-5 miles on the other side of Sher-e Darwaza Mountain.  Therefore we are actually a seperate part, a suburb if you will, of Kabul.  We actually sit outside what was Kabul originally.   Needless to say we could not hear nor see any of what happened yesterday. 

So all is o.k.  This, however, makes my plans to vacate for the runoff lockdown even stronger. 

Deported!

For those that have not heard, I was deported this week.  Yes, deported from Afghanistan!  Really it was more of a formality and I got a free trip to Dubai as a result but it was a major pain to do so suddenly.  You see, a number of us had visas that were either Tourist or Visitor by type and to renew we had to leave the country. Thus those were deported, including myself.   It was not a pleasent adventure as I had to represent the University and sit and chat with the folks at the Afghan Consulate, including the Consular General.  There I had to listen to all sorts of things including that they were concerned that our tuition was too high and we were neglecting the poor by charging such.  However, state run education is still in effect here for those that qualify.  It is only those that desire an American education that come to us.  All in all it was a political game.  I was shocked to see almost as many photos of Karzai's opponent as the President of the country himself.  

Dubai was expensive Dubai as always.   I got my share of American food but blew too much cash in the process.  It was a relaxing adventure, though in the end and I came home with some goodies for the house and the kitchen.  No, I could not bring myself to break down to get a good T.V.  Oh well next time, perhaps. 

While I was away I see Afghanistan is in the news big time.  A 6.2 earthquake and a runoff election looms near.  If you will check back at my "Lockdown" blog you will see what happened last time we had an election.  If that happens again, needless to say, I am outa here.  Dubai again?  Maybe!

A couple of weeks ago a friend picked me up a very neat patch at one of the local bazaars.  Of course, it is a knock off as is obvious to the Harley folks out there,   but all of you biker friends, Harley and otherwise,  nevertheless will agree that it is pretty neat! I wish there were such a place though.  Although, I am sure, the would get all my money. 

What Have I Been Saying ........

Another interesting article that backs up many of the things I have blogged about! 

International / Asia Pacific

Civilian Goals Largely Unmet in Afghanistan

By ELISABETH BUMILLER and MARK LANDLER

Published: October 12, 2009

Obama administration officials say the U.S. is falling far short of the president’s goals to fight corruption, create a functioning government and train a police force.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/world/asia/12civil.html

A Very Interesting Story On Weddings

A while back I posted some photos of a wedding that I was fortunate enough to attend.  It was a gala event but as I sat there I wondered about the cost of weddings in Afghanistan.  We often here the phrase from men, "I canot afford to get married."  In the U.S. that means one thing but here it is a stark reality.  One of the students in my Spring Semester class has written an excellent article on the cost of weddings in Afghansitan published on the AUAF Free Press website.  (http://auaffreepress.com/?p=1177)

A memory of happiness – but at a high cost


Posted on 12 October 2009 by JDanish



By Jamil Dnish

October 2009 – Jawad Kohistani is sitting on a red sofa, looking pale and anxious, sipping a cup of green tea to steady his nerves.



The hotel manager is counting the number of guests Jawad plans on inviting to his wedding next week. He’s stamping every single invitation card Jawad has provided.





Photo by Freshta Dunya



But Jawad has a problem: he has no way to limit the number of guests. He wants to invite everyone and he’s very concerned about the expenses for 500 guests. “What discount will you give me for the 500 guests I have invited,” asked Jawad. The hotel manager tries to explain that he can only provide 10 free tickets per 100 guests. “I also would like you stamp some 20 blank invitation cards in case we have forgotten some guests,” said Jawad. In total, Jawad expects almost 600 guests to come to his wedding party, which will cost him $3,000 alone for the food and.



In Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, bridegrooms are expected to pay not only for their weddings, but also for all the related expenses, including big pre-wedding ceremonies. Shafi, who is a university student, is having his wedding bill picked up by his father. The total cost will exceed $20,000 which includes decorations, flowers, clothes and car hire.”



Competition among families raises the cost of weddings,” said Shafi. Shafi’s wedding will take place at the Oranoos wedding hall in Kabul, in two vast banquet rooms, one for the men and the other for the women. Afghan custom dictates that men and women are separated at weddings.



The big day is one of great activity for the family and involves a gathering of all the relatives, distant cousins and friends. The menu features 15 dishes including kebabs grilled on skewers, fish, chicken, meatballs, lamb, stewed vegetables and normally three kinds of rice, kaboli palaw, orange palaw and plain palaw all cooked with meat and served with at least two kinds of fresh fruit. (Can you make this last sentence more succinct?)



