Snap and Scribble

The last couple of weeks i’ve been feeling like i’ve had enough of being in Afghanistan. I’ve been really missing Australia, the beach, the ocean, good food, freedom, sunshine, warmth, and some semblance of sanity in the culture around me (yes, even in the Byron Bay area! ).

I’ve been living in Kabul for seven months now, with a month off in the middle of that, in England – which didn’t really have any of the above things either (except, possibly, freedom)! And i want to stay until i’ve done at least a year here – it will help my job prospects when i finally escape.

But i’ve been wondering if i’ll be able to stand another four months here (i’m going to England again, for another month, in about a month’s time) without losing my mental and physical health! September seems like a very long way away. And i’m getting the feeling i might not even get away from here that soon…

This has been the longest and coldest winter i’ve had to endure for twenty two years – since the last full winter i spent in England before going to live in Australia. And i’m not just not used to it any more. I don’t think i ever was used to it – but i’ve got an alternative nowadays, i could be on the beach in Australia! Why am i doing this to myself?

But my mood has lifted that last couple of days. Yesterday was the first day of spring – and it really felt like it. It was sunny and warm all day. Not warm warm, really, but compared to what it’s been like it felt warm. And it was warm in the sun. So warm, in fact, that i managed to get sunburn on the top of my head, sitting out on our patio in the morning, catching up with some missed vitamin D production and reading. I don’t like getting sunburnt – but it’s got to be better than frostbite!

I still don’t know what i’m doing here, but i feel a lot better about it today!

Tags: Afghanistan, Travel and Places by will
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Today is new year’s day in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the central Asian republics.

It’s the fourth new year of the year – the first one was the Christian new year, the second one was the Muslim new year (in late January), and the third one was the Chinese new year (in February, as far as i remember). The next one, i think, will be the Thai new year, or Song Kran (maybe next month?), and then there’s the southern hemisphere new year (22nd June, Australian time). Maybe there are others – but i don’t know about them.

Today’s also the (northern) spring equinox, and first day of spring. It certainly feels like spring here today, i must say. It’s been beautifully sunny and reasonably warm all day. I think winter’s finally over – hooray!!!

It’s been a bloody long winter, too. The longest one i’ve experienced for 21 years! It snowed here last week, which was disgusting. And there’s still snow on the mountains around Kabul, which you can see from all over the city. But with a bit of luck it will be hotter than hell here before very long!

Tags: Afghanistan, Travel and Places by will
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Dried mulberries – called “toot (توت)” in Dari – are one of my favourite discoveries in Afghanistan. Most corner shops here sell them and they’re fantastic!

The weird thing is that, even though there’s loads of mulberry trees in Australia, and lots of different dried fruit (banana, mango, papaya, etc), i’ve never come across them there. I don’t believe they exist in Australia. Why not? They’re one of my favourite dried fruits of all time! And they’re really cheap in Kabul.

Tags: Afghanistan, Travel and Places by will
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Well, i had another good look at my teeth in the mirror yesterday evening – and they don’t seem to be as bad as i thought they were. The one i thought was a translucent grey colour isn’t, i’m pleased to say! It must have been the way the torchlight caught it…

They still bloody hurt though!

Tags: Afghanistan, Travel and Places by will
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I’ve had really bad toothache for the last few days. It’s been absolute agony at times, and has kept me awake at night sometimes. I don’t trust dentists at the best of times and i’ve very reluctant to go to one here.

When i left Australia, six months ago, my teeth were in good condition. But when i checked them out in the mirror, with a torch, the other day, i was shocked at how bad they are now. There seems to be cavities in half a dozen of them and one of them’s a kind of translucent grey colour. This is an incredible deterioration in just six months.

I suspect the main cause is not enough calcium. I don’t eat dairy (yuk!) and normally my main source of calcium is unhulled (whole) tahini. But you can’t get that here – or, at least, i haven’t found any yet. Yesterday i bought some calcium tablets and i’m hoping that will fix up my teeth. Hopefully it’s not too late!

But it’s started me worrying about depleted uranium in the ground water – and in the vast amount of dust that’s in the air almost all the time in Kabul. DU was certainly used here during the US-led invasion, and it doesn’t go away. There’s guaranteed to be higher than normal concentrations of it in the ground water – in at least some parts of Kabul – and there must be some in the dust, too. I’ve been in the habit of drinking a lot of green tea at work, which they make with well water.

One of the effects of DU is to displace calcium in your teeth and bones. I’m seriously hoping that the state of my teeth isn’t a symptom of DU poisoning. I doubt it, as i don’t seem to have any of the other effects, but it’s a bit of a worry. I don’t think i should stay here too long, anyway!

Tags: Afghanistan, Environment, Travel and Places by will
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