I know I wrote an entry a few months ago where I lamented that May was the longest month ever. Well, I gotta tell you May, you've got nothing on August. Thank goodness August is finally over (although I still have a couple of hours so anything could happen). Aside from all the exciting things that happened throughout the month, along with the leadership challenges, August was the longest in history because of Ramazan (commonly referred to as Ramadan in the states). During the month of Ramazan, all Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. To them, fasting means nothing passes the lips...no food, no water, no cigarettes...nothing. Once the sun goes down, however, all bets are off, and around seven in the evening they will gather together for an Iftar dinner where they replenish their bodies. Then, for most, they wake up at around two in the morning and eat a big meal, knowing it will be their last for about seventeen hours. After the meal they go to prayer and then they start their day. Since the schedule is so out of whack, most everyone stops working around noon and then they lie down for a nice siesta around two. It makes it especially difficult when you are working and walking around in 100 degree temperatures and you can't drink any water...makes for a long day.
But this isn't about their long month. This is about my long month. For one thing, although I did not fast, I also did not drink water around them or eat anything around them. So, whenever we spent time at the Governor's Compound I would abstain from drinking so as not to unintentionally harass one of our Afghan counterparts. That wasn't so difficult, and it certainly made that first drink of water or gatorade taste that much more refreshing. But, what I missed more than anything was the snacks. Because the Afghan people live in such a polite society, anytime you sit down anywhere for more than a minute, a snack tray would always appear. No matter where you go in Kunar, the snack trays look almost identical (someone has a monopoly on this) and the contents of the tray would almost always be exactly the same thing. The trays are circular and are divided into four sections surrounding a circular section in the middle. Invariably the snacks would be dried chickpeas, pistachios, almonds (still in the shell), and raisins. These four selections always surrounded the favorite of all in the middle...chewy toffee in a gold wrapper. Yum. The variation on this theme, which I have only seen a couple of times, is an almond with some sort of sugary confectionary cover...my all time favorite. One time, in a particularly long meeting, I ate those almonds and then started sneaking them from another tray. Oftentimes it is the only way I can maintain coherency. Because the electrical grid is suspect or non-existent in most places (most times people rely on generators), there is not much air conditioning in sweltering heat listening to long speeches in Pashto and listening to the translation as the sweat rolls down your back, and your eyes start to get heavy because your system is shutting down....so I eat the snacks. The chickpeas are like chewing sawdust pellets, but I have grown to love them. The pistachios and almonds entertain because you have to extract them from the shell...not always an easy task. The raisins, for some reason, I have avoided. Perhaps I will try the raisins next time.
The other thing that shows up whenever you sit down for more than a minute, is a drink. Usually it is one of the two national drinks of Afghanistan, chai (tea) or Mountain Dew (Mountain Dew). Yes, the hot drink of choice is tea and the cold drink of choice is Mountain Dew. Not sure how they did it but the guy who introduced Mountain Dew to Afghanistan is a genuis. Everytime you sit down to a big lunch, Mountain Dew for everyone. Sometimes there will be a Sprite, but they are far and few between. The problem with Green Tea and Mountain Dew is that they look amazingly similar. More than once, sitting outside in 100 degree weather I have been brought a green tinted liquid in a clear glass and had to make sure I took a cautious first sip to determine whether it was tea or dew. Taking a big gulp of hot tea could be painful and embarrassing. At one meeting after we first arrived, we had to stay longer than planned because we caught them without anything to drink so they sent a runner out to the store to buy some Mountain Dew. So we waited, and waited and kept the conversation going so that we did not insult them by leaving before the dew arrived.
But the pain of no snacks and no chai and no water or dew is past. Ramazan is over and the country is on vacation for a few days as they celebrate their version of thanksgiving. People will start returning back to work on Saturday or Sunday as the celebrations wind down. Once again, when we arrive at the Governor's Compound we will bring ice cold water to share. I can't wait to get back to the meetings so that I can once again enjoy the wonderful Afghan hospitality and dive back into the chickpeas, almonds and that wonderful toffee!
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