My Current Route to Work
Sunday, October 22nd 2006 - 9:15 AM
A couple of weeks after arriving here, i started walking a different way to work. Instead of turning left and going down to Darul Aman Rd and walking along it to the office, i go straight ahead and walk down our street to the back of where Internews is and then turn left down the dirt road that runs past the Internews back gate, to Darul Aman Road, and then backtrack thirty metres to the front gate.
This route is much nicer than walking along the main road - and probably a lot safer. The more you walk along the main road, the more chance there is that someone who might be interested in you will just happen to be passing in a bus or something. My boss reckons that walking along the main road you've got more risk of getting killed and walking along the back way you've got more risk of being kidnapped!
Whatever, the back way's much more pleasant and interesting to walk along.
After crossing the first road, which leads down to Darul Aman Road, i walk past the shops on the corner on the right. There are two small grocery shops next to each other. The first one is the bigger of the two, and is twice the size of the next one. That's where i've been doing most of my food shopping. The guy who usually serves speaks quite good English, which makes it easier - but at the same time, it probably slows down my progress learning Dari.
I've only been into the second shop once, when i bought some rice a month or so ago. They sell a lot more vegetables than the first shop - which only sells potatoes and occasionally tomatoes. But the vegetables at the second shop never look very inspiring and i've never bought any there yet.
Next to the second shop there's a small metalwork shop. Standing or hanging outside there's a range of the items they sell - bins, buckets, stoves, chimney pipes, watering cans, pots, lids, etc.. And inside there's always someone working away making something. The guys in there are very friendly, and they always return my waves and greetings as i walk past.
Some of the people i say hello to on my walk to work in the morning.
Next to that there's the bakers, which i've described previously. Over the last couple of weeks they've been doing some fairly major building work though. Their oven, or "tandoor", used to be below floor level - which presumably is why the floor in the shop is raised - but they've built themselves a new, above floor oven now. It's a big clay fireplace sort of thing against one side wall. There's a large round opening towards the top of it and they seem to stick the dough to the upper inside walls of the oven to bake. I don't know why it doesn't just fall off and into the fire when it's cooked, but maybe there's an oven bottom between it and the fire to catch it. If my Dari ever gets good enough, i'll ask them.
A hundred metres or so further up, on the same side of the road is another shop, which i've never been into. There's an awning out the front, with a bench under it and there's almost always someone sitting on the bench when i walk past.
Not far beyond that, on the other side of the road, is another little general grocery shop. They sell phone cards and the best tomatoes in the street, so i buy those from them. I always say hello or wave to the shopkeeper there and he usually responds, but he's not nearly as friendly as the people in the first lot of shops.
A short way past that, also on the left, behind a high wall, there's a very large and opulent looking house being built. I always wave to any of the builders that are looking my way as i walk past. Then, just past that, on the other side, is the mosque. There's building going on there too - a large extension to it, which looks partly residential. I always greet the builders there as well, and often get very enthusiastic greetings back.
Some shops in our street in Karte Se
I say hello to everyone i pass walking down the street, if they look at me, anyway. And most people respond in a similar way. I've got no idea if people think it's weird saying hello to people i don't know in the street or not - this is a big city, after all - but it doesn't really feel like a city and after all the years of living in the country in Australia, where everyone's friendly, i just can't help myself.
The road that runs down the side of the Internews premises crosses our road immediately after the mosque. Just past the turning, there's another small grocery shop - this one's in a steel shipping container that's sitting on the side of the road!
But i turn left here and walk down to the back gate of our office. For the last few weeks, this has been the gate we're supposed to use, as the security situation on Darul Aman Road is apparently dangerous - although i don't think it's as serious as it's made out. After all, there haven't actually been any incidents there, unlike Jalalabad road, where there's been several IED ("improvised explosive device") attacks. And there's no military targets there, either. But parliament house is just a couple of blocks further down past Internews.
On the way home in the evening, there's usually lots of kids playing in the street. Often they're either playing football or flying kites, which is a very popular pastime here - and it's rare that you can't see a few kites in the sky in the late afternoon. So i have to dodge running kids, balls, and kite strings as i walk along.
It's great to see kids playing in the street though. That's one really major thing we've lost in the richer countries since cars have taken over our public spaces, television induced paranoia has taken over parents' minds, and computer and television addiction has taken over the minds of kids. It's sad really...
You can see some of my photos of Afganistan at
WillKemp-Photos.com/afghanistan