The host tries to put as much as food on the table as possible as part of the wedding tradition, even though the majority of the food usually ends up in the trash (American English). Half of the cost of every wedding goes into the hiring wedding of halls and catering.



Wedding halls are making a small fortune every week. “Aros Shahr” or the City Bride Wedding Hall in Kabul, which is actually one of the less popular wedding halls, holds a wedding every day. The actual cost of each wedding is determined by the number of guests and the type of menu. “It depends on the host of the ceremony. It can cost you from 150,000 Afg ($ 3,000) to 500,000 Afg ($ 10,000) just for the food,” explained Fahim Hakimi, the manager of the City Bride Wedding Hall. “On average a wedding hall in Kabul is making up to $ 20,000 a week,” Fahim admitted.



But since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001, the Afghan wedding industry has sprung up and is now bigger than ever. The average guest list for a wedding ceremony often reaches 700 people and you can expect some 200 gate-crashers on top of that. The biggest weddings can exceed 2,000 people in number. The wedding halls in Kabul, most of them built in the last six years, stand out in the city with their mirrored green and blue glass and blinking decorated lights towering over the city’s dusty streets. The indoor halls feature mirrored walls and on the outside the neon lighting is powered by generators because there’s no guarantee of electricity in Kabul most of the time.

“The number of registered wedding halls in Kabul alone has reached 68 and that’s growing,” said Haji Abdul Salam the head of hotels at Kabul Municipality. That is seven times the number of wedding halls that there were in 2001. The names of the halls usually offer an idea of romance and glamour which can be more hopeful than realistic: An Evening in Paris Wedding Hall, the Aria Seven Stars Wedding Hall, the City Bride Wedding Hall, the Unique Palace and others.

Bridegrooms and their families end up organizing huge wedding ceremonies and then place themselves in huge debt for years afterwards.



As a day laborer Jawad makes about US$ 250 a month, but he’s already spent US$ 5,000; that excludes the expense of feeding another 550 guests on the wedding day which will inflate the price to US$ 9,000. He claims to have borrowed more than half of the total amount.



“My relatives, friends and family members have lent me money so I have to pay every single penny back,” Jawad said.



Asked how it felt to hand over the equivalent of 36 times his monthly salary, he replied: “The payment allowed the marriage to happen. Only a memory is left, a memory of happiness,” he exclaimed.

The Funk

So, I have really been in a funk lately. Cannot seem to snap out of it. I had hoped Bangkok would help but, honestly, I just made it worse. What can I do to break out of this?

BANGKOK

Well Bangkok has been on my bucket list for a long time. So having checked it off the list, I cannot say I am disappointed. I went there for night life and for shopping and checking it out and that was accomplished. I must say I was totally impressed by the room. $50/night and it was tops let me tell you. From a very comfortable bed to the distinctly understated Asian décor it was wonderful. The whole bathroom was even encased in glass. Great place. I fully recommend the Park Plaza in Bangkok.

After over half the first day was spent recovering from jet lag, off I went. Not being able to walk about in Kabul, I still got out and walked my first day. Wish I had a pedometer to know how far but from charting it on Google Maps, I walked about 6 miles. My impressions? Bangkok is a fairly dirty city. Poor sidewalks and street smells does not make it too enjoyable to walk in. Not to mention the fact that even in September it is a sauna. The city streets are also heavily cabled over head. I do not thing, at least in the parts I saw, they have figured the aesthetic or other advantages of burying cable underground. For a photographer, it makes it very hard to get good pics without hundreds of cables running through the pictures.

I was staying in the legendary Sukumvitt area of Bangkok which is well known for being lined with shops, street vendors, etc. It was really wonderful. The downside, once again, the smell of the street, and the smell of the food. For those that know me, you will be aware of this, but after a big illness one time with oriental food, I find the odor not too pleasing. Of course in a city that is supposed to have one of the largest number street vendors, including food, it is near impossible to avoid. Especially so, in an Asian city. So for one with an aversion to the odor that was not too pleasant. The other street vendors were very interesting. From faux designer clothes, to Asian art, and even a shop of road side sexual aids, it was neat to just walk and check them out. In the end, I was my typical cheap self and did not buy any junk to bring home, other than a few picture post cards.

Did I mention it was steamy? By the time I had finished my jaunt I was soaked. So much so I went back to the hotel before heading out to take a shower and cool off. Also, the other down side to Bangkok was a big one for me. No Mountain Dew. None, notta, zilch. In my trek I stopped at several convenience stores and 7-11’s, yes they have them, all to no avail. Not a drop of Dew in Bangkok. 4 days and three nights Dewless. The lack of caffeine did not aid in my jet lag either. Who would have thought, Kabul Afghanistan has dew but not in a much more modern place like Bangkok. But I managed.

