There are some cool things that I’ve done here in Afghanistan, but haven’t written about because of my stupid obsession with having things in chronological order. Some here comes some stuff in no particular order whatsoever…

Having lunch at Hashmat’s place with his father. Once again it was one of those occasions where I was the only woman, but as usual the Afghan hospitality was wonderful. We enjoyed a great meal of Qabuli Plau, Sabsi, Kebab, Cornflour pudding and many other wonderful things.

Horse riding in the mountains

Horse riding in the mountains
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Horse riding early in the morning at Mirwais’s place early in the morning. We traveled out of Kabul to visit Mirwais at 5am in the morning. We arrived at his place in the village where he keeps 4 horses. We rode for hours in the hills around Kabul. These were not the type of horses that you find at an Australian riding school that slowly follow behind each other. These were strong, unruly buzkashi horses that took all of my power and energy to control. There was no one telling me to go slower or coaching me in how to ride. There was just me hanging on for dear life.

It was another occasion where I was the only woman, and I managed to impress all the men in our party with my riding abilities as well as draw a crowd from the local children who were eager to watch a western woman on a horse.

Kyle shooting

Kyle shooting
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

After our ride, we returned for tea and a spot of shooting. And I managed to sufficiently earn the respect of these old mujhadeen fighters by being the first to hit the target, with my first shot none the less.

Better still Mirwais does not speak English, only Dari and Russian, so I had a good opportunity to brush up on my language skills.

It was heaps of fun.

Hanging out with the Afghan AIESEC Alumni. Last week we went to Ryat’s place for dinner, where we were once again served the traditional fair of Qabuli Plau, and Sabsi, but this time with the addition of sausages! Once again I was the only woman.

This bunch of crazy Afghans mad up the first ever Afghan AIESEC delegation. And do they know how to party!! After dinner we headed to a local restaurant for tea and shisha and a spot of live local music. We squished 11 of us into a tiny booth and laughed and danced until early morning.

Brodie Cooking

Brodie Cooking
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Having Brodie here for the last week has been wonderful. He is a super health freak who has only made me realize how unhealthy I have been for the last 3 months. He drinks no caffeine and eats no sugar. And meditates 2 times a day.

He actually managed to get me and Sascha into gear to actually cook something, rather than having cheese and bread for dinner. We had a great stir fry with daal. And as Brodie said, every mouthful had me feeling healthier already.

Music at Breakfast

Music at Breakfast
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

We’ve also arranged some sightseeing activities in honor of his visit, including another trip out to Mirwais’s place for breakfast and a spot of horse riding. Only this time we had a visit from some traditional musicians as well.

Having him at the conference really added something special for the AIESECers and he certainly helped in a major way with the preparations in the last stretch.

Most of all it was fun catch up on old friends and talking AIESEC for hours and hours.

Janwanshir and Me

Janwanshir and Me
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Finally I have attended an Afghan Wedding. Jawanshir invited me to attend the wedding of his brother. It was a love marriage, as opposed to an arranged marriage, and it was beautiful. There were about 1000 guests. Men in one hall and girls in another. They had a video link between the 2 halls, which is apparently important as a potential meeting ground for new couples.

The place was decked out in green everything, as green is the colour of islam. The bride’s first dress is green, the second is traditional and the third is white.

Girls in Traditional Costume

Girls in Traditional Costume
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Before the wedding I had complained to Jawanshir that I had nothing to wear and he said that he would bring me traditional clothes to wear. What I didn’t realize was the by wearing the traditional clothes, I was then part of the wedding party and was required to do some dances, have photos with the bride and take part in the henna ritual, but I was so happy to be involved.

I was really lucky to have seen an Afghan wedding, as they are one of the most important parts of Afghan culture, and usually the biggest event in the life of any Afghan.

Conference Banners

Conference Banners
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

The promotional materials are what most impressed me about this conference, mainly because printing 6 banners, 4 stands, 800 pens, 800 folders, 800 notepads, 800 bags and one huge mega banner, is not something we'd ever be able to afford to do in Australia.

Preparing conference folders

Preparing conference folders
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Wali, Sabir, Fahim and Jawanshir came in to provide some relief when we realised that we had made a mistake on the agenda and that we had to reprint 400 agendas and re-pack 400 folders. Nice work guys.

