One of the cultural things that we were taught when we first arrived in Afghanistan was that Afghans are incredibly generous. If you comment that an Afghan's jacket is attractive, you can expect to receive the jacket as a gift. The other half of this custom is that you are expected to reciprocate.
Yesterday my friend Donny (you may recall him from the helicopter flight to Gardez earlier this month) called me. Donny is a mentor to an Afghan general officer at the Ministry of Interior. Donny said that he had commented on the general's prayer beads (similar to a Catholic rosary) and the general had in turn given the beads to him. Afghans like pictures and certificates that they can hang on their walls. I had made some office door signs for the team and Donny wondered if I could create something for him to give to the general. The above is what I created; Donny is presenting it to the general later this week. I even came up with the phrase at the bottom and asked Tim (the man that recently became engaged) to translate it into Dari for me.
Hark! Is that Hallmark at the door?
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