The nightlife in Bangkok has been written about, filmed in movies, etc. The one reason I really chose Bangkok was that it was on my bucket list. The second, was to get out of the repressed Muslim countries and just get out and have a good time. That I did. The first night I just went place to place that was on the lists. I walked around the hotel for a couple of hours diving in the pubs, bars, and even a roof top chill bar. Then when that got a bit dry, I hopped a cab and hit two other places. Unfortunately it was a Monday night so nothing was REALLY hopping or worth writing about but the places I visited are some of the hottest Asian clubs. Oft visited by famous folks, rock stars and bands, and even famous disc jockeys, I hit 5 or 6 on the list, traveling around Bangkok via taxi at night. Much like many things in Bangkok, taxis are cheap. The most I paid all the time I was there, excluding the trip to and fro the airport, was 100 Thai Bhatt. That may seem like a lot but the exchange rate is about 34 Bhatt to the U.S. Dollar. So less than $3 for a taxi ride clear across town. The down side, the Taxi drivers do not speak good English. Luckily, however, I had read up on it and had taken all the addresses with me. In fact, the hotel was nice enough to even give me a card with the directions printed in Thai for ease in return. Even though, on several occasions the drivers had to ask someone that spoke better English for the translation from English addresses to Thai.

The second day, I was off early. Well at least early for someone who had been out late the night before. Since I had stayed local for shopping on Monday, I decided to venture out. Two places always on my list when available are Hard Rock Café and the Harley-Davidson dealer. They were first on the list. The Harley dealer, I had found out through my research on the net, has a quaint little café attached to it so since I missed breakfast I decided it would be first. It was not a huge place, but believe it or not, it was bigger than the dealer in Dubai. More clothes, more bikes, a full service department. After picking up a some Harley-Davidson Bangkok swag, and eating a bite for lunch, it was off to Hard Rock. I have visited Hard Rock Cafés all over the U.S. Bangkok’s was something to behold. It has its own building and is a beautiful place.

In the same area of town as was the Hard Rock Café also sat the biggest retail shopping areas in Bangkok. It is actually several shopping centers and malls all connected by ramps over the traffic. Oh did I mention Bangkok traffic? That is notorious as well. Some of the worst in the world they tell me. Also situated amongst the centers was the Thai cultural arts center. Although I did not go in, it had some interesting sculpture outside. MBK is the biggest mall in Bangkok. I thought I had seen big malls in the U.S. this thing was huge. Compared to malls in the Northern Virginia Area, namely Tysons, and the outlandishly huge ones in Dubai, I would say it was a bit smaller as far as square footage. But what do you want in a city that is full of sky scrapers. This mall goes up instead of out, 8 stories up, in fact, and boasts more shops per square foot than any I have seen. Each floor is packed with not only stores but maze after maze of kiosks. Like Dubai, the mall is zoned by type of shop, and is easy to negotiate, but for the casual mall stroller, it would probably be too much. Not too many old folks walking the mall in this place The other centers, however, were more typical to U.S. type malls. In the end I settled for just a nice western, if Outback is western, style meal of pork ribs, which of course we cannot get in the Islamic world. Yum.

On the way back to the hotel, I surmised that with the traffic it would take me hours. It was hot and steamy again, with storm clouds looming as well, so I took the better option, the BTS (Bangkok Transit System) Sky Train. What is the Sky Train? Well rather than burrow a metro system underground, the Sky Train is above ground and better yet above all the traffic. Even with a missed train change, I was back at the hotel in 30 minutes and for only 25 Thai Bhatt (less than one USD). Although when I realized I missed the change and that it was the 5:00 rush hour, thus as in the U.S. a packed train, I second guessed myself, it still was an experience in and of itself. Luckily, with my acrophobia there were no windows to look out of or I might not be praising it too much.

My second full night in Bangkok, what to do. Well after a shower, again to wash the sweat away, I started dozing. Then I looked out the window to see a rain shower had descended upon us. With an early morning departure, I almost wrote it off. But about 9:00 p.m. I was getting hungry again. At first I could not figure out why, and almost said forget it and even went as far as turning off the lights to go to sleep. Then I thought, my stomach was still on Kabul time which was 4 hours behind. Lunch was actually at breakfast time and dinner at lunch time. My Kabul clock was telling me it was time for dinner. So I threw on some shorts, sandals, and a shirt and off I went. The closest was a McDonalds. I know, I am in Thailand, and I eat at McDonalds. Well the one I really miss in Kabul is American Fast food so McDonalds is a likely choice. I also find it an interesting cultural review looking at the McD’s menu in different countries because it is all different than we are used to. In Thailand it was very different. Fried Chicken, a quarter pound pork sandwich, and even fish and chips, all graced the Bangkok McDonald’s menu. So Macky Dee’s was an adventure in and of itself.