Registration

Registration
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Zohal and Naheed kept their cool during registration, even if I didn't. Everybody pitched in to register, tag and bag the 100 students who turned up 15 minutes before we were due to start.

Things are running smoothly after our conference which was a success, even if it seem like it might all collapse mant times. It was very professional, well received by students and business alike and had excellent media coverage.

The banners, posters, folders, pens and delegates bags finally arrived less than 10 hours before we were due to start, so we had a late night and early morning packing everything. But thanks to the guards and house staff at Cetenagroup, we managed to pull through.

Both days went down without too many problems. We were constantly running at least ½ and hour behind, but everyone put that down to “Afghan time” so we were forgiven.

The Career Building Seminar on Sunday was more successful than I thought it would be, with students really interested in attending the workshops. I don’t know whether it was because this is how they would get lunch or qualify for the second day, but there was a really good turn out.

Particularly the Careers Fair was great, with students who were not even coming to the conference all giving plenty of attention to the represented companies.

The Leadership Development Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel on Monday also went remarkably well. We had some small problems with registration, and then after the first hour, the microphone stopped working, but other than that it was great. Having it at a hotel was really impressive and made the day a whole lot easier for us.

The speakers were generally interesting. Particularly a discussion on leadership, lead by Brodie Boland, raised some interesting questions and got great feedback.

We were also able to add in some cool Afghan cultural elements on this day by having some traditional musicians. At lunch time, a whole bunch of the boys danced the Atun, a national dance.

In the evening the musicians returned to play just for the AIESECers and we had our own little party in the Intercontinental Hotel, on top of Kabul.

One of the coolest things ever has been watching the news and listening to the radio in the last 2 days and hearing AIESEC mentioned everywhere, even if I don’t understand really what they’re saying.

After 2 months work, I really feel like I’ve been able to contribute something to AIESEC in Afghanistan. They now have some good contacts, media exposure, and if all the finances work out, we might even turn a small profit, enough to run the office for the next little while anyway.

Not only that, but I’ve learned so much from doing it. I feel like I’ve got enough experience building partnerships and raising funds to come back and kick ass on the Australian MC.

Also, it has been great to see new Afghan AIESECers begining to fall into AIESEC through this project. Mansoor and Jawanshir have made me so pround by really taking on responsibility and dealing with my phrase "solve it". But the whole conference team including Asad, Sadaf, Zuhal, Zuhra, Naheid, Fraedoon, Abdullah, Fahim and Hashmat have all been a big part of making it happen.

Most of all Connie, who has been with me since the beginning, who has been my friend and confidant, has pushed and fought to make this conference happen on the CETENAGROUP side.

Cheers Guys

Local Musicians

Local Musicians
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

These are muscians from the Agha Khan Foundation which is where music Afghan music gurus practice. These guys demand respect and they got it. They really added to the vibe of the conference. It was professional and sophisticated.

Connie, Mahmood, Shoiab and Me

Connie, Mahmood, Shoiab and Me
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Here we are at the end of our conference felling pretty chuffed with ourselves.

Afghan Post and a Sorry Lesson!!

Yesterday a parcel arrived for me that has been almost 4 months coming!!!

Before I left Australia, I sent some souvineers and things to my sister in India thinking that I would pick them up when I visited her in January to bring them with me to Afghanistan.

Unfortunatly, the package missed me by about 3 days. So Skye set about posting it onto Afghanistan. She went through a great ordeal trying to make the package comply with Indian postal standards. She finally left the package and 500 rupeeswith a friend to let them do the best they could.

So after all this, yesterday, a note arrived saying that my parcel was ready to be collected at the central post office. The Guard where I live gave the post man 4 dollars and passed on this note to me.

So I happily headed on down to the central post office to collect my goodies. Paying on the way 2 dollars for the cab. I arrive at the post office, show all of my documents and am asked to pay another 4 dollars to collect my parcel.

When I say that I have already paid the 4 dollars for my parcel everybody laughs heartly and says I've been had. So in my outrage, I make a complaint to the postmaster, that his distributers are collecting money in this way. I think that I am doing my civic duty by reporting this. And quite frankly I'm sick and tired of being ripped off and over charged. I may be a foreigner, but I'm not made of money!

I then return to collect my parcel, thinking I can happily go home and savour the moment of opening it. But this is not to be. The parcel had to be opened by a customs officer and I list of the items recorded.

