What to wear... in Afghanistan

In my preparation for traveling to Afghanistan, clothing was my biggest concern. I am nowhere near a fashionista, and Seattle is a perfect fit for me in that throwing on a skirt is seen as "really fancy." However, I know that women's attire is not only an aesthetic concern in Afghanistan, but also a cultural, religious and relational sign of respect and acknowledgement. In researching what the heck a western woman is to wear, the googling* I did found advice that came down to:

• Cover your hair
• Cover your legs, ankles and as much of your arms/wrists as you can handle
• Cover your butt (twice- pants plus a dress/ long jacket)
• Gloves is taking it too far (these days)

I was also incredibly lucky to speak with Julia Bolz, an amazing advocate for girls education in Afghanistan for the last decade. She was not only helpful with general advice, but insisted on giving me two outfits that had been handmade for her- a long and short sleeved salwar kameez (long top over pants).

Salwar kameez #1

Salwar kameez #2

In the past three days, I've started fine-tuning my understanding of women's garb. Granted, I'm spending most of my time with men, but when we've driven through public spaces like markets I've been watching carefully to get a better picture of how to blend in. From the airport, I wore jeans and a long sleeved jacket (that didn't cover my butt- agh!) with a headscarf, but changed into a long-sleeved top with a long tunic top over it for our secondary adventures to the attorney general of Panjshir at his used-car lot (another story for another day). The salwar kameez are very light and cool, so I'll likely need them to stay healthy and upright in Mazar where it was 125 degrees last week. For Kabul, I'm noticing that more modern dresses and pants that walk the line between fitted and loose are common and help me blend in better. Learning something every day!

Jeans + dress + shirt + scarf. 

*References:
http://www.about-afghanistan.com/afghanistan-clothing.html
https://transitionland.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/what-to-wear-in-kabul/
http://www.journeywoman.com/ccc/ccc-a.html
http://www.afghanistan-culture.com/afghanistan-women-clothing.html
http://www.coyotecommunications.com/travel/afghanistan/women.html

Up up and away... And away... And away...

Well, our trip is off with a bang! There was the expected flurry of activity in the last day or two before the takeoff, and with the exception of leaving a laptop charger at home which required a quick return all went smoothly.

Seattle to Amsterdam was a 10 hour flight with not a lot of sleep, which resulted in a bit of slap-happiness and the picture below. We'd been in the Amsterdam airport before, and its European/Nordic charm was comforting- tulips and blue-and-white porcelain patterns on every wall.



The next step was Amsterdam to Dubai, where Ben and I both tried to leave our passport and phone (respectively) on the flight but recovered them immediately, praise be. Dubai airport is the ultimate culture clash. Bikinis are displayed in shops as women in headscarves and full burqa walk by. We saw a young bearded hipster-looking guy in tank top and short shorts walking hand in hand with a woman in black covering from tip to toe. Traditional architectural patterns and prayer rooms sit along side flashing neon duty free signs.



Shiny glass and chrome reside next to palm trees and historic-looking arched windows.


Separate prayer/mosque rooms by gender.


Dubai's kitschy souvenirs with my derby bag.


Flights to cities I've never heard of! Next trip, Thiruvananthapuram?


Immediately upon arrival we walked between a Pinkberry and Hagen Daaz- there seems to be a great love of ice cream here.


Our first view into the airport on arriving.


Winston-sponsored smoking lounge right next to the fancy pastry shop, so well ventilated you couldn't tell anyone was smoking.

We spent 12 hours in the KLM lounge and sleeping where we could, then boarded our final flight to Kabul. On the plane, we walked to the commoner seats only to check out boarding passes and discover by some fluke we got upgraded to business class- a first in my life! This photo captures at once my first foray into wearing a headscarf, my happy surprise at the upgrade and a hilarious photobomb from a fellow passenger.


For now, I'll enjoy reclining massage chairs, hot towels, a keypad operated personal TV and really tasty food- lamb and rice, garbanzo salad, syrupy donuts, mango juice and anise seeds "for digestion." The travel gods are with us this far, knock on wood!

Takeoff: 6p Monday 6/14 Seattle
Final arrival: 2p Wednesday 6/16 Kabul (exiting the airport at 3p)
Total travel time: 34 hrs?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

When it rains....

So, Seoul has been great for my life and bad for my blogging. Not a bad tradeoff, but sorry to those few readers who have hung in with me.

We've had a most delightful string of Couchsurfers, most recently a Portugese-turned-Belgian couple Juana and Antonio who are on a honeymoon year (the Belgian government allows a year of unpaid travel with the guarantee you can get your job back- how awesome!). They also had great stories about their previous 5 years working with a computing giant, one in particular about a cultural training they had to attend. The trainers characterized French people's response to anything as, "That's terrible! It will never work!" and Americans' as "the happy dance," where things aren't good, they're AWESOME! That presentation wasn't fair, it was FANTASTIC! I love this idea of the "happy dance" and was amused that Juana and Antonio identified my happy dance so many times- "We're totally lost, what a great ADVENTURE!" and so on.

Juana and Antonio were also greatly amused at the phrase "when it rains, it pours" as there's no equivalent in Portugese. It's turned out to be a very timely phrase these days. No more moping in front of tv-on-my-computer for days, I have to schedule in lazy days now! Between museum docenting, general domesticity I undertake, part time online work, and travel/party planning, I decided to join ROLLER DERBY. Probably more on that later, but it's consumed my life and thighs and I couldn't be happier. The team is still pretty new and hoping to get bout-ready by spring. Which of course means...

Today got word we might be back in Seattle as soon as December. Eeek! After all that time pining for the US, work, friends and family there... of course it's now that I really wish I could stay until spring. But, of course it's not official yet, and can change a dozen times or not happen at all. When it rains, it pours.



Vocab of the day: 
Korean: rain= 비 (bee)
Military: "uncertain environment" = just what you think it might be