General Update...

     Well, another weekend in Kabul has come and gone. I did my usual grocery shopping at Finest and Spinneys with an added stop at a street vegetable stand to get some radishes. My classes at the British Embassy and the other NGO where I teach are going well. I'm finally used to the early schedule and am appreciating the couple hour break I give myself from about ten o'clock til noon when I go to campus to prepare for my evening courses.

   I found out last week that there is a possibility to go work in another city here in Afghanistan for two weeks every month. It's called, Herat, and is near the Iranian border in the far west of Afghanistan. I have spoken my interest in giving it a try and look forward to possibly going to another place.

   Another fellow I met, Dr. Rod, who teaches business here at AUAF, is encouraging me to travel outside of Kabul if I get the chance. This past weekend he went to some pristine valley north of Kabul by two or three hours. Apparently, the security is really strict there and it is very safe. To my parents and/or my sister's ire, I thin I'll do that come September when more people show up who want to do things.

   The air in Kabul today was horrible. The plume of smog on the street was so thick, I couldn't see the large Afghan palace that lies directly at the end of Darul Aman road, a major street in Kabul. I'm surprised to say that I'm not coughing like I though I would; although the rumor is that after awhile you get 'Kabul cough' from here for too long. Knock on wood!

   I'm started to feel a it cooped up in the house,  nowadays. I think this upcoming weekend I'll venture out into the center of town to do some exploring. At the very least, I want to go get a beer with some of the other foreign teachers here who seem to know different places.

  Today, I had a nice lunch with a couple of Afghan coworkers in the cafeteria. We had an interesting conversation about their lives in Iran during the Taliban era. I found it intriguing. The lunch today was rice, chicken, salad, and more Nan. Nan here is the staple food and it only costs twenty cents for a nice, hot piece of bread measuring more than one foot in circumference. Apparently, the price of it is subsidized by the Afghan Government.

  The talk on the street today is all about a suicide bombing that took place yesterday in the north part of the country. Some imbecile blew himself up at a wedding reception of a prominent politicians daughter's wedding. The MP who was killed was a political ally of Hamid Karzai and a former commander during Afghanistan's Civil War in the 1980's. Around twenty people were killed. The Taliban did not claim responsibility and it is thought that a personal enemy of the MP may have arranged this to happen, but who knows?

 Well, that's all I have today.

 

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

  This post is a continuation to one I did regarding traveling in Cambodia a few months ago. It was after this that my blog dropped off from the face of the Internet due to laziness on my part. 


 Siem Reap, Cambodia: It's Cambodia's second largest city and easily the most developed for handle throngs of tourists from all over the world. What they all come to see is the famed temples of Angkor Wat, a massive city complex built about one thousand years ago in honor of the pagan god Vishnu. Built by the Khmer Empire, the city is Southeast Asia's best preserved ruins from a time long past. Having survived centuries lost in the thick jungles, the ruins luckily escaped numerous wars and modern-day skirmishes relatively untouched. Today, Angkor Wat is to Cambodia what the Mayan Ruins are to Mexico.

 After bidding Adieu to Valentina and Fabio, my travel companions from Italy, I started looking for hotel to stay at in Siem Reap. It turned out that the reservation at a local hostel I had made didn't go through and as such, there was no more room. With the help of a local Tuk Tuk driver, I found a place in the center of town for about $25 per night, very expensive in Cambodia. The room was nice and clean with a very comfortable bed. Being in the center of town, I walked around the riverside and through the market for a bit before returning to my room to take a nap. I was still tired from traveling from Bahrain and reminded myself that I was on vacation and in no hurry to see anything. The rest of that day was spent relaxing and just taking strolls through market places and trying to meet up with people.

 Luckily enough, I was met a German fellow on Couch Surfing who was willing to share a Tuk Tuk with me to see Angkor Wat. His name was Jens and he was from Berlin. The ride to Angkor was stunning, you drive through the poor parts of Siem Reap and come into a thick lush forest right out of Tomb Raider. You eventually pass by a lake and some big trees and there it is, the first glimpse of Angkor Wat, except it's not it, it's really the gateway leading to it! The Tuk Tuk stopped among the throngs of tourists already at the ancient marvel. Hundred of people were trying to get that famous picture in front of the gateway and the mobs of tour guides trying to get you to hire them was hard to ignore.