After a double cheese meal, and the fact that the weather had cooled off thanks to the rain, as I walked back to the hotel I could not help but think that I was in Bangkok and it would be a shame to let that go to waste. But where to go. Bangkok is much known for its Go-Go girl scene that actually started when U.S. Servicemen used Bangkok for R&R time during WWII and more so, Vietnam. Khao San Road was the famous place then but since that time it has expanded to include Pat Pong, Nana Entertainment Center, and Soi (the Thai name for Street) Cowboy. I also knew that the Thai government had also cleaned up the Go-Go clubs, and they were simply that. No nudity, no prostitution, at least in the clubs, and no drugs. In fact the club areas are frequently raided and everyone in the clubs are drug screened on the spot. In fact, I had read that the clubs were reminiscent of the 60’s clubs in the states. I had heard that Soi Cowboy was, in fact, just two blocks out of the way, on my route to the hotel. So what the heck, when in Rome. Soi Cowboy was easy to find. Just follow the trail of men headed that way. When I got there I was greeted by tons of neon displaying club names like the Dollhouse, Long Gun, Our Place, Rawhide, Shark, and Spice Girls. Literally 40 or 50 go-go clubs lined the small street. I debated but finally decided to go in one to check it out. It was everything I expected. Stages lined with girls dancing away, some of them more enthusiastic than others. Guys lining the stages and seats around the place it was so packed, in fact, that I almost left due to the lack of seating but finally I found a chair in the corner. As I sat there and took it all in, I saw that there was this subculture there. Girls would dance, then come out and flirt with the guys, with the guys buying them lady drinks, then many of the girls would go back up for another “shift.” Then I saw the underbelly of the scene. Indeed prostitution does not go on in the club, but as I soon found out, it goes on. After about the second or third round of girls getting up on stage one of the cuter girls that had just excited wandered over to me. She flirted, asking my name, where I was from, etc. Then all of a sudden she asked where I was staying while in Bangkok. That was a bit TMI for a simple exchange of words so I enquired. She said she wanted to go back to my hotel with me. Kind of forward in any environment so I dug a bit deeper. She told me if I paid the 600 Bhatt “bar fine” for taking a girl out of the club and paid her 2000 Bhatt that she would go back to the hotel for whatever. So there is a sex trade that still goes on behind the scenes. Well she seemed a bit put off when I turned her down. I decided that I had my Go-Go experience, even though short, and it was really not my scene, it was time to go back and hit the hay for a long day of travel on Wednesday.

All in all the trip was an adventure. I wish I had had more time to do some of the touristy type of things like the Bridge on the River Kwai trip or the temple tour trip, etc. But I had to settle for what I could get in during the few days I could be there. All in all it was O.K. I would go back but for a longer stay and including a trip to what I here are some beautiful beaches on the Thai coasts, maybe even the short jump to Cambodia and/or Vietnam. It sure beat another week in the ultra expensive UAE, though. The travel was probably the worse part, but thanks to Justin, my housemate, who had done a similar trip a couple years ago. Justin had advised me that he had a long layover in Doha and had paid the few bucks to do the Oryx lounge. Well with eight hour layovers both ways I did so on both occasions. It is nice, quiet, clean, has free wi-fi, all the sodas and finger foods one could desire, and even has a smoking room that is well ventilated and even has several air purifiers going, so there is not a fog of second hand smoke looming at eye level. Well worth the few bucks it costs and far more relaxing than the main terminal. Although I used it to catch a few zzz’s on the way to Bangkok, after an 8 hour flight coming back, it is I think even more enjoyable.

I did not take as many pics as I had hoped but below you can see a few.

Eid ul-Fitr

Counting weekends we have 9 days off for Eid ul-Fitr. What is Eid ul-Fitr or Eid as it is abbreviated? Well the month preceding Eid is the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in which Muslim's fast. Each and every day from sun up to sun down Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and anything that is considered in excess or ill natured. Each evening they take Iftar. Iftar is often done as a large extended family or community. (Source:Wikipedia.com)

Ramadan has been an interesting thing for me. School schedules were adjusted to allow for Iftar breaks so students could break their fast. Also Ramadan is such a big deal that folks do not do much of anything including activities on campus. So it was a huge adjustment in what is normally a busy month for college Student Affairs folks. A true learning experience.

