Moving Day--Postponed...again

Our move to the new taxpayer-funded concentration camp has been postponed yet again. The absolute drop dead, gotta be done date has passed us by and the camp is ready to go, except it has no water, power, sewage, internet, furniture, safety bunkers, and an operational dining facility. Other than that, it's ready to go. I visited the camp yesterday and learned that the local workers that are assembling the existing furniture have completed 2.5 of the 20+ buildings. The unskilled labor force here is an obstacle by itself. The guys mean well, but they are truly unskilled. There are 60 local workers and five international (mostly US and European) workers on this part of the project. The five out produced the 60. It is a common mantra dealing with the labor force: if you want something done twice as fast, you hire twice as many workers. Nice fellows, just slower than slow.

Fine Dining, Kabul-style

A new logistics manager-type joined the company. During the 'meet the new guy' staff meeting, a discussion developed regarding how you could measure the success of the dining facilities. Lofty ideas floated around the table, but none really touched us. I spoke up and shared how those of us that have been here a while gaged the food: measure the amount of time from your last bite of food and the point when you need to run to the bathroom--that is a measure that is certain and quantifiable. The guy gave a little laugh and dismissed the idea. Shortly after our meeting adjourned, he joined us for dinner. I was about half way through my dinner when this same guy came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and whispered into me ear "What is the current record?" With a mock look of surprise on my face, I asked him if the food was not to his liking. He said that he had found the meat uncooked and mold on the salads and bread. I turned back to my dinner and told him that he would learn to eat around it like the rest of us.

Still Here

I have made it back from a quick trip to Dubai. There is virtually no Internet connectivity here at my place in Kabul, so this may be the only post in the near future. We have been told that the tech folks are not going to be able to fix the problem, so I am exploring alternatives.

All is well here--just working hard.

A Tragic Day

One of my concerns living here in Afg is the welfare of the children. Of particular concern is the number of the little ones that are hurt and killed in accidents. For a variety of reasons, the children often play in the streets. They have not been taught to be cautious around vehicles. In separate traffic accidents over the past two days, our employees have been involved in tragic collisions that resulted in the death of two young boys playing in the streets. A horrible set of events for all involved.

In the News

For those of you that believe that the West should not be exporting our values to Afghanistan, I challenge you to read this article.

Thoughts of Home

I generally do not get homesick; I miss people and events, but don't dwell on it. Today, there must have been a little bit of home in the air. The sun was warm (around 90 degrees F), but not too hot, on my way to the gym to run (with my schedule, a rare event lately). I set my iPod on shuffle and took off running. A few songs into the run, one of my favorite Allison Krauss songs came on. All of a sudden I was transported to one of the most spiritual places in the world to me: running across the plains at Boylston outside of Ellensburg. The feeling of home stayed with me for the rest of the afternoon.

The Next Two Weeks

For the next two weeks, there is going to be an increase in my already full days; we are implementing some significant changes within our mission that I am helping to drive. Just notice that I will probably be a little scarce on the blog...

Happy Independence Day

4th of July in Afghanistan. Here I was being protected by a Kiwi bodyguard, driven by a Romanian driver, screaming across an Afghan city with Yankee Doodle blaring from the car radio. Not like any other 4th I have ever celebrated.