Oh The Things I've Seen

The great thing about living in another country is being able to see another culture and how they live their lives.  Here are just some of the small things I have seen, heard and observed...none of them terribly important, but interesting nonetheless:

Wheelbarrows.  I have mentioned the plethora of kids that are running around here, but what I didn't mention is that many of them work their fannies off.  It is almost as if the career years are from eight to fifteen and after that you get married and have ten kids.  So there are some hard working kids all throughout the province, and most of them have wheelbarrows.  I have never seen so many stinking wheelbarrows in one place.  Of course, it makes sense...they are cheap and can be handled fairly easy by an eight year old depending on the load.  Those that don't have a wheelbarrow must be saving up because they end up using their backs to haul everything, whether it be crops (cornstalks, hay, wheat, etc) or bags of rice or potatoes or fruit.  The girls don't use wheelbarrows or their backs.  Instead, they use their heads...literally.  The girls can be found carrying bundles on their heads.  I'm not sure what is in those bundles but I assume it is foodstuff.  Yes, the kids are resilient.  Whether they are in the fields or downtown, they are working...usually with wheelbarrows.

Touchy, feely.  The Afghan people are very touchy, meaning there is much hugging and hand holding, particularly among the men.  To see men, even soldiers or police, holding hands is common.  Greetings range from shaking hands to each person placing their hand on the other's heart to full out bro hugs with a double tap.  The strangest thing I saw was when we were sitting in a district center with a group of district elders.  They were all white beards who had seen many years of war and conflict (which I know is slightly redundant, but when there wasn't war there was still conflict.  For the most part, Afghans wear sandals, and they take them off prior to entering a building, similar to the Japanese custom.  One of the elders was sitting with his left leg resting on his right knee.  The elder next to him thought it appropriate to rest his hand on the other man's bare foot...awkward.  It seemed normal to them as his hand was there for quite some time and the other man did not try to move his foot away from the elder's grasp.   Hmmm

Speaking of feet.  This morning while I was in the restroom washing my hands the guy at the sink next to me was washing....his foot.  I was impressed with his dexterity as he was able to get his foot up there to rest on the sink so he could give it a good scrub.  Prior to prayer Muslims typically perform ablution (awdas in Pashto) which involves washing your face, ears, hands, arms and feet.  But, prayer time was not for a couple of hours.  Nope, he was just washing his foot.

Surreal moment of the year.  There is a radio in my restroom that is on 24 hours a day.  Normally it has Pashto programming, but sometimes in the middle of the night they will play English programs.  One night, half asleep as I finished my business and headed for the door.  As I walked out the door, the last thing I heard emanating from the radio was "Ladies and gentleman, it's the Jack Benny Show!"  Am I hear right now?

A Cat's Tale.  You can't have dogs and cats on the bases over here, mainly because they aren't vaccinated and often carry rabies.  A veterinary team was traveling from base to base to euthanize all dogs and cats for the protection of everyone on the base.  Evidently a soldier had been bitten by a dog on another base in Afghanistan and had not been properly treated.  He eventually died of rabies after returning to the states.  As luck would have it a very elusive cat had kittens under one of our buildings on base.  Just a few days before the vet was arriving I saw a couple of the kittens for the first time.  They were in a playful mood, chasing each other around just a few feet away.  Once we walked by, though, they scampered back to their hiding place.  One of the civilians working on base was a secret member of the Feline Liberation Front, putting food out for the kitties every day.  I asked him to stop and let him know their days were numbered.  The day the vets showed up though brought more surprises.  Once they were able to catch one and take a close look they determined that these were no ordinary cats.  In fact they were protected Afghan Jungle Cats, a funny name since there isn't a jungle to be found in Afghanistan (which may explain why they are endangered).  So, the vets left, the kitties lived and the Feline Liberation Front claimed a huge victory.

Recall specials.  Remember when Toyota had to recall all those cars when they were accelerating by themselves?  I found out what they did with all them...they are here in Afghanistan.  Okay, maybe not, but there are more Toyota Corollas here then in Tokyo.  Somebody at Toyota was a genius when they cornered the market on white Corollas right here in Kunar.  It is humorous when they tell us to look out for a suspicious white Toyota Corolla...that's like saying "look out for a suspicious wheelbarrow pushed by an eight year old kid."

More later...time for bed.