Back in Kabul!!

Following a wonderful break and cherished opportunity to visit with friends and family in South Africa (for Susan) and California (for both of us), and following almost three days of traveling, Chris and I finally arrived back in Kabul on Saturday afternoon. While a bit exhausted from the jetlag, it was strangely good to be back. I know this sounds odd to anyone who have not lived "at mission", but one becomes strangely fond of the surroundings, the people and all that a particular place begins to hold in store. We battled a few dodgey nights with 3am wake-ups, but emerged somewhere around Tuesday.

Of course, with our Thursdays being the new Friday, that makes Sunday the new Monday, meaning Chris was back in the swing of things on Sunday morning while I, the alleged "lady of leisure" (you may recall I completed my contract in Mazar-e-Sharif, and per our agreement have relocated to Kabul and am now eagerly searching out my next venture), set about rearranging our tiny, yet cozy, room. This might seem mundane compared to constructing shelters and mitigating conflict, but trust me - when you see what Chris can do to a tiny room in nine months, you would revise your thinking.

I find myself struggling to accept time for myself for the first time in months. Having the luxury to sit and ponder, read and hopefully, write, does seem like a blessing. It's not all lounging for me though, as I have entered into massive networking mode to filter through the opportunities that this ever-growing city holds for someone like me.

In the meantime, Kabul is changing its colors, opting for a wintery coat of snow in the mornings, and grey skies during the day. From what I can gather, white, cold, Kabul is actually much preferred over brown, frozen, muddy Kabul, which also means that we are very likely to have a white Christmas. I'll report back again though the first time it hits -25C/-10F, quite possibly with requests for housing in places like Cape Town or California.