So we go through it
one skirt
4 AIESEC t-shirts
business cards
stuffed kangaroo
australian pens
koala lighter
and 2 packets of tampons

This was a rather embrassing point not only for me haveing the 5 or so customs men passing them around wondering what they were, but also for the local AIESECer, Mansoor, who had to explain to the customs men what they were. These types of things are kept extremely private in Afghanistan and most men wouldn't even know what a period was!!

So we finally leave the post office and after the 2 dollar taxi ride back to the office I was wishing that it had been lost in the mail.

But the story does not end here. It turns out that as a result of my complaint, the distribution post man is being investigated and faces the possibility of loosing his job. Further, he did not actually ask for the 4 dollars that he collected from the Guard here at my office, but rather it is something that he is regularly given when he comes here, because the workers here know how low his salary is.

Good one Kyle. So tomorrow, when the post master comes to investigate, I have to try and explain the whole situation and withdraw my complaint.

All this heartache over 1 skirt, 4 t-shirts, some souvineers and a couple of packs of tampons!

Buzkashi Player

Buzkashi Player
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Tug-of-war

Tug-of-war
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

These two players have one leg each of the carcass and are trying to rip it from the other. It was suprising how well the body actually held together.

In the Rabble

In the Rabble
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

In this picture, one player is trying to score while the others try to get in his way. It's a pretty intense game.

BUZKASHI

I was lucky enough last week to witness the Afghan national sport of Buzkashi!!! By luck, a friend called on the spur of the moment and said to get down to the stadium to have a bit of a look.

We were worried that by the time we found the stadium we would miss the whole thing. Fortunately there was a second game and we were in plenty of time.
In Buzkashi, a headless carcass is placed in the center of a circle and surrounded by the players of two opposing teams. The object of the game, is to get control of the carcass and bring it to the scoring area. Although it seems like a simple task, it is not. First of all you have to pick it up off the ground, while you are sitting on a horse. Then you have to carry it around the field without letting anyone else steal it off you. And then you have to push your way through all the other players on their horses, who are trying to stop you from getting to the goal scoring area. And because there are so many other players, it is difficult to see the ground and drop it in the right place.

Traditionally, a calf is beheaded, the legs are cut off at the knee and its entrails are removed. The carcass of the calf is then soaked in cold water for 24 hours before the game so that it may be tough enough to withstand the tugging that takes place. When there is no calf available, a goat is used instead. At the start of the game, the carcass was hard and stiff, but by the end of the game, it as just like a sack of broken bones.

Excitement really arose when players were knocked off their horses to potentially be trampled under the hooves of others and when the horses got so close to the crowd, that spectators were almost trampled!

It was one of those things that was kinda really gross and scary, but fascinating at the same time. Really adding to the experience, was the opportunity to be among normal Afghans, although, as a foreign woman, I was seated in the secure VIP area. But walking into the stadium and looking at the people, relaxing at one of their most famous pastimes was really cool. Although having all of them stare at me was a little unsettling. Other foreigners are really surprised that I actually went. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to see this, as it is one of the most important and unique cultural aspects of Afghanistan.

What do I do here

So I’ve been here for a good 8 or so weeks now, and, while all of the cultural excursions and experiences have been very exciting, I thought I’d share with you what I’ve actually been doing.

As it turned out, when I arrived there was not a lot of AIESEC work going on. University was, and still is on holiday and many of the AIESEC members left to Germany as part of a special exchange project.

So I was left to make some work for myself. After one week, I began to have the idea of running some kind of project or event, and over time, this has grown into a Networking and Careers conference for Kabul University students.

I told the idea to a friend of mine, Daud, a young German/Afghan you runs a marketing and events (among other things) company here in Kabul and he agreed to help me put the whole thing together by putting me in contact with possible sponsors and presenters, as well as actually helping me to promote and produce the event.

It will be a 2 day event in mid April. The careers fair will be held over both days. The first day will be some speeches by young professional Afghans followed by a series of practical workshops run by companies and aid agencies. Then there will be a bbq and some music and a chance to look at the careers stalls.

The second day will be held at a hotel function centre and it will be more like a leadership development seminar where the top students can interact with business leaders, engage in discussion and debate and listen to speeches about obstacles to business development in Afghanistan.

