Happy Hanukkah! (Afghanistan Edition)

Gee, I hope I spelled that right. Yesterday, I attended my first Hanukkah service, which was led by a very nice man, Jeff. There were two Mormons, a single Jew conducting the service, an agnostic (uh, that would be me), a Catholic, and an Air Force guy. We’re tight.
We met in the “library” where I work in Afghanistan, and Jeff told us the story of the last Jew in the country. No kidding. There were two, and they didn’t get along, so one left. Apparently a well-received play was written about it.
Then he told us the old story about “three jews, two synagogues”, and relayed the description his children provided about Jewish Holidays. They wearily explain that on Jewish Holidays, “we gather to recall one of … Continue reading

Happy Hanukkah! (Afghanistan Edition)

Gee, I hope I spelled that right. Yesterday, I attended my first Hanukkah service, which was led by a very nice man, Jeff. There were two Mormons, a single Jew conducting the service, an agnostic (uh, that would be me), a Catholic, and an Air Force guy. We’re tight.
We met in the “library” where I work in Afghanistan, and Jeff told us the story of the last Jew in the country. No kidding. There were two, and they didn’t get along, so one left. Apparently a well-received play was written about it.
Then he told us the old story about “three jews, two synagogues”, and relayed the description his children provided about Jewish Holidays. They wearily explain that on Jewish Holidays, “we gather to recall one of … Continue reading

Morning in Afghanistan

December seventh, two thousand eight. The year draws to a close, and winter makes its approach. Somehow, I have reduced this stunning crisp morning to an overblue picture of some well-focused gravel. The mountains here remind me of my hometown. I am settling into my new surroundings.

I am writing this on my laptop, which is connected through my cell phone to AWCC (Afghan Wireless), the cell service provider of choice for people who need to get online here in Northern Afghanistan. I brought my HP 2133 (the tiny one) out here nearly two months ago, and this is the first chance I have had to really sit down and type out a nice … Continue reading

Morning in Afghanistan

December seventh, two thousand eight. The year draws to a close, and winter makes its approach. Somehow, I have reduced this stunning crisp morning to an overblue picture of some well-focused gravel. The mountains here remind me of my hometown. I am settling into my new surroundings.

I am writing this on my laptop, which is connected through my cell phone to AWCC (Afghan Wireless), the cell service provider of choice for people who need to get online here in Northern Afghanistan. I brought my HP 2133 (the tiny one) out here nearly two months ago, and this is the first chance I have had to really sit down and type out a nice … Continue reading