 Jens and I were happy to see Angkor on our own as not to be rushed. Walking up to the gate are two lakes or big ponds on both sides of you with people walking around them and even some Buddhist monks in their traditional orange robes. I got a picture of them and I considered myself lucky to get it.When you reach the gate, you have to ascend steep stairs, which are being renovated, as if you had to bow so far just to pay tribute to the ancient civilization. While constructed well before Buddhism came to Cambodia, Ankor Wat now serves as a sort of Buddhist pilgrimage of sorts. Inside the gate is a statue of Buddha to make offerings to and long hallway corridors with walls that contain carvings from a millennium ago. This part took long to get through as I took plenty of pictures (see FB).

 Once your through the gateway, it's still a fair distance before you hit Angkor. You have to tread carefully through a grass field of ancient building and stones that once adorned magnificent architectural wonders the world can only image looked like in their full glory and context. All of Angkor is now a dark black and gray color, but it still holds its own beauty from the hands of the designers who made the complex so long ago. Near the forest, there are make shift restaurants where you can buy coconuts and basic food to enjoy being in the presence of history. I proudly did so after our tour was finished. After all, this place is Cambodia's piggy bank for tourism, they want you to drop a dollar anywhere you can.

 Once your in the main temple of Angkor, you can climb all the way up to the main tower (for lack of a better word) and have a grand view of the forest. To ascend it was no easy task. One can easily fall to their doom should you take one wrong step on the ancient stone stairways covered in plywood for safety concerns. Jens and I explored this place like it was none other on earth. It was a fascinating experience to see hundreds of people and the expressions on their faces as they gazed into magnificence. During the trip, we also saw some monkeys on the ground and in trees which added a bit of excitement to the day.

 On the way out, I couldn't help but think of what I had just saw. My mind went back to that old CNN commercial that first got me interested in Cambodia and to the gateway where I entered the country. For the rest of the day, Jens and I went to many other ancient temples and buildings just as old, if not older, than Angkor Wat. I also spent three more days after this in Siem Reap just to enjoy the local people and the company of my new German friend. It was a great place and I look forward to returning one day to pay Cambodia more travel justice than what I gave it at first.

 Until then, I have the memories of that journey.

 - Jesse

The last couple of days...

    The last couple of days have been pretty routine here in Kabul. I went back to my NGO class on Wednesday and taught for the hour, I also got another ID card for when I enter there facility. The ride to and from classes is still pretty intriguing on the eyes. While the brown buildings and dusty mountain scenery are the same all around, the daily hustle and bustle of life of normal Afghans still is intriguing to me. Take for example the man who walks in front of Peach House at 7AM with an ice cream cart, yes, at 7 am... He

walks a short distance while spewing out the loudest version of the Happy Birthday song that you can imagine. I'm trying to decide who is worse, him or the rooster?

    On the way to work, I also pass by about one hundred school children dressed in blue-shirt uniforms just hanging out, eating, playing, and talking. It's a nice sight for a country where all you expect to see is bombs going off and Chinook helicopters overhead. There's also usually several school girls covered in white head scarfs walking down the streets with smiles on their faces, something that probably wasn't very common under the rule of the Taliban regime.

  What I really find fascinating every time I go out into the city are the houses that are built high up into the mountain with no way of reaching them via roads. I mean their almost vertical compared to the ground level. I don't know how people can stand living so high up. Imagine having to walk down and then up several times per day just to get water, because there is no indoor plumbing up there. The houses are brown and rundown usually. They look like something out of the Middle Ages or from the time of Christ.

  When I finally get to campus, security check the car for bombs and looks through my computer bag before I can officially enter the main campus. The university itself is quite serene. It's not very big, but for what it is, it's very pleasant. There a big courtyard with rosebushes everywhere and shrubs of all sorts. The buildings of the university aren't the most modern, but compared to the rest of Kabul, they may as well be new. Behind the campus is a mountain that is usually blurred by the smoggy air that plagues this town like a sickness that wont go away. The students are quite nice and usually well behaved. My first class I had at the university started off well and all them had a smile on their face. I only had nine show up out of sixteen.

