Let me tell you about the time I moved to Afghanistan

For the past four months, I have been living in Kabul on a compound with strict security protocol and a curfew. I cover my head when I’m in public and travel with a personal guard. Along with eighty other expats, I am driven to and from work each day in an inconspicuous van and followed by an Emergency Response Unit.  Men refuse to shake my hand, but hug and kiss other men. I am sometimes considered a second-tier citizen, and am constantly stared at.

I left my job at JWT New York because I was looking for professional growth on client side marketing, exposure to senior level decision-making and experience with emerging markets and culturally appropriate advertising. Personally, I was excited to live abroad, save some money, meet extremely diverse and interesting people and travel the world while having this amazing experience. I was up for the challenge.

ISAF forces on daily patrol in Kabul

My job at Roshan is unbelievably challenging and enormously rewarding. