The Afghan Work Week

Despite being an impoverished country, Afghanistan in most part is full of hard working individuals. The work week here is a 6 day week from Saturday to Thursday of the following week. Friday is the only day that Afghans as a whole take off as it is important for religious reasons. Being an American school in Afghanistan, we still work on a 5 day week. However, that week has been adjusted accordingly. We work Sunday through Thursday of each week, Friday and Saturday being our weekend.

The adjustment in work week has been hard to get used to. Instead of TGIF it is TGIT, or thank goodness it is Thursday. I often have to look at my computer clock to determine what day it really is as our Sunday is Monday in the U.S. but really our Sunday is Saturday in the U.S. due to the time. I feel like I have adjusted to the time difference but still I am struggling with that fact. All week long to adjust, I guess I mentally advanced the day. I thought of Sunday as Monday, Tuesday as Wednesday and on and on. In fact I tried to go to a Tuesday meeting on Monday. Tuesday being of course the U.S. second day of the work week and Monday which is our second day of the work week. Then on Wednesday I told colleagues I could not go tour the new gym because I had a 1:30 class to address which was scheduled for 1:30 on Thursday not Wednesday. Try explaining that one.

This week, will really throw a wrench in it as we have a 3 day weekend, Thursday being the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday and all. Then a full week back then out for a week for Eid ul-Adha a major Islamic holiday.

Eid ul-Adha (عيد الأضحى), also called the big holiday, falls approximately70 days after Eid ul-Fitr and is celebrated in honor of the prophet Abraham when he intended to sacrifice his son Ismail as a proof of his loyalty to God. Eid ul-Adha is translated into English as “The Feast of Sacrifice”, when Muslims all over the world present an animal (usually a cow or a sheep) sacrifice as a gratitude action for God saving the Prophet Issac's life. The slaughtered animal meat is divided into thirds, one for the person who is presenting the beast, one to be distributed to his poor relatives, and the last third for the needy,regardless of their religion, race, or nationality. As with Eid ul-Fitr, there is an early morning prayer for the Eid, and celebrations are extended for Four
days. - Wikipedia

It is a time of celebration, of visiting family and friends and of thanking Allah for all the blessings bestowed.

So living in an Islamic society gives me a bonus holiday for me and then it will only be less than two weeks before I am home for our major holiday season. Wooo Hooo If you want to know my travel plans please email me off line as I would like to keep them out of the headlines if you will.