  On Wednesday afternoon around lunch, I ordered takeout from a restaurant that caters to foreigners. I was craving something Middle Eastern so I ordered a lamb platter and some yogurt with cucumbers and mint (there was no mint). Later that night, Montezuma's revenge crept up on me and made me live in the bathroom for that night and the next day. I'm still battling some of whatever it is I have. At least Kabul has Imodium (thanks Bea!).

 It's the weekend now, which falls on Friday and Saturday here in most of the Islamic world. It's quiet and there is the occasional sound of a plane or helicopter flying overhead. I've been entertaining myself by playing the Price is Right game on Facebook. That gets old quickly, but hey, my high score for this week is $61000!

 I think I'll go play a game now!

 - Jesse

English class at the British Embassy in Kabul

   Today I had my first class at the British Embassy teaching a debate session on corruption with about 10 Afghani adults who work there. The class was quite rambunctious and were eager with opinions about a topic that plagues their country. Corruption as you know, has been widely reported in the US media as being rampant here in Afghanistan, something that many of the students agreed with.

 To get to the embassy, I had to wake up by 6:30 in the morning and ready to be picked up by a AUAF vehicle outside of Peach House. The drive normally takes about 25 minutes in good traffic. However, today it took about 40 minutes. The embassy itself is well guarded by numerous gates and armed guards. I didn't have any trouble getting in as I had my handy ID card on me which was exchanged for a visitors permit. I then had to wait for about half an hour so one of the students could sign me in.

 It was very intriguing seeing how Afghanis thought of such an issue that relates to them. They were very argumentative and eager to be heard, the women included. Instead of being a teacher, I felt more like a facilitator during a debate in British parliament. Overall, I think it went well. Now, I need to plan for next weeks lessons which will be on the same topic, but emphasizing different language skills.

 Today, I also have my true language course that I'll be teaching. I have to plan a curriculum based on a book I've been given and that's what I'm about to do as I sit here in my office at AUAF with a view of a smoggy sandy mountain, one of many, that surrounds Kabul.

 - Jesse

First class post evaluation

    I just finished my first class as an AUAF faculty member. My first class was held about an hour away from Peach House for a project that is contracted by the university. Watching out the window of a Ford vehicle, life for the typical Afghan appears to be rough; however, most people have a smile on their face. It's really an odd contradiction, if you ask me. I even saw a heard of goats eating in the middle of a rubbish pile in the road, and there are also many horse-drawn carriages driving alongside the traffic in the city. 

 Arriving at the client organization, my bag was searched and I was padded down, which I'm told will be a daily procedure. This also happens when I enter the university. There's security everywhere in Kabul, mostly Afghan military and police, but also private contractors who are hired by private organizations. Remember that ID card I wrote about last night? Well, it came in handy today when I had to turn an ID in in exchange for a visitor's card. 

 My class was held in a very basic room with a long oval table to sit about ten people. I had six students in the course, four men, and two women. Everyone was very nice and they all had a really good English repertoire. What they really need help in is in writing and basic grammar. Today we worked on writing prepositions in an email and how to choose the correct writing styles for such a business-like atmosphere. I also gave examples on how context is very important and how formal writing requires crystal clear understanding as to not be ambiguous and cause misunderstandings. In short, the class flew by and it was great! Tomorrow I start my class at the British Embassy. That'll be a two hour class, three days per week. 

 Now, I'm at the university trying to work out how to get my phone working and when I can go buy some eggs. I just can't walk out the front door you know! 

 -  Jesse 

Afghanistan: Here I go!

 Afghanistan: The name brings to mind images of Taliban soldiers, Muslim extremists, and a society suffering from more than three decades of war. It's a nation that brings fear, heartache, and misery to many people for many reasons. Being one of the poorest countries on earth isn't helping the country's already tarnished image, either. Corruption, poverty, terrorism, this place doesn't have much going for itself, but the people are nice, the mountains are unique, and just being in a place so obscure is kind of cool. And this is where I will call home for the next year. Am I crazy? Probably, but it's too late to go back to try and make sense as to why I came here. The fact is i'm in the heart of a war zone and i'm kind of liking the place. Is that odd?

