New Family Member

Today was a very special day, and I’ll be able to remember it as American Independence Day – the day Tariq brought home a new member of the family. He’s small, cute, mostly black (with a little bit of tan) and barks like crazy when we squeak his squeaky toy! I think he is about two and a half months old. We've been calling him "King" because he has a very regal look about him (in Dari, that is "bah-cha"). I'm going to have to do my homework now and learn about German Shepherds (and learn what is going to be available to buy in Kabul, we looked at Pedigree dog food and a medium-sized bag is $50 USD. Yikes). It's a really happy moment for me because I have always wanted a dog - and a big one! This great news is overshadowed by the fact that Miranda, my parrot, got sick while we were in Bamiyan and she succumbed yesterday. I was (am) so sad about losing her. I think Tariq brought home King to try to cheer me up - although he is a dog-lover too and we are both happy to have another member of the fam.

The other newsbyte about our lives here in Kabul is that we were invited by the Lieutenant of the Canadian Forces' Strategic Team (somewhat of a vague title, I'm not entirely sure where they are on the military hierarchy nor what they are doing here in Kabul..most Canadians are with the PRT in Kandahar) to ISAF HQ for a Canada Day party. Well, we decided to go, mostly out of a keen interest in seeing the ISAF compound. The formal dinner took place in a soldier's mess hall, and we were surprised to see a head table hosting all of the various country Generals of ISAF (Germans, Russians, Americans, Italians, etc.) The military had flown in maple syrup from Quebec and they even had beer and donuts for dessert. Oh Canada! We kicked ourself for forgetting to bring the camera along, so I have no photos to tell the tale. ISAF actually felt like a little city unto itself, a little western oasis in Kabul, and it was rather bizarre to be standing in a beer garden listening to Kellis while the regular evening calls to prayer swirled around the city.