5. Some observations....

Ok...I'm connected. I finally got a phone! It's so nice to be able to communicate with my loved ones again. How in the world did we live before cell phones? It's interesting how the sound of a mother's voice can just make things all better. 

Things are finally happening...I've started my new job -- which I absolutely love. I was born for this kind of thing. There is nothing better than to know that your work makes a difference in such a big way. I'm working with some amazing people who do some amazing work that have significantly changed the face of how Afghans communicate, develop and empower themselves to make a better tomorrow for their nation. I'll post more on what I'm doing in a future posting, so stay tuned. But as I've witnessed in the last four days, things don't just happen here like they do in the rest of the world. If you ask me what is the single most frequent activity I've engaged in so far, I would have to say its....WAITING. 

Waiting for:  

• my mobile phone to arrive
• my laptop to be configured
• my new room to be ready
• my driver
• my dinner
• the hot water to come out the pipes
• people to respond to my emails 

If all this waiting is a sign of what's to come, I'm really going to have to become creative and find some other engaging activities to fill up my time. I've already completed reading 4 of the 5 books I brought with me, hand washed my laundry, counted the number of stray dogs that stroll pass my window (36), filed all my nails, listened to my cleaning ladies' life stories, unfolded and refolded all my clothes, and flipped through 339 channels on TV over and over again. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

I still haven't had a chance to venture out much but as I am driven to work and back each day, I've started to observe more. 

• I have only seen one woman in a Burqa so far. 
• There is so much more glass windows and doors on store fronts than before (I guess that's a sign that they feel safe enough from constant explosions and blasts). 
• There are an overwhelming number of restaurants on every street corner. 
• Every square inch of road has been taken over by cars (there seems to be more cars than people in this city). 
• Buildings are all covered up by high steel walls for protection and security gates are everywhere. 
• I haven't seen one international security force guard on the street (they are all Afghan National Security Forces' guards). 
• More people are dressed in western attire. 
• Music is blaring from everywhere. 
• Huge ugly colorful mansions have popped up everywhere. 
• Absolutely everyone has a cell phone attached to their ear (even my shoe shine boy and the laundry lady). 
• I haven't seen one single donkey or any live stock - for that matter - strolling through Wazir Akbar Khan. 

Ugly mansion

Mostly western attire

Somethings just haven't changed at all though. 

• I still get stared at by swarms of men. 
• Road conditions are still a mess (I guess 8 years isn't enough time to repair roads).
• Despite claims that Kabul has 24 hour electricity - we still lose power at least twice a day. 
• Public bathrooms are still as repulsive - if not more - than before (I know I'm gonna develop a kidney infection soon). 
• Coffee is still in the form of instant.  
• I still see no trees. 
• Everything is covered in at least 2 inches of dust. 
• Men dominate the streets of Kabul.
• Meat still stinks.
• No one has developed a sense of urgency to get things done in a timely manner. 

Some things never change.

On the bright side, I had dinner tonight with some old friends from California who happen to be here at the moment. We went to a relatively upscale Lebanese restaurant where I had Falafels and the best homemade french fries I've ever tasted. For an entire hour and a half, I forgot I was in Afghanistan. The tasteful decor, fragrant aroma of fruit flavored hooka, caucasian faces around me, English banter being heard everywhere, waiters dressed in uniform who got our orders right the first time, and a steaming cup of Cafe Latte that would put Starbucks to shame all made the evening seem a bit surreal. But as we stepped outside onto the dusty road and headed back on a bumpy ride home, I realized that I'm still in Kabul.