24-6 at the half

It's 12:28am Monday 15 October. I am tucked into bed, it is cool now. Computer in hand, furiously praying that the dial-up will catch enough of the streaming coverage of the second semi final match of the Rugby World Cup match for 2007 - this one, South Africa vs. Argentina. I was supposed to watch the game live at another NGO with a satellite and projector on the big screen, but the French loss against England last night may or may not have contributed to the ghostly reception when I showed up with my Aussie friend and lift. Not a soul loomed in the large Pakistani-style house, so we let ourselves back out as quietly as we entered and I have been wrestling my dial-up modem ever since.

Fortunately I am getting play-by-play updates from the Kabul contingent as I try and find a better source for the streaming radio....

Rugby World Cup 2007

Alright, this is not exactly a literary post about my adventures in Afghanistan, although I guess in a way it is. It involves keeping your dreams alive, even in remote places like these - which for the next two weeks involves only one thing, the Springboks taking the cup at the Rugby World Cup 2007! After two weeks of upset upon upset, the final four teams include England (yes, the old, slow and seemingly less-than-fit Red Roses profited off the myriad mistakes made by a careless Australian side last Saturday), France (after inching past a not-so-stellar Kiwi side, by refusing the ball the pleasure of ever seeing the hands of an All Black back, the Frogs stunned the world by gaining access to the semis), Argentina (after beating RWC hosts, France, in the opening match, everyone knew to watch out for the oft' unpredictable Pumas, and they proved to be right, beating out Scotland for a coveted spot in the final four, a first for them), and South Africa (dealt the toughest pool of all the contenders, the Springboks had to fight past England, Samoa, came very close against Tonga, and then finished off the US). Some say the Springboks had an advantage because of the fact that they had some competition, and this might be true. Racking up three-digit scores against the likes of Portugal, Italy and Japan does not exactly prepare one for tough rugby matches.

Probably easy for me to say (since my team's still in the run), but let bygones be bygones. I am looking forward to this coming weekend. England and France will surely battle it out 'til the end, and the South Africa vs. Argentina game is bound to be an entertaining one. I get to watch this week’s festivities with the Red Cross in Mazar (in French) and then if all goes well, the finals in the closest thing we have to the “Springbok Bar” in Kabul.

And to my Kiwi and Wallaby friends, "Que sera, sera.....whatever will be, will be" see you in 2011 as the defending champions! Amabokke-bokke!

(Photo: I don't usually post unsourced photographs, but unfortunately I received this via email and have no idea of the source and thought it was TOO GOOD...if you recognize it as your own, send me your name!)

Download woes...

So we all know I am an avid supporter of the South African national sport of rugby. And we just so happen to be in the midst of my favorite tournament, the Tri-Nations (South Africa, New Zealand and Australia battling it out for the king of the Southern Hemisphere). Alas I have not been able to find a screening venue in Mazar, surprisingly not even the only security compliant restaurant that we frequent, which happens to be a British establishment.

Either way, whenever I am in Kabul I get to watch the games with Chris and the plethora of Aussies, Kiwis and Brits around - yet when in Mazar, I am religated to receiving regular updates via sms, as I did yesterday from a new-found Irish friend.

After a bit of research I learned that you can indeed download these games online, so I immediately signed up to download yesterday's match, fully planning to enjoy it on my computer tonight after work. I even waited until after hours to not take up any bandwidth at the office....but ALAS - turns out there is not enough bandwidth in all of Mazar to slaughter this 905MB beast....how I miss broadband. At the moment I am looking at 63 hours 21 mins and 15 seconds of download time left - heck, I'm not even sure I can keep my power on for the next 63 mins!

So much for a good idea, for all my rugby-compadres out there in South Africa, Santa Monica, New Haven, and yes - Kabul - keep the sms's coming! Go Bokke!

3-8 Feb: Park City, Utah

Park City is fun. The snow is a little scarce, but the weather is great. We have a nice apartment. I shopped at Wild Oats with tears in my eyes as I ogled over the abundance of wonderfully fresh produce I missed so dearly in Baghdad. In an attempt to maximize our “experience on the mountain” we signed up for a few lessons with what has to be Australia’s own “carrot top”. Great guy, and we got to jump the lift line. We pretend to have an interest in timeshare and get free lift tickets from one of the newly constructed über-resorts. At night we cook, drink wine, catch up, talk about Baghdad and what the future hold. We also debate the Vietnam and Iraq wars with three grey beards in the hot tub who bring us plastic cups for our wine.

[Main Street. Pricey, but nice]