So right now I am working hard with my friend Connie, who works for this marketing and events company, to get the right speakers and sponsors for this event. We’ve met with The European Commission, The US Embassy, who is putting us in contact with USAID, the UNDP, Afghan Investment Support agency, Afghan Chamber of Commerce, Afghan Finance Company, television stations, telecoms and numerous other companies and organizations.

I can’t tell you what an amazing experience this is. To package our product individually for each company, to negotiate financial and inkind sponsorship. For example, we have agreed with one TV station, that they will promote the conference by giving us advertising minutes, an interview on a business program and by covering the whole event in the news. We have agreed with one telecom, that they will have exclusive rights from that sector and provide us with mobile phone give aways. We set up the contracts and agreements with all of these organizations.

I’m also putting together the agenda for the event. Slotting in the speakers and trying to make the event flow. This has meant that I’ve had to learn very quickly the who’s who of what in Kabul and Afghanistan and given me a bit of an insight into the culture and hierarchy of businesses here. Who won’t speak if someone else is going to be there. Who should be before who on the agenda and so on.

Then there is all the logistical stuff to be taken care of like designing and printing posters, fliers and banners. Even designing the TV commercial with slide and voiceover!!! Booking the hotel, writing press releases, registering the students, liaising with the venues, on campus promotion!!! The list goes on forever.

I’m terribly excited with the news that the President of AIESEC International is planning a trip here so that he can also attend the conference!! So his the agenda for his visit will have to be arranged as well.

As I get closer to the event, there are more and more things that pop up that need to be done. But finally being so busy is great. I’m really getting stuck into work and I can’t believe that I only have 4 and a half weeks left here!

road side lunch

road side lunch
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

I just had to try it. We had been passing these road side cafes all along the way, and my biggest thing when visiting a country is eating like a local. And I finally got the chance after 2 months!!!

shisha cafe

shisha cafe
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

For those that are not familiar with Shisha,this is not as sinister as it looks. It's a simple water pipe and we are smoking peach tobacco. It's a really good way of making the conversation flow, without the use of alcohol.

Tomb of Ali

Tomb of Ali
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Visiting this place has to be one of the highlights of the last 3 months. It has been my goal since leaving Australia to visit here and it was well worth it. However, note the really tacky fluro lights ontop of the Mosque.

view from the car

view from the car
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

Driving was the most amazing part of this trip. The country is covered with mountains and they never cease to amaze me. They also give me this feeling that I want to go and walk amongst them.

mountain villages

mountain villages
Originally uploaded by Kyle Liddell.

The mountains and the country side are covered with these mud houses. As we neared Mazar we found that the houses had dome roofs instead of flat ones.

Mazar-e Sharif

We finally made our trip to Mazar-e Sharif it was great, but crazy. I went with Mike, a trainee from Washington DC, who works here at Tolo TV. We were both desperate to get out of Kabul and see something of the country. So on Wednesday we decided and Friday we left. I think I have mentioned before, that it’s a 6 day working week here, and Friday is everyone’s day off.

Mike came to get me at 5am on Friday morning, but I was still asleep after a heave Thursday night. (Which was such a huge night. After being at the local bar, we went to this huge house party! It was crazy!) Anyway, Mike had to wake me as I slept through my alarm and a wake up call. And we were on the road about 20mins later. The drive was amazing. It was an 8 hour drive, and really, the driving was one of the highlights of the trip. I don’t even know where to start with describing it. This country is amazing.

Despite the expense, we hired a private driver to take us for the weekend. This was great, coz it meant that we were really independent and could stop whenever we liked.
The first major highlight was the Salang Pass. Built in the 64 by the Russians, it cuts through one of the tallest mountains (3363m) linking northern Afghanistan with southern Afghanistan. We rose up and up, passing many villages made of mud houses, perched on the sides of the rocky mountains. We went up and up until we were in the peaks that are still covered with snow.

The tunnel itself is about 20km long and is in complete darkness. In the past, at new year (Nawroz), when people from all around the country make a pilgrimage to Mazar, people have died in the tunnel because the traffic and the ventilation is so bad, that people get gassed in their own cars while they are waiting in the jam. But Nawroz is not for another 2 weeks and we had a pretty quite run.

