Jesse's Afghan Shopping Spree!

    Another week has passed here in Kabul, the war torn capital that one couldn't help mistaking for a ghost town from an old John Wayne film. This week however, was more exciting than most because of the Fall Bazaar that seemingly sprung up on campus over night.

   For two days the school gym was transformed to a mini Afghan market full of carpet venders, jewelry salesmen, antique dealers, and local artists. It was a welcome addition to my ordinarily boring routine of work, eat, sleep, and repeat that I've become use to. In a moment of self-righteousness, I convinced myself that I deserved to spend a little cash on for a change, considering that I normally don't buy much and when I do, it's usually for someone back home. I took this moment of humility to heart and whipped out a crisp Benjamin and went on a bargain hunt.

   After a quick look through what was available, I stumbled across a local hat that some of the locals wear. It's a brown, flat hat that covers the head only slightly and goes along well with the local clothes that I had made. Deciding that I wanted to buy it, I asked the dealer 'chan ast?' (how much is it?), prepared to bargain down the price that was suppose to be over priced. Afghans, by the way, are known for bargaining. Always bargain when in the market. To my astonishment, the hat was only $6. Being a little disappointed that I couldn't practice my haggling skills, I reluctantly handed over 300 Afghanis ($6) to the merchant and went on my way.

 Next stop on my rare shopping trip was a table selling rugs and jewelry. I noticed that there were these long strips of woven fabric in the shape of squares. I inquired as to what they were and was told that they were handmade coffee coasters. Intrigued, and thinking that they would make a nice souvenir for the family back home, and a good wall decoration for my room, I picked up five for the price of 500 Afghanis ($10). The gentleman selling them was also gracious enough to include a sixth coaster for free. These lovely, woven coasters are currently hanging on my wall next to my desk to add some vibrancy to my room. They're a small addition, but I like looking at them.

  Growing tired of buying these small items, I aimed a little higher and strolled on over to one of the antique dealers on hand. My eyes rolled over the fascinating tea pots made out of bronze and silver, the old guns that were there, and finally landed my eyes on a copper made shield. The salesman said he thought it was 80-90 years old, but I doubt it is. Regardless of its age, I am intrigued by the design which includes intricately drawn deer and swirls of all sorts. The man said it was $70, but I got him down to $60. I think it was a fair price. It is now hanging on my coat rack until I decide on a better place to display it.

  Next, I meandered over to a crafts table and my interests were peaked by a set of wood baskets that were on display. The 'baskets' have a handle that folds horizontally, enabling the 'basket' to be pushed downwards until it forms a flat surface. Feeling careless with my Afghanis, I decided to purchase three with varying sizes and to put them on display in my room. The total price was only $30 for three handmade wood crafts. To end the first day of shopping, I picked up a lamb-leather jacket for $50. The man wanted $70, but sensing he was desperate for a sail, I began to walk away knowing that he would finally agree.

 The next day, I returned to the market with a couple hundred more dollars, fully intending on buying a handmade wool rug. The 'killium or quiliyum' cost me $110 and is handmade out of wool. The primary colors are burgundy, yellow gold, and dark brown. I love it! The guy wanted $150, but with the help of a Filipino friend, we struck a deal. It now sits in the middle of my floor and is the main attention getter of my living space. I'm not sure what the difference between a killiyum and a carpet is, but the killiyum is not as thick as a carpet and retains the rough, itchy texture of the wool.

 The next item up for grabs was a painting that I had my eye one since the first day. It was a representation of the green hills of Afghanistan and from a distance, it looked really cool. However, when I went up to it, there were certain details about it that I didn't like and I decided not to entertain the thought of buying it. Hoping for one last painting to catch my eye, I stumbled upon another painting that was more fascinating than the first. It's a representation of a game from Mozar-e-Sharif called Buskashi. In this game, people on horses try to pick up a dead sheep carcass and throw it or put it somewhere else. The painting has dark undertones of gray, green, and brown and is a fascinating addition to my room. It now sits on top of my dresser drawing my attention away from the white wall that it lies against. Total price was only $35.

