Class Begins Again

We completed our second day of class today. The classroom itself has improved drastically. A retaining wall that separated the class into a larger and smaller section was removed and everything turned 90 degrees. Now, there is a wide aisle down the center of the class, everyone is facing the same direction, and only three students are on either side. As a result, attention is focused on the instructor in front of class and students are less able to congregate in large groups or easily share their work. Mary, Dr. J (our translator), and I were noticing a more serious tone to this group of students, but as I write this I realize the classroom setup may have very much to do with this. With everyone facing the same direction and only three to a row, distractions are minimized and there are fewer ways to hide! There’s tension in Kabul with all the predictions of more violence as summer approaches. There have been a few bombings in the city over the last couple weeks. I feel secure in our guest house and at the university, but the darned commute is what makes me nervous. And we have this new driver, N. He speaks some English, which is an improvement over W, but he seems less focused. Yesterday we were driving in traffic and a convoy led by and ended by US military HUMVEEs went by. Well, N was kind of chatting with H (one of the other guards who was sitting in the passenger seat) and started to overtake the rear HUMVEE in the convoy. This is a major no-no and the guy sitting behind the machine gun on top of the vehicle was none too pleased. He was pointing at us and signaling to stop, but N was chatting away not paying attention. Finally the guy pulled out a rubber ball or projectile of some kind and whipped it at our mini-van and finally we slowed down to keep our distance like the rest of the traffic. I met Vince, the American construction contractor I met in Baku who has been operating here for the last four years, last night for dinner at a new Cajun place set up by two American guys. This is a guy with 25 years in the US Military, Vietnam special boats active combat veteran, central American drug wars experience, etc, etc…and he’s going to relocate his operation to Islamabad, Pakistan for security reasons! Having been here four years, Vince has all kinds of connections and even a distant one to a high-level Taliban (released recently in exchange for the Italian journalist). Apparently this fellow claims he is not in control of his area, but instead Pakistan, Iran, and the Saudis are. Vince is predicting a very messy summer. Maybe he’s a bit melodramatic, but even so I’m looking forward to heading back. The cable news here is BBC World and CNN International. It’s remarkable how different the coverage is from the news in the US. Not an hour goes by on either channel, it seems, without 10 minutes dedicated to global warming. That and so many other differences signal the drastically different perspective and values we have in the US in contrast to the rest of the world... In other news, they don’t really celebrate Easter in Afghanistan. And, you know, I didn’t see fit to call attention to the fact. Also, is anyone else as frightened by this as I am?