Kabul Pleasures and Somber Reminders

It's so hard for me to keep this blog up. The last thing I want to do after working all day is going home, getting on the computer, and exercising my brain (to write, photo-edit, etc). However, I know I'll really regret it later if I don't record the memories now.

Cooking is one of the simple pleasures of life in Kabul. My section decided to have a 'beer and pretzels' happy hour and a colleague was kind enough to bake us fresh pretzels. The sacrifice is not insignificant when you consider how early she had to wake up in order to put it together before work.


Another simple pleasure is a day without pollution. We've had weather in the sixties lately and on the clear days where you can sit outside...life seems glorious. They even opened up the rooftop of our apartment building so that we could head upstairs with cameras to take pictures of the mountains usually obscured by dust and grossness.

If you look carefully in the photo below, you can see a blue diving board and pool on the Bibi Mahru Hill, next to the billboard. The pool was built by the Russians but is more commonly known as one of the Taliban's top execution spots, walking their prisoners off the high board. It's a reminder, even in the pleasurable times, what we're here for.