   Feeling my money escaping me, I decided to purchase on last item that caught my eye. It was a dark blue stone box. The stone is called lapis lazuli and comes from Badakshan province up north. The stone is dark blue with shimmering gold specks in it. It's quite heavy and cost me about $38 dollars. I'm not sure if it's a jewelry box, as it is just one hollow space. Being that blue is my favorite color, I dropped the last bit of money that I had and called it a day.

 All in all, I'm happy with what I purchased and all of my pieces make my room in Peach House feel much more at home. What I'm happiest with the most is that I got a really nice rug and a kick ass painting. And what's more is that I whole heartily plan on keeping most of this stuff for ME! Sorry, fam....

 -  Jesse

Random Ramblings

   Since writing the last blog post, I've remembered how much fun it can be to write even if what I have to say isn't exciting or particularly noteworthy to anyone other than myself.

  Today I find myself at work drinking the same chai - tea and preparing for my ELC 220 class from 5-7PM.    I'm currently only teaching two classes at the moment, both in the evening hours. The students in these classes are particularly nice and I even have some old ones who advanced from the last lower level class that I finished a couple weeks ago. This week I've also been subbing for a co-worker who was on leave and taught her classes at the British Embassy. This is the class that I taught when I first arrived to Kabul for about  one month. It was nice to see some of the old faces again, but the class was really informal chat this week for those who did show up.

 Lately I've found myself picking up the strange habit of drinking Perrier water. I've been buying the stuff when I've been grocery shopping. I enjoy the fizziness in my mouth. I just wish that they had a lemon flavor that I could find. That would be the perfect combination I think. Anyways, I think I'll survive.

 The weather has been slowly getting cooler over the last week or two. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather, just not the snow and chills that follow the autumn breeze. Last winter was one for the record books, apparently. Judging from the picture that I've seen, there will be lots of snow. I'm glad I brought a couple of pairs of warm clothes. I think the local suits I had made will also work good in defending me against the elements of Central Asia. Time will tell.

 Life is continuing as normal following the bombing two days ago. The rooster woke me up to another normal day today, followed shortly by the ice cream cart that plays a loud song from a megaphone-like device. All of this before 7 AM. After a few more cockle-doodle-doos, I finally get out of bed to an inspiring scene of a couple of hundred school children buying stuff in the local market just down the road from me. The school is about a block away and is visible from my second floor balcony. At 7:30 I got picked up by transport and began my half hour journey to the British Embassy. Along the way I passed a legion of guys heading the work on bikes, police officers guarding the roads, and lots of people waiting in line to get water from the local water pumps that exist on the road sides here.

 Before getting dropped off, I had the driver stop at Finest, the foreign supermarket, so I could pick up a coupe days worth of Perrier. In feel quite elitist buying such things in fancy green glass bottles. Following this, I arrive at the embassy and do my thing there. After my class I was dropped off at Peach House and fiddled around my room for a couple of hours. At 12:35 I was picked up and brought to work and had a nice lunch with two of my Spanish speaking colleagues here on campus. It's been a good day, overall.

 Now I'm at my desk with 1:44 minutes left before class. I still have to print some things out and look over the lesson plan in the book. It's the usual routine, but at least the bills are getting paid year ahead in advance. I just have to remember that. Work now, play later.... or maybe a bit of both?! I like that last idea.

 Speaking of play, I'm getting excited about my vacation in November. I know it's two months away yet, but six weeks is a good stretch of time to see some seriously cool stuff. Halong Bay, Vietnam, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Luang Prabong, Laos, Saigon, Vietnam, etc...  October's Eid vacation is turning out to be a dilemma. Officially I don't have a week off, however everyone except me is taking time off at this time to go away on holiday. I'm being encouraged to do the same. The problem is that I would like to have a month off next year before my first contract ends in June. I'm up in the air about the whole thing. Going to Istanbul for a week or to Sri Lanka would be great and big relief, however with my big vacation shortly after, I'm tempted just to bear with the time and save the money for my big trip. What do ya'll think, spend now & worry later, or wait and enjoy more in Thailand, etc...? Remember that I did stay here during the last holiday and it was UBER boring. This one would be even longer and probably more stressful since I've been here for a while now.

