Meet the new guy

I walked into the office today and was told to grab my gear.  I was told by my peer that I was going with several others on a mission to a department of the Ministry of Education to discuss a project for funding IT equipment.  I was to shadow the project manager to see how these meetings were conducted in order to take over other reconstruction and capacity building projects in the near future.  He said we were leaving in 5 minutes, so I didn't hesitate to run back to my room and grab my stuff.

We loaded up into the armored suburbans and our convoy took off.  I noticed on my early morning ride from the Kabul IA the other day and also again today that Afghans get up early in the morning and all of them are moving on the streets as if they have a purpose.  I've spent a lot of time in Iraq, and to contrast, Arabs (1) as a general rule don't get up early, and (2) typically don't move with a purpose.  Note: Afghans are not Arabs. They comprise a number of ethnicities such as Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimak, Turkmen, Baloch, and others.

The city of Kabul is extensive with about 5 million residents, and I'd swear they were all out on the streets today going somewhere.  The traffic here would give most people nightmares.  They weave in and out and came within inches of hitting our vehicle.  Every type of vehicle imaginable is out on the roads.  From busses and trucks to sedans and minivans, there also motorcycles, scooters, bikes, hand pump powered vehicles, and carts of all sort.  I took pictures through what I thought was the tinted glass of our suburban which would provide me some privacy without looking like a complete tourist.  Although, I began to realize that people could see me as children started making faces at me out of their own car windows.  After that, it became a game to see who I could get to smile back at me when I smiled and nodded or mouthed "hello".

We reached our destination and went in with our interpreter to meet with the department director and deputy director.  As we entered their office, we were greeted and asked to sit at a modest conference table with candy and cookies set out.  While we were talking about the project, a man came in and handed each of us a tea cup with hot chai that was probably near the temperature of lava. (I'll discuss this custom and its significance in more detail later)

After a very productive meeting that resulted in a new scope and revised requirement list from the stakeholders, we all stood up and exchanged our thanks and good byes.  It came out during our more extended and informal chit-chat afterwards that I was new to the country within the last three days.  The department director, who spoke excellent English, clasped my hand while we shook hands for what seemed like a short eternity, laughed while he told me that I should look forward to get sick from eating the food within the first week of being here as a welcome to Afghanistan.

Great, my first meeting with a Government official and I’m already getting a curse put on me.

More to follow.