Firsts
I arranged for M to come to Kabul to take an accounting course. You may recall that she's 22 and it's the first time she's ever left her hometown of Faizabad.
So yesterday I thought it would be fun to show her the sights.
We visited what I think of as the only less than unpleasant spot in Kabul -- Babur's Gardens. Now renovated to almost Mughal splendour. It was HOT and DUSTY and lots of young louts made lots of rude remarks.
Bearing in mind that this lovely young woman has never been seen by men outside of her immediate family and the handful in the office, it's a big deal that she's walking around Kabul without a burqa. I'm thrilled. She's nervous. Really really nervous.
I could see that she was rattled by the young guns, so I tried to comfort her by sharing my 'Philosophy on Afghan Men': They're a tribe of 13 year old boys.
She agreed vehemently and spat out: "They are so stupid!"
It astounded me to see such rage from someone other than me!
But instead of reassurance, I felt deep deep sorrow.
This was compounded when on the way to Afghanistan's first and only mall, Kabul City Centre, she timidly proposed that we give it a skip.
Now, I'm probably the world's foremost hater of malls. Generally I'm 100% anti-consumerism of any kind. However, I really thought it would be something for her to see this slick, air conditioned space which is probably the dumpiest mall I've ever seen, but like some futuristic vision in relation to everything else in Afghanistan.
So I gently reassured her that it would be safe, that other Afghan women plied its corridors and that she really should just pop in for a few minutes.
She grudgingly accepted my proposal.
Well! From the security check on the way in to those space-aged moving stairs (escalators), she was trembling with shock and wonder. It was so much fun!
And sad.
A first for me too -- a video on my blog!
This is M taking her first unaccompanied ride on an escalator. The very first ride involved me grabbing her and thrusting her onto the newfangled contraption while she protested vehemently.
So yesterday I thought it would be fun to show her the sights.
We visited what I think of as the only less than unpleasant spot in Kabul -- Babur's Gardens. Now renovated to almost Mughal splendour. It was HOT and DUSTY and lots of young louts made lots of rude remarks.
Bearing in mind that this lovely young woman has never been seen by men outside of her immediate family and the handful in the office, it's a big deal that she's walking around Kabul without a burqa. I'm thrilled. She's nervous. Really really nervous.
I could see that she was rattled by the young guns, so I tried to comfort her by sharing my 'Philosophy on Afghan Men': They're a tribe of 13 year old boys.
She agreed vehemently and spat out: "They are so stupid!"
It astounded me to see such rage from someone other than me!
But instead of reassurance, I felt deep deep sorrow.
This was compounded when on the way to Afghanistan's first and only mall, Kabul City Centre, she timidly proposed that we give it a skip.
Now, I'm probably the world's foremost hater of malls. Generally I'm 100% anti-consumerism of any kind. However, I really thought it would be something for her to see this slick, air conditioned space which is probably the dumpiest mall I've ever seen, but like some futuristic vision in relation to everything else in Afghanistan.
So I gently reassured her that it would be safe, that other Afghan women plied its corridors and that she really should just pop in for a few minutes.
She grudgingly accepted my proposal.
Well! From the security check on the way in to those space-aged moving stairs (escalators), she was trembling with shock and wonder. It was so much fun!
And sad.
A first for me too -- a video on my blog!
This is M taking her first unaccompanied ride on an escalator. The very first ride involved me grabbing her and thrusting her onto the newfangled contraption while she protested vehemently.
Comments
So, "Boys are stupid" is universal, then?
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