-  J.

The Situation

   It's been a long time since I've done a blog post. For the most part my life here in Kabul has become boringly routine. I'm still living in Peach house which is where I am voluntarily serving my year long house arrest, lol. And I am still going to work at the University. Most of my morning classes at private institutions have ceased for the time being.

 There's been a lot of news coming out of Kabul lately, especially with the video called 'Innocence of Muslims'. By now you've all heard about the tragic riots that caused the death of the US Ambassador to Libya, which have now spread all over Muslim world, including Afghanistan.

 First and foremost the video is incredibly poor quality and quite offensive to the host country and people where I now call home. I had the unique opportunity to watch the trailer for this video with two fellow Afghan coworkers on campus and there reaction to it was very surprising. Not only did they not lynch the foreigner in the room, me. But they were quite calm when I asked them what they thought of it. They were only concerned about the 'other peoples' reactions.

 There have been some protests here in Kabul over the last week, during which some police cars were burned. On one day this week I couldn't go home because there was a protest near my house, so I had to take a back way to campus coming back from the British Embassy class I had been covering for a colleague on leave, but it was peaceful.

 A couple of weeks ago there was a suicide bomber near the Italian Embassy that caused the deaths of four young children who were part of the Skatistan project which teaches kids how to skateboard. And of course yesterday there was the big attack that targeted foreigners on the Airport Road. Apparently a women driver *which is quite rare* rammed a bus full of contract workers and detonated herself causing the deaths many people. This is the first attack that has actually targeted foreigners and has rattled some nerves on campus among the foreign population.

 Due to all of these sad events, many people from home have been asking (telling?) me to come home and find another job. I respect and appreciate the concern that many people have for me over here. It really shows you who cares about you. However, I do not believe that the security situation here in Kabul is to the point where I feel in danger and ready to leave.

 I can say that ever since I've been here I have been very careful and watchful in my movements, which are few. I literally just go to and from work on a daily basis, with a side trip once a week to the grocery store. Very rarely do I go out with friends to restaurants for dinner in town or to other places. And when I do, it's always with University transport or in a private taxi used bay all of the university employees.

 I'd like to take this time to suggest to many people back in the United States to shut off the television and to put down the newspaper. The stories that you read about this part of the world are so narrowly slanted and bias towards a wrongful portrayal of the culture and society of the people who live here. Afghans, for the most part, are  a very gracious and generous people who do not seek violence against foreigners, but rather peace and stability in a country that has known nothing but war for forty years. The people I work with day in and day out in the office, my classroom, in the transport I take, and stores that I frequent are all beautiful people who yes, are different, but still people. Period. End. Of. Discussion.

 For whatever reason, I am not scared to be here and do not fear for my security when I go out. Maybe I should, but I don't. I take the necessary precautions when I do decide to have a little fun and am very watchful when in the streets of Kabul, which is rare, sadly. So please stop and think for a moment before sending me demands of returning home or quitting my job.

 At the end of the day, it was me who chose to come here, well aware of the situations I would most likely experience. I'm not about to give up and quit just because a couple of crazies decided to play fireworks with themselves and do some stupid acts. I enjoy my job and have set very strict financial goals for myself in the months ahead. I'm totally committed to achieving everything I've come here to do, so long as the situation doesn't get too dicey.

 On a positive note, everyone can take a sigh of relief in knowing that I will be leaving Afghanistan for six weeks from November 23rd - January 5th for my first paid leave. I'll be heading to Southeast Asia for a whirlwind tour of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia. It's going to be stellar!

 -  Jesse