From the roof

To any Americans reading this: happy fourth of july! I stood and sang the star spangled banner, ate brownie, and blessed America today:) Also witnessed lots of US choppers circling really low above the area where I am living.

Our house is on a corner so from up on the roof I can look up and down two streets. One street ends at our place and then there is Habibia High School. There are a bunch of people playing soccer on its grassy playing field. Looking down the street towards the nearby mountains, a woman in the traditional blue burqa is coming toward me with 3 small children all dressed in bright colours. A man in a bright white hat, clean shiny shoes and a well kept 'peran tombon' is heading away from me, looking slightly out of place. Although Afghans like to be presentable and tidy, in this very dirty, dusty city it is almost impossible. Men with more familiar looking dusty outfits bike or walk past.

Looking now in the other direction the light of the setting sun is bursting through the clouds flooding the distant mountains with yellow light- beautiful! On the street below an older man with a beard and well worn outfit is herding his goats toward me then they disappear round the corner. There are boys in jeans riding bikes, doubling each other, and a woman walking, readjusting her head covering.

On the street that the goats were heading down and just opposite my house, two older men are sitting on the grass having a yarn, they notice me and look up. I avoid eye contact and look away. I love the old men here with their different hats and beards and outfits. Considering the life expectancy here is only 46 years old (!!) they probably aren't all as old as they look.

I have the fortunate position of being able to nose on my neighbours. In my next door neighbours yard I watch as a woman pulls buckets of water up and down from their well and then pours them over the pots and cooking utensils that a young girl is holding out and washing. Next to them chickens roam free. In the yard next to theirs there is a lot of activity. A man seems to be showing his wife how to hoe the ground. Later I notice a small group of women and children there all staring up at me. I stand up and place my hand on my heart (a way of greeting). They smile and keep staring, I don't know what to do. I wave and a girl waves back. Later on an older woman motions for me to come over and visit. I couldn't then but will take up the invite another day. It is normal apparently in Afghan culture to be invited about 3 times to something before actually taking up the invite. I'm dying to go visit though so don't think i will wait for the 3rd invite before making my way over there. I wish i knew more language though.. i had my first lesson today which was excellent. There is so much to learn and i am not sure how i will remember it all!

The street scenes here change every 2 minutes. Just now a taxi stopped as an oncoming car pulled up. The men got out of their vehicles and each man gave a really long lasting hug to the driver of the taxi- noone seemed perterbed by the presence of another taxi that was honking its horn, wanting past. I could stay up on the roof forever just watching the ever changing scenes and all the fascinating people...