A Boy and His Goat
I took a break from packing my bags yesterday to step outside for a smoke. In case I didn't mention it before, I always thought that Muslims had strange rituals like every other religious group. Afghanistan takes idea to a whole new level. As I'm lighting up a cigarette I take notice of a group of Afghan construction workers looking over the layouts for a new project. Shortly after talking and taking down notes one of them picked up a young goat, pulled out a knife, and started sawing at its neck. The goat was struggling but the man held him tightly until the bastard stopped squirming. He then smeared its blood on the road before skinning it and throwing the carcass in a nearby ditch. While observing this I started thinking about most Muslims in general, noting that when they speak of being blessed by Allah its usually by having one of their lovedones become martyrs. I would like to approach a few of these people and ask them wholeheartedly what Allah has done to better their lives and if he's ever answered any of their prayers. Though with the current climate of politics and the war drawing to a close I don't think it would be a good for human relations. If there's one thing I know about religious groups it's that they typically lack a sense of humor.
The convoy wasn't too bad outside of having a cramped ass for the entire second hour. I never had anxiety riding through Mazar-e Sharif, mainly because they were rather pro-Western. Meimaneh doesn't give me the same comfort, especially with the rate of IEDs that have been found in the region over the past month. I was on edge for the first half hour until my body eventually relaxed and I could sit back to enjoy the scenery. It's a strange world on the streets. It reminded me of those videos we used to watch as kids about the starving families in Ethiopia and Somalia. There were children all over the streets, giving me the impression that they outnumbered the adults by at least 4 to 1. The children and adults alike stared as us from the sidewalks as we passed by; awe struck at the size of our vehicles that towered over their market. Out in the countryside (if you could call it that) there were shepherds tending their flocks while kids stood on the side of the road selling fruits and fresh bread. I saw a broken down Soviet tank in the middle of the field that had to have been there for at least thirty years. It reminded me of the forts we built while growing up near my grandma's apartment. One time in the woods we found a tree house next to a broken down car that had sat rusting in the woods for several years. We were excited about this find and turned it into our secret hideout whenever we spent the day there. I can imagine how thrilled we would have been to find a bloody Russian tank in those woods. We would still be playing in that thing today.
Back at Qaisar my team seems to be happy that I'm back. They've been doing well without me, having acquired sponsors who regularly send candies and snacks. With Hallow's Eve being around the corner we've received several bags of Hershey bars, Kit Kats, Reese's Cups, and other sweets that have ruined our dinners.
Despite being in Afghanistan this still continues to be my favorite time of the year. It's Halloween weekend so I'm gorging on more candy while watching horror movie marathons in a blissful state. I also have two packs of Djarums (Blacks and Supers) from London on me which I'm only cracking open for special occasions like this. I think this will turn out to be a decent weekend.
For now the only thing left to work on is getting completely out of debt, taking a couple of more classes, and getting back to my exercise routine to burn off the past month. NaNoWriMo also begins on Tuesday which I may partake in depending on if I'm bored enough to deal with the other fags who get into that. We'll see how I feel next week.
The convoy wasn't too bad outside of having a cramped ass for the entire second hour. I never had anxiety riding through Mazar-e Sharif, mainly because they were rather pro-Western. Meimaneh doesn't give me the same comfort, especially with the rate of IEDs that have been found in the region over the past month. I was on edge for the first half hour until my body eventually relaxed and I could sit back to enjoy the scenery. It's a strange world on the streets. It reminded me of those videos we used to watch as kids about the starving families in Ethiopia and Somalia. There were children all over the streets, giving me the impression that they outnumbered the adults by at least 4 to 1. The children and adults alike stared as us from the sidewalks as we passed by; awe struck at the size of our vehicles that towered over their market. Out in the countryside (if you could call it that) there were shepherds tending their flocks while kids stood on the side of the road selling fruits and fresh bread. I saw a broken down Soviet tank in the middle of the field that had to have been there for at least thirty years. It reminded me of the forts we built while growing up near my grandma's apartment. One time in the woods we found a tree house next to a broken down car that had sat rusting in the woods for several years. We were excited about this find and turned it into our secret hideout whenever we spent the day there. I can imagine how thrilled we would have been to find a bloody Russian tank in those woods. We would still be playing in that thing today.
Back at Qaisar my team seems to be happy that I'm back. They've been doing well without me, having acquired sponsors who regularly send candies and snacks. With Hallow's Eve being around the corner we've received several bags of Hershey bars, Kit Kats, Reese's Cups, and other sweets that have ruined our dinners.
Despite being in Afghanistan this still continues to be my favorite time of the year. It's Halloween weekend so I'm gorging on more candy while watching horror movie marathons in a blissful state. I also have two packs of Djarums (Blacks and Supers) from London on me which I'm only cracking open for special occasions like this. I think this will turn out to be a decent weekend.
For now the only thing left to work on is getting completely out of debt, taking a couple of more classes, and getting back to my exercise routine to burn off the past month. NaNoWriMo also begins on Tuesday which I may partake in depending on if I'm bored enough to deal with the other fags who get into that. We'll see how I feel next week.