Not a lot going on the last two days. In fact, it has been pretty boring. We've been in a sort of lock down because of the Peace Jirga going on. Here are a couple articles on it one and two. All the Afghans have been off since Wednesday in case they wanted to attend the Jirga. The event opened up with missile attacks and small arms fire by the Taliban, and as a result all our routes have been restricted to mission essential travel only. All the NMAA students and faculty have been off as well, and then today was Jumah, so nobody around today either. We go back to work tomorrow (Saturday).
We've just been passing the time working out, reading, sleeping, and eating. Our barracks internet was down for about 24 hours, which is my excuse for combining two days' posts into one. I've already been accused of slipping, so I'll try and be a bit better.
The end result of the Jirga was a resolution to try and engage the Taliban in a dialog. It is apparent to me and many of us here that Afghanistan won't be able to achieve security unless they find a way to allow the Taliban to exist and participate. I'm not sure if Afghanistan can become a secular state like Turkey has been able to do, but for sure it won't be possible if they can't find a way for the Taliban to exist peacefully. Of course the Taliban have to be willing to exist peacefully, and this seems like a pretty severe sticking point. Time will tell if accommodation can be reached on both sides.
My yoga progressed some over the days off I've had. This morning nobody showed up for the advanced class, so after the beginners were done (me included), the instructor showed me a bunch more poses and discussed some Vinyasas I can do on my own. She heads back to London after six months here, so I may be on my own after that. I've been balancing my aching back from the crappy mattress here with enough stretching and yoga to keep everything in line. If only my stomach bug would quit recurring.
Speaking of my stomach bug, I may have discovered the culprit. The vegetables here are terrible (never cooked well), so I've been eating a lot of salad. Well, I suspect the salad is rinsed with the wonderful non-potable water that runs from all the facets here. I'm laying off it for a few days to see if that helps. Maybe I'll have to stick to the fresh fruit (after washing with bottled water) and bad veggies. The food overall isn't too bad actually. Just not what I'm used to. Most of you know what a great cook Gina is (I'm not just sucking up), and the food here hasn't even been close. I did have a bowl of oxtail soup a few days ago that was awesome. It seems that the head "chef" in one of the chow halls is a bit German, and he took real pride in the soup. I chatted with him some while I waited in line and he recommended it. I'm glad he did.
If you're interested in the "modern" history of Afghanistan, I recommend reading "The Great Game" by Peter Hopkirk. It was recommended to me by several of the people here. There is a good overview of the timeline on Wikipedia here. We're still haunted by that darned British Empire...
I've rambled on enough. Back to work tomorrow, so there should be something more interesting to blog about then.
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I was drinking a capucinno while you were posing. I honestly did forget.
ReplyDeleteSalad...good point. I'm sticking with the pasta and a good Thai "burn" from the restaurant once a week. I'm back on cycle...for now.