Afghan Dinner

I just came from eating one of the best meals since I have been here.  It's my third time eating Afghan food and I have not had a bad dish yet!  Our interpreters like to have meals periodically and they invite the docs to share.  The wife of one of the interpreters cooks massive amounts of food.  It's good to know to plan for these meals because there is so much food!  Today we had basmati rice (with cinnamon, raisins, carrots, and meat), the best okra in the world (cooked with microscopic bits of tomato and who knows what else but also some kind of yellow oil), potatoes cooked with the same yellow oil and onions, chicken, and naan (the flat bread).  Oh my goodness!  The bread is so good soaked in the oily stuff!  Anyway, I practically have to fast all day to be able to eat a plate load- but somehow I managed!

One of the interpreters is leaving in a few weeks with eight other Afghans to come to America to live permanently on visa.  Right now, he drives 2 hours to work and 2 hours home every day to Kabul.  He will get a visa to live and work in the US (he is going to California, where apparently, there is a large Afghan population).  Our government and an aid organization will help him pay for a plane ticket, rent, buy clothes and food, and help him find a job.  He has to pay some or all of it back (I wasn't real clear on that point).  He has a wife who speaks little English, but she was enrolled in a private university (not sure where- here, I think) taking computer science and he says she's very smart and will learn English quickly.  He also has a 2 year old and a 6 month old.  He is so happy to be going to America.  The program is set up so that if they work closely with Americans for a year, and fill out a bunch of paperwork and pass the background check, they can get to America.

Our interpreters put themselves at risk by working for us.  They don't allow themselves to be photographed when reporters come.  They can't park a car outside the gate because someone may put a bomb under it.  There are plenty of people working for the Americans off base who have had their families threatened.  So for them to work for us can be very dangerous.  But this program is a way to reward them for their sacrifice.  And our interpreters are all smart and have skills to contribute to American society.  Some of them are doctors.  Three of the women (the only women) are all American citizens and are allowed to live on base.  They all speak at least 4 languages, some as many as 6 or 7.  They are very nice and are a pleasure to talk with.

And they make great food!