I woke up, reluctant to leave the warmth built-up beneath my crisp white duvet. But the sight of snow, anywhere, no matter how cold, always gets me up! It started coming down as rain and must have turned to snow overnight. The time is only 8a.m. and already, the strong Afghan sun is melting it into cold slush.
I got up and went to the bathroom, expecting to freeze to death. But when I opened the door, the blast from the wood furnace nearly burnt my cheek-hairs off! There is no electricity though, hence no hot water. I will have to ask someone to turn on the small generator to power all the computers & sockets.
Downstairs, I found Iqbal, the cook, eating Afghan flat-bread by the
other wood furnace in the sitting room. He’s crooked and small, with
bright, smiling eyes and smooth, wrinkled skin, like a walnut. There
are many other care-takers here in the house, each with a different
job. There is a day driver and a night driver... a gardener (a man
after my own heart!)... a watchman... a cleaner... and Iqbal. I don’t
speak Dari or Pashto, but seem to be getting by since so many words in
Hindi come from Persian and Arabic. Hence, I managed to convey to the
watchman that there was snow (burf) outside... and yes, I was warm
(garm).
There is something perversely comforting about not having
electricity or telephone lines. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a
confirmed Luddite romantic anyway! But being without the kinds of
things we take for granted does boil all your actions down to the bare
necessities. Eat, work, sleep. You don’t bother doing all the pointless
things you would otherwise (surf channels, take long showers, wear
makeup & contact lenses, straighten your hair!) And it makes you
think, at the very least, what it must be like for mothers, fathers and
children who wake up every morning in the frigid cold without warm
beds, electricity, or decent food.
It does at least bring a dose of reality to an otherwise easy,
privileged, pampered Western existence, mostly occupied (in my case) by
fleeting newspaper headlines; what delights I might have for dinner
tonight (most of the world gets by on plain rice); and whether I’ve got
time to put on some eye-liner in the morning.
I haven’t yet seen much of Kabul, so more later when I’ve ventured out!
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