So I have a few days off. What am I going to do? Well, since it is our only chance to do so until Thanksgiving at the earliest, I decided to get out of Kabul. Where to go? My initial thought was just get to Dubai and hang there, eat Western food, and all that good stuff. Well Eid ul-Fitr translates from Arabic a Festivity of Breaking a Fast so festivities abound all around the Islamic world. That translates into also the time that the hotel rates go from the HOT summer rates back to the "normal" rates. So to stay in Dubai is a bit on the expensive side. So I thought what to do? I could pay about $400 in hotels and just roam Dubai again or I could take advantage and go somewhere else. I decided what I was really in the mood for was some get out of the Muslim world, let my hair down, and go somewhere with a nightlife. So once again, where to go? I happened to click on one of the offers from one of the major airlines out of Dubai and there it was. A city with a world renowned night life; BANGKOK. Wouldn't you know as well, Bangkok, Thailand is on my bucket list of places to visit. The cost including roundtrip airfare and hotel for 3 nights was not much over the cost of the hotel for the same period in Dubai. It took a bit of thinking but I did it.

Well there is a catch to every deal. Right? I did not really notice it when I hit "Book It" on Expedia.com but the catch to this one was a layover in Doha, Qatar. A 7.5 hour overnight layover. So here I sit at 3:30 a.m. with four more hours to kill in the Doha airport. Oh well, I will arrive in Bangkok tomorrow evening their time groggy from the road but a good night's sleep and I will have two full days of Bangkok fun. Although this layover sucks to say the least, in the end I think it will be worth it.

Oh, and the trip started off well. Pamir Airlines out of Kabul was doing a "lottery" of boarding passes. Me never being the lucky one just through mine in and put my headphones back on. I saw them give away a few lower prizes but when it came time for the grand prize of $180 I did not even see them draw. Then the flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder to make sure the name on the boarding pass was mine. Surprise, I won the big prize. WOW, what a way to start a trip!

Photos, of course, to come....

Support The Effort In Afghanistan

I am reading the news that the tide is turning on public opinion about Afghanistan. I do not blame the public. Really I do not. I do blame the press who does not tell the whole story, only the negative parts. Though it has been a long drawn out ordeal. The death toll is climbing by the day. So really, even without the negativity in the media, I cannot blame the American public.

Here is what I can tell you from the ground in Afghanistan. Troops are not the answer. Do not get me wrong. Those that know me, know I support out troops 100 percent. I did my 14+ years in the service so I know what it is all about. Don't stop supporting out troops that fight here and die here or any where else in the world. Support those that are here with every inch of your being. However, once again troops on not the answer.

Let me explain. The average, per capita, monthly income of an Afghan that is lucky enough to have a job is less than the average teenager working at McDonald's makes in less than two weeks. Yes, less than a part timer earning minimum wage makes in just over a week. Even in a country such as this that does not put food on the table. The Taliban, therefore, are very attractive. They guarantee you will be well fed, that your family will be well fed, that you all have a roof over your head, and that in the likely event of your death your family will continue to be cared for. Crazy as it seems for some it is an attractive offer.

Almost 100 percent of things bought and sold in Afghanistan are imported. There is no sustainable infrastructure here. There is no industry to speak of. It is not that the resources to create industry is not here. It is. However, much of the industry was knocked out by the Russians and by the civil war that followed. There are no resources to help rebuild that industry. Schools, as well, are in shambles. Many without proper educational facilities and even books and supplies. That is what needs to be invested in rather than bringing more troops.

I am told it takes about three hundred and twenty thousand dollars per year to support one deployed soldier. That is per individual soldier. 2 squads of soldiers over 3 million. A platoon over 12 million, a company, over 24 million, and a brigade....well the numbers are out there. Billions and billions of dollars it takes to support the war efforts here. Hearts and minds were never won with guns and carnage let me tell you. But build them roads, schools, infrastructure, and industry and that will win them over.

I just watched Charlie Wilson's War AGAIN the other night. The scene near the very end really showed it well. Wilson was able to talk them into giving him millions and millions to help the Mujaheddin oust the Russians. Then after it was done he went back for a million or so to build schools and the scoffed at him. To quote the line that was at the very end of the movie, These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world... and then we f***ed up the endgame. We let the country go to hell.

As we have seen even in the U.S., when things go bad folks turn to religion and even extremism. Such is Afghanistan. They tell me of, and I have seen pictures of, the days when Kabul was glorious. An absolutely beautiful city and a center of culture and education. It was still an Islamic country then but one that was a progressive one. Then the Russians came, then the civil war and it all went to pot. Simply because we messed up the endgame. Support the troops here but also support the non military efforts. They are what will win this war. I am telling you first hand as the man on the ground.