Connected and Settled In

Great news!!! We now have our very own internet connection at MEDA-Afghanistan office, it’s 512 kpbs on a good day (which is considered high speed here in Kabul), and my laptop is now working. It’s quite tricky running any electric appliance (computers included) in Kabul because of the electricity supply. We have now got a huge 30 KPV diesel generator installed in our compound to compensate when the city electricity is not available (which is frequent). It is a loud fuel pig and environmental nightmare but it does provide us with enough electricity to keep our office running! Power surges are a problem so we have purchased stabilizer units and UPS devices (universal power storage) so that we can keep our systems running without power failure or any appliances frying.

Overall, I’m settling into life here in Kabul… not without occasional feelings of homesickness, wondering why on earth I decided to come here, some cabin fever from not being able to leave the compound without escort (which now has guards on duty 24 hours a day and is laced with barbwire), and the inescapable and ever-present stomach aches and diarrhea. These are manageable (most of the time) and I am trying to find ways of surrounding myself with familiar items that give me simple pleasure – English books (I found a bookshelf of discarded English books in a clothing store in Karte-e-Parwan), Lindt chocolate and gouda cheese (from a store on an American base – must have passport to enter) and wonder-of-wonders, satellite access to Itunes, so I can purchase music. The weather is already getting very warm during the days – it must be over 30 degrees celcius – although it remains quite cold at night. Tariq and I spent some time this past weekend hiking around some of the hills in the area (Lake Cargha), and though it was great to get out of the compound and see some of the country I was a bit worried about landmines – wasn’t comforting to see the rocky landscape littered with burnt-out bullets and small rockets!! In any event, Tariq is in his element meeting up with old friends, flying his pigeons, flying kites (a popular sport in Afghanistan), and hanging out with family. I’ve also conscripted him to help set up with MEDA office here and he has been indispensable.

Things have gotten off to a slower start than I would have liked work-wise. I had somewhat naively envisioned being out in the villages doing business training as soon as I landed here. I am impatient to start directly assisting the village women and doing something good – hopefully this will be possible in the next week or two. Since I arrived back in Kabul from South Africa in mid-March most of my attention has been focused on procuring necessary items to set up the office (furniture, generator, internet, clean water, etc), get some basic furnishings for our house (the 2nd floor of the building in which our office is located) and hire office staff. Now that most of this is in place we are preparing for our Grand Opening on April 12th.