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