Things I notice about Afghanistan when I leave

Dec 31, 2012 20:39


I come back from Afghanistan to Portland for Christmas/New Years and for summer vacation.  The schedule means I’m home for New Years and 4th of July-both firecracker holidays.  I hear far more booms while at home than I come remotely close to hearing in Afghanistan.  Nevertheless, the first thought that comes to mind when I hear one is still, "was ( Read more... )

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colonelperry42n January 4 2013, 09:45:53 UTC
I can relate in many ways. . .excpet loadshedding occurs for only 2 hours a days. . .we're so lucky in Pakistan, aren't we ?? ;P I think in the summer there's loadshedding for every hour we have of electricity. . .oh yay. . .

Also, our guards do the same!! We share a guard with the diplomat across the street. . .

While bombings don't occur, I hear gunshots from time to time, which are confusing. . .they're mostly in celebration (like on New Years, they shoot guns in the air at midnight) or to ward off other people. . .like a marking of territory(!!) I guess I grew up in Texas, I should be used to this behavior :p

How long do you think you'll live in Afghanistan?

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brinker January 6 2013, 15:26:11 UTC
Yeah, loadshedding is fun. I'm very glad we have a generator. Do they schedule the times for you guys, or is it random? For us it's random and tends to cover several hours a day in the winter. Other times when we have electricity, there isn't enough to actually power stuff effectively.

I didn't know you guys had a guard. Interesting. Does everyone? (In Afghanistan all the foreigners do, or any of the gov types, and probably a lot of the rich people, too.)

We get a few gunshots, but not very many. I'd say I only hear them once a semester or so. I've typically heard bombs a couple times a semester, although last year was a lot higher and this last semester there was only one.

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colonelperry42n January 6 2013, 20:44:11 UTC
They have a schedule somewhere online for load shedding, but I normally just wait and see when it happens :p It's pretty consistent and changes every few weeks. Winter is ok, but I hear in summer, they go on alternating hours. . .for every 1 hour of electricity, there's one hour of load shedding...We'll get a backup generator before then, as we're able to make do without it for now ( ... )

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brinker January 7 2013, 15:31:08 UTC
Yeah, the schedule for load shedding fits with what I'm used to, although I don't think there's one for Kabul. I don't really know, though, because I usually don't pay attention to whether we're running on city electricity or generator.

Understood on the shooting. I have no idea why we hear them when we do. Usually it's just a few random shots and then we don't hear anythign else.

I hadn't heard about Zero Dark Thirty, even. It's noted, though. And yes, it is hard to identify the small cultural differences, I know. We get used to them over time and don't notice/think about them anymore.

I'd love to see you comment on it, though, and photos are always fun.

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