 The journey to this place wasn't the best thing I've experienced. After a shuttle flight to Chicago, I took a twelve flight to Amman, Jordan, then another flight to Dubai, and a get-my-butt-to-the-departure-gate marathon run through Dubai Airport to make the last leg of the trip on an airliner that had ash trays on the arm chairs of the seats. Yeap, it was a long haul, but I made it alive. 

 Kabul International Airport isn't a real pretty site. It resembles a ware house with make-shift wood rooms for immigration to work in and only one conveyor belt for luggage, not that there's much airline traffic coming through to begin with. Flying into Kabul, I had a stunning view of the sandy, snow-capped mountains that make up the valley the city is in. It's a dusty place, with bad air, and the building resemble mud brick houses separated by what is known among the expat community as 'TV Mountain' where all of the reception antennas are located. 

 I was met at the airport by Wouter, my boss for the next year for the PDI program at the American University of Afghanistan. I was escorted to my accommodation which is known as the 'Peach House' and then taken to a Korean restaurant to have lunch after being given some time to unpack and shower. The house is big and has about seven to eight rooms. Since it's summer, it's half empty. My room is quite big, by my standards, and has enough furniture to make me want to call it a mini-studio. I was then given a tour of AUAF and I am happy to say that it is a delightful little campus with lots of rose gardens and trimmed hedges. 

 Today was officially my first day, although I didn't teach at all. I got my cell phone and was given the classes that I would be teaching. I'll be instructing for one month at the British Embassy in Kabul, as well as at a NGO about one hour away. I will also be starting a lower-intermediate class on Tuesday that will be taught on the university. Each class is only two to three days per week for one to two hours per class. And the best part is that I'm not required to do any office hours. But, since I'm here for the next year and since there's not much to do, yet. I'll probably be showing my face around, especially since I have access to a gym, which I wholeheartedly intend on using this time around like I wanted to in Saudi Arabia. 

 Wouter and me had lunch in the school cafeteria today and it was pretty good grub. I had grilled chicken on skewers, an eggplant stew dish, flavored rice, and some salad. For two dollars, you get a pretty good meal thanks to funding from USAID! Thanks, American tax payers! I also got my official university ID card today with a horrendous photo of me on it, again, I intend on using the gym! It proudly displays my name and says 'Faculty', which gets me off the hook on some checkpoints if I get stopped, I guess. 

 My first class starts in roughly six hours and I'm wide awake due to taking a five hour nap today. You see, I'm not allowed to leave my house on foot, which makes walking anywhere for any reason impossible. Given this odd predicament, I have done nothing all day and am wide awake writing this post of stuff that isn't that interesting to most people, probably. But, oh well, it's something to do. Anyways, I have to leave the house via vehicular travel and to do that I have to get the university's drivers to come get me, if they are available. If there are not, then I have to call Golden Taxi for a five dollar ride to where I want to go. So far, that has only been to the grocery store,

 Kabul is both cheap and expensive. There are lots of bakeries and local stores around, but most foreigners don't really go to these places. Instead, we get the option of going to way overpriced, air conditioned stores that cater to 'our food'. I spent eight-five dollars for groceries today and didn't really get much. I intend on shopping around the local veggie stands when I go on my outings with the university on a weekly basis. But for now, I have some food and found laundry soap, which I can hire the house cleaning guy to do my laundry for pretty cheap, or so I'm told. 

 Oh yeah, the first night I was here a bunch of us went out to a British restaurant in town to celebrate a fellow English teacher's belated-birthday (she was on vacation). The restaurant was a beautiful outdoor garden with a fellow playing the piano. But, since it caters to foreigners, it was quite expensive. A can of mildly cold Heineken was ten dollars! That's worse than Bahrain, which boggles this poor Yooper's mind. The gathering was fun and I just sort of took a back seat and listened to what people had to say. I look forward to getting to know my coworkers better. 

 Anyways, it's time for bed. That's all the monotonous stuff I have to write about now. I'm safe in Peach House and probably only have about three hours before the rooster that lives next door starts crowing. It's going to get ugly over here..... 

 -  Jesse