When we came down from the peaks we drove through rocky mountains for some time, where there were no trees or vegetation whatsoever. We then passed into brilliant green rolling hills, where there was still no vegetation but a constant spattering of mud houses. As we continued we started to see a little more vegetation, particularly pomegranate trees and apple and cherry trees, which are now in bloom.
We passed heaps of burnt out tanks and other types of military type stuff. As well, we took special notice of the blue and white painted stones that lined some parts of the road marking areas that have been cleared of landmines. This made going to the loo particularly difficult, as in Australia, you would just jump into the nearest field and go behind a tree, but without many tree around, and not being able to wander too far from the road places serious limitations on your options.

After driving for around 6 hours, the mountains suddenly ended and we found ourselves racing across a flat, dust desert plain which lead us into Mazar-e Sharif.
In many ways, Mazar is similar to Kabul, but there are many differences as well. The city is a lot lighter, the streets are wider and the main streets are actually paved. Mazar escaped much of the fighting in recent wars, and is not as war torn as Kabul. Also, women there wear white burqas instead of the Kabul blue. Actually, women in generally cover up more, it was rare to see a woman without a burqa or full length hidjab. There were also way less foreigners. So we got a lot more stares and attention.

When we arrived we had lunch in an Afghan restaurant, where Mike had pilau, which is kind of like risotto with carrots, sultanas and meat. And I had Mantu, which is famous in the northern parts. They are big dumplings filled with meat.
After lunch we headed to the Tomb of Hazrat Ali, which is one of the most famous and beautiful Mosques in Afghanistan and one of the main reasons why we made the trip. Despite being destroyed a number of times, it is still well preserved. As with most places we went in Mazar, we attracted a big crowd of followers, which made us and our driver a little nervous. But most people were just curious. Particularly the women, when I am standing by myself, were eager to come closer to get a better look. At one stage I ound myself trying to convers with 4 women in burqas, which is no easy task, as a foreign language is difficult when you can’t see how people are expressing themselves.

Once we visited the mosque, we actually found that there wasn’t a lot to do in Mazar, especially since, once again, you can’t really just go exploring the streets. We had to stick close to the car. We had a look at a few tourist shops and what have you, But as I mentioned, we tended to attract a crowd of followers. I stopped to buy some bangles from a gypsy, and when I looked up there were about 30 people standing around me. So we eventually headed to a hotel to escape the dust and the stares.
The hotel was an interesting place. It was huge and not too shabby. For $30 a night it wasn’t too bad. We had a heater, and hot water and the room was quite large, so we weren’t complaining. We chilled in the saloon for a while where some of the workers were watching cable TV, and imagine our surprise when they flicked through a porn channel on cable!!!

We had dinner at Dali Dunbar, which is a chain of Indian restaurants. It was brilliant. The best Indian I’ve had outside of India. Actually, it could have been better than India. After dinner, as we were driving back to the hotel, we spotted a shisha café near the Mosque and decided to stop. They don’t do shishas here, like we do at home. Everyone gets their own individual shisha, with their choice of tobacco flavor. We had a great time, sitting outside smoking shisha and chatting away, while the café pumped Iranian dance music into the night.

The next morning we were up reasonably early heading to Balkh, which is a small town about 30mins from Mazar, but hosting a lot of ancient ruins. Armed with our guide books we managed to find most of the sights listed, despite some confusion amongst the locals as to where they were and whether they existed. And while they were not so impressive, the fact that we found them was, between us, our non-english speaking driver and crowds of local who gathered to discuss us and our quest. We climbed the city walls and found the Masjid-e Non Gomband, which is famous for having nine pillars. Unfortunately, these were nothing more than ruins, although they are now protected by a huge shed donated by the German government. But really it was the driving through the countryside, witnessing the scenery and the rural life, that made the trip amazing.

Late morning, we started on the long drive back to Kabul. The highlight on the way back, was stopping at a roadside restaurant to have lunch. These restaurants are like the MacDonalds of Afghanistan. They don’t have tables, but benches, where people remove their shoes and sit cross legged. They serve kebab and pilau and tea. And it’s the most fascinating place to observe people. It is not usually the type of place where a woman would eat, but being a westerner I can get away with it. We were there just long enough for people to start to bother us, and then were back on the road.


All in all it was an amazing trip. I really feel like I’m in Afghanistan now that I’ve seen some of the country. I was staggered by how beautiful it is but also by how under developed it is and how harsh life must be for those living beyond the limits of Kabul city.