Daily Life in Kabul - 2
Saturday, December 2nd 2006 - 12:15 AM
I usually wake up when it gets light. At this time of year, in Kabul, that's around 6.30. Recently, it's been a bit of a struggle to get out of bed, as it's cold and fairly dismal at that time of day - and also i seem to have been going to bed later than usual the last couple of weeks.
Most mornings, the first thing i'll do is fill the kettle up and then go out and start the generator. I always wear shorts and bare feet when i'm at home, so walking out to the generator when it's about zero degrees is kinda fun - specially if it's been snowing. Seriously. Yeah, i know... I'm weird!
Whether i go out and turn the generator on myself or call the guard to do it depends on who the guard is that morning. I much prefer to do it myself, but one of the two night time guards gets upset if i don't ask him to do it. It's really irritating, as it's more hassle than doing it myself, and i don't like people doing things for me that i can do myself, but i let him do it when he's on, as it makes him happy.
The next thing i do, i'm sad to say, is turn on my laptop. I seem to be terminally addicted to this shit, and i have to check my email before i do much else!
When the kettle's boiled i'll make a pot of green tea. Called chai sabz in Dari, green tea's the most popular drink in Afghanistan, and i've got into the habit of drinking gallons of the stuff every day.
Recently, the next thing i'm likely to do is light the fire in my bedroom, as it's a bit on the chilly side and i don't really want to die of hypothermia sitting in front of the bloody computer.
I have rice and tinned fish of some sort for breakfast - sardines, tuna or salmon - with a chopped up tomato, usually, if i've remembered to get any. I try not to eat it sitting at the computer, but i usually do.
If it's a work day, i head off to work sometime between about 8.30 and a bit after 9. Before Gavin came, i used to vary the time i went to work over the period between 8.30 and 9. But now i walk to work with someone else, it doesn't vary so much.
The main reason for walking to work at a different time every day is for security. It's like living in crocodile country - it's best not to have fixed routines and walk the same route at the same time each day. I don't think there's very much chance that someone will be watching me with evil intentions, but it's possible and it doesn't take much effort to reduce their chances of pinning you down to a regular routine. You never know, a few minutes either way could make the difference between life and death.
Work... Well, what can i say? It's fairly chaotic. I'm never really sure what i'm likely to be doing that day. I often know what i'm going to try to do, but the chances of actually doing it are quite slim.
It can take weeks to do something that would take a few hours in Australia. The two main problems are getting hold of the materials needed to do whatever job it is i'm trying to get done, and the fact that i have to get other people to do everything. Almost everything i have to organise, i could do myself - in a fraction of the time, and probably a lot better.
But i can't do things that way, i have to get jobs done by other people. Often that involves asking the procurement guys to get a carpenter or a plumber, or something, which takes time and is very hit and miss. Then, of course, there's the language barrier - trying to explain to them what i want them to do.
Most of the so-called "tradesmen" we end up with don't have the right tools and don't really seem to know what they're doing. The one exception to that so far, was a couple of guys we got to dig a trench for some network cables. I've dug a fair few trenches myself, and i'm good at it, and i was impressed by these guys' digging skills. And digging is a skill - it looks simple, but it's not.
Getting materials is a total nightmare. The process often involves going out to look for stuff - which means organising a driver, taking someone with me who has half an idea where to start looking and who can speak Dari for me, and then crawling along in the Kabul traffic for long periods and looking in lots of shops for something that you know is sure to be available somewhere. But where...?
The other morning, i spent about 4 hours out trying to buy stuff and came back with half a dozen audio plugs and a computer headset! I just gave up on the rest of what i was after, as it was lunch time and i was sick of being out there anyway!
Work's not all frustration, though. Things do progress a bit sometimes - slowly.
Mostly, the last month or so, i've been eating lunch at work - and i've written about work lunches in an earlier blog. But once or twice a week i go out for lunch. There are three choices around here - the Korean, which i've written about, a pizza place a block away, and Chai La, a cafe that's ten or fifteen minutes walk away. I go to the Korean more than anywhere else, but occasionally i'll go to one of the other two for a change, or because i'm going with someone else who wants to go there.
Most evenings, i don't usually do anything much - just go home and sit in front of the computer a bit, watch telly a bit, eat tea, go to bed...
On Mondays, though, i try and make it to yoga. I manage this most weeks, but there's usually some transport stress involved. Three of the women i work with get a ride home with one of the work drivers most nights, and i usually try and go along with them, as they live near where the yoga sessions happen. All of them go to yoga sometimes too - although none of them go as regularly as me.
But often there's some last minute change in travel arrangements, which makes life challenging and exciting (not!).
The yoga sessions take place at the Assa 2 guest house, which is kinda like a hotel, really. There's a big room there, that we do yoga in. A Bulgarian woman called Julia is the teacher and there are usually quite a lot of people there.
There's a Thursday session too, in the same place, but i rarely make it for that one. Thursday's the last day of the working week and i'm always really buggered by Thursday evening, so it takes a lot more motivation. And transport issues tend to be more difficult on Thursdays too - which reduces my chances of getting there. In fact, i think i've only been to that one twice.
Sometimes i'll go out after yoga, but mostly i just go home. Getting home is easier than getting there, as Zia, the driver that i share with six other people, starts work at 6 o'clock. So i call Zia after yoga and he usually picks me up quite quickly.
That's not entirely it for the excitement in my week, but some weeks i don't actually do anything else at all! Going out can be such a hassle, and there's very little i want to go out to, so mostly i don't bother.
You can see some of my photos of Afganistan at
WillKemp-Photos.com/afghanistan