So sorry about the long hiatus. I moved on November 1st and changing ISPs caused a change in how the blog appeared. Finally have it figured out. Must be my age - something so simple can seem so impossible!
On Oct 30, Zamir took me and one of Deb Esser's visiting girlfriends shopping for a wardrobe, built-in closets not being de rigueur here. It always amazes me how Kabulis separate their shopping areas. There is "electric street" and "plumbing street" and Khair Khana is essentially "clothing street". That day we went to "furniture street", a huge area with many tall buildings selling furniture, most of it needing to be assembled. I chose one I liked pretty quickly, then after we paid for it, a young man joined us in our car for a trek a few blocks away through a hidden away area one could call "car repair street" to a storage shed where we picked up our carton. It took a bit of organizing to fit it into the Corolla, but we managed after they could be convinced to listen to us women!
The move was pretty simple since my furniture was already there. Muhammed Gul and Qadir, Morningstar employees, came over with Ken to assemble my wardrobe, called an "almaari", sounds very much like the french armoire. Qadir comes from a family of carpenters so he was very efficient. At my new home, I have to do my own laundry and cook my own food, and of course, my own food shopping! Is anyone crying crocodile tears for me yet? Actually, it is nice to have more control over my diet and there are several small shops within a block or two with fresh produce and necessities, even a naan (bread) shop. The new residence is located about a mile south of the university campus, just a block north of the Kabul River, just behind police station 3.
Wednesday, Nov 2, was Akram's wedding. Finally a chance to see what all these huge wedding halls are for - yes, there is an area one could call "wedding hall street"! Our Morningstar party included only three women, Marita, Cacci and I, and we three were escorted by Akram's brother-in-law up several flights of stairs to a huge room already filled with women and children seated at round banquet tables with an area in the middle cleared for dancing and a rectangular table on a dais for the newly married couple, (this was the reception, the ceremony having taken place earlier). We were seated at the far end of the room so everyone got a good look at the foreigners as we walked through. A huge curtain on one side separated us from the men's side where a live band played. We women had a video hook-up so we could watch the men dancing, but the same courtesy didn't apply the other way. However, there were men in our room - a couple of guys were making sure the video worked and occasionally a male relative of Akram or the bride would show up. And at one point, some musicians came over to our side and played while Akram's brothers danced with some of the women. Akram and the bride watched from the sidelines.
We were well taken care of. Two of Akram's teenage cousins sat with us and translated conversations and customs for us. A horde of children descended upon us to show off their English (Hello, How are you, My name is ..., my father is ... my mother is ...) and to have their pictures taken. They were pretty impressed that I could spell their names in Dari. Both mothers came by frequently to make sure we were doing okay. Seated close to us was Zamir's wife with their new baby Daniel so I got to dandle him on my knee for a bit. The food was amazing! There were so many dishes that they had to be piled on top of one another and the teenage cousins served us delightfully. All in all, an amazing night!
The next week was Eid, when the pilgrimage to Mecca takes place, so all government offices and schools were closed. Saturday being the Day of Preparation, the bazaars were open. We took advantage of the break to visit the Baghe Barbur to see the beautiful gardens and take in the photo exhibit detailing the relationship between the US and Afghanistan since President Warren G. Harding's term. Just about every President was there, either receiving Afghan dignitaries in the US or visiting Afghanistan (sometimes while they were Vice President.) Quite an amazing history of which I was completely unaware. The Peace Corps had been in country prior to the Soviet Invasion and there were quite a few engineering projects undertaken jointly. And I learned that Robert Joffrey of the Joffrey Ballet was an Afghan and had brought his troupe there for performances. Of course there were some visits by prominent jazz musicians (Emel of Khyber Pass Restaurant has told me that jazz is America's most important export!)
Finally the next Saturday, Nov 12, I could get back to the university and my new choir! Unfortunately I picked up a bad cold and missed the rest of the week. And then the loya jirga met and the whole city was shut down from the 16th to the 19th. The shops in the bazaar were open, but negotiating the security checkpoints was so excruciating that most everyone stayed home. We even had to go through a security check to go over to the team house just a mile away.
Resumed teaching duties on Sunday the 20th and Dari lessons on the 21st, but had been studying Dari on my Byki computer program quite a bit while home sick. (Also spent some time doing jigsaw puzzles!) The students were happy to see me again after such a long break. On Tuesday the 22nd, a new Morningstar team member Anna came to the university with her violin. Orchestra was cancelled that day but we had a little impromptu recital in the syndicate room with a few students. On Wednesday afternoon, I walked to meet a small group of students and we caught a taxi to the French Institute where our Afghan music students were performing along with the Aga Khan Initiative musicians. Our students acquitted themselves quite well on rubab, violin and tabla, and singing with harmonium. The Aga Khan musicians play a wide variety of stringed instruments and drums, each with a distinct sound and function.
This has gone on long enough. Next post I'll proceed on....
