Kabul roundup
Haven't logged much except exercise because I have been pretty busy. Going to write a little about the last couple of weeks.
Gym
Okay, I have been logging this, but I just wanted to say it is going well. Consistency has been good, the lifts are ticking up, especially the front squat. Keeping up the LISS, and feeling very comfortable doing 2-3 50 minute runs in the week as well as lifting a bit.
Explosions
Afghanistan is in a really bad state at the moment. I think I mentioned that there had been 80 bombs in Kabul alone so far this year. (There were a couple while I was there but on the other side of town.) Serious violence has spread from the South and East to a bunch of other places, including places that used to be considered safe except for some minor banditry.
They've done some major security upgrades on the guest houses we stay in: here's a picture of the room I was staying in, from the outside:
They have multiple "air locks"- you go in, they lock the door behind you, you are in a little cell of concrete and armour plate, they open the next door to let you through. And even the guest house is behind multiple checkpoints staffed by NDS (a sort of combined Afghan intelligence/special forces unit who are reputedly pretty confident).
It was actually pretty damn quiet, we didn't get locked down, no running to the safe room. But I was still pretty damn happy when I got to Dubai earlier today.
Work
Work has actually been really good.
I have been back in the Ministry that I used to work in, but the original Minister is back, and my old counterpart, who I used to work with every day, is now Deputy Minister. The old top guys used to like me but just wanted to write stuff for them (funding proposals, that kind of thing). But the current top guys actually want me to explain things, give them advice, help them decide what to do.
They had me work on a policy they plan to take the President and Cabinet, but were not happy with. I figured out what they wanted, got it into shape then had a lot of long meetings with them and various bigwigs explaining it to them. 2-3 hour affairs, arguing and discussing with the top brass. Really fun, and actually what I signed up for- makes it feel like I a lot of the other stuff I did in Afghanistan wasn't a waste, because I learned enough in the six years I was there to give them good advice.
I think that I will do this more- fly in for a couple of weeks every 3 months or so just to check up on the big policy piece. If it happens anyway. It will involve Presidential Decrees, legal changes, a bunch of big things. In general in Afghanistan they don't ever really change much fundamental, so i would be surprised if it actually happened.
Other stuff
Hmmm.... other things.
Some interesting characters around the place. One of the guys I have been working with was a *very* senior prosecutor in Rwanda- imprisoned a tonne of leading figures in the Rwandan genocide, but eventually had to leave the country and can never go back because of the number of powerful people who would like to kill him. Now he lives in the US. He was a refugee, raised in Uganda under Idi Amin. Side note, he was talking about how cool and professional the Afghan military are. He said "I feel safer with them than I do walking past an American policeman". I don't know about the American policemen (beyond what I hear from the news) but he's right about the Afghan military- dozens or hundreds are dying every day but you just would not know. It's kind of amazing.
There's a new security guy for our company who's an amateur bodybuilder. Close to 50, but about 260-270 and maybe 5 ' 8", and really not much body fat. Lifts heavy too- squats over 400 and pulls over 500, and pretty knowledgeable about a lot of S&C stuff. Talked about a bunch of stuff and while I didn't agree with everything, he seems to know a tonne more than most, and anyway he's a fucktonne stonger than me despite strength not being his thing, so what do I know? Part of me wants to say just say "fuck it" and let him train me for a while, so I would put on some muscle. But I won't be around for long enough.
My guest house there now has a bar... somehow they are getting affordable booze (by Kabul standards) from somewhere. Despite this I didn't abuse it, in fact only drank twice while I was there. Actually met a cute girl there who also works for our company. I could tell the charm (such as it is) was working. I am there so little it almost feels worth throwing out the "don't shit where you eat" rule. But the rule is good. And anyway, I kind of know how things work in those parts and very little casual stuff happens... and casual stuff is all I am capable of. Such is life.
Fun fact: Kabul has an MMA competition now- Afghanistan Fighting Championship. There were posters around town. A pic:
I'd love to go and see it, but I would probably not be allowed. Afghans are tough as living fuck, and actually do pretty well in combat sports and martial arts- a guy I know placed silver in the Asian games in judo, then won some Central Asian wrestling competition, they have some guy who placed in Tae Kwon Do. Sometimes you see guys messing around in the streets, wrestling, but looking quite technical. It's not bad for a medium-sized country that is isolated and basically in the ten poorest countries in the world. There must be some crazy foreigner here teaching them BJJ, maybe even helping them with the promotion. All credit to him, though.
What else... got upgraded on the Emirates flight out, so drank a tonne of Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a 777, even had a fancy first class section, the type where you basically have your own pod with your own little table. Just three seats per row. But I was happy as Larry, as they say. When I was working there all the time, after Emirates started flying there I would often upgrade with miles. When you are there, at some level you are aware that the shit could hit the fan, and, basically, you could be killed if you were really unlucky, pretty much any time. When you get to Dubai you feel this incredible release of pressure. Somehow, being in the the business section of an Emirates flight makes you feel as if you got to Dubai early.
So anyway, head to Turkey tomorrow. The craziness continues... next week I have to go to a conference in the UK to present a paper about our Syria project. Just there for two nights then back to Turkey. Theoretically I have to go to Jordan after that but I don't want to. I could do with staying in the same place for more than 2 weeks. That front squat won't just increase itself.
