Hello dear friends and family...
I have reached an all-time record of blogg-negligence. And as negligence goes, the longer it is extended the more difficult it is to face. Anyhow, I'm going to try and commit to shorter, more frequent updates from here on out (enshallah).
I've been back in Kabul now for over a month, and after a few weeks of strange transition (wondering why I had left the land of freedom and beaches to that of curfews, travel restrictions, dust, and a rudely approaching winter) I have now settled back into a life in which in I feel authentic, and privileged to be a part of.
Work has continued on well with the Ministry of Health, combining old projects with a smattering of new ones. Meanwhile, I'm attempting to write my Master's thesis throughout the mayhem of work (slightly poor planning on my part). I'm writing my thesis (technically closer to a long paper, as it doesn't require original research) on using what we know about high-risk groups to HIV transmission in Afghanistan to postulate the extent of an HIV epidemic in Afghanistan, and how that should guide national surveillance and program efforts. Though currently only around 200-300 cases have been reported, a estimate of closer to 2,000-3,000 is thought to be HIV positive. So many days pass thinking up creative ways to collect information on injecting drug users, commercial sex workers, truckers, returning refugees, migrant workers, and MSM (men who have sex with men) in Afghanistan...which can be quite the tricky task.
Upon my return, I've started Dari (the Afghan version of Farsi...or, as Afghans would say, the basis for Iran's Farsi) which has been a delight. I appreciate the doors it has opened and the conversations and perspectives I'm able to have and hear because of it. I've made a habit of practicing Dari during our lunchtime break, sitting in the sun to soak up what remains warm in Kabul. In practicing simple questions like "where were you born?; when were you born?; do you live in the same house that you were born in?" and others taught during my Sunday lesson, I turned to my Afghan colleague to practice the question "When is your birthday?" to which he replied (in English), "We have more pressing issues in Afghanistan." Hmmm...so much for a lighthearted language practice.
The photos above are from a few Kabul excursions:
1. Kargah Dam, just outside the city 30 minutes or so
2. Istalif, a village about an hour and a half outside of Kabul known for it's traditional craft of pottery.
3. Babur's garden, inside Kabul. They say Kabul has the highest concentration of airborne fecal mater in the world. The haze in the background may give evidence to such.
Post Script. More substantive thought is promised in future updates. But I feared that if I didn't write today, it would simply never happen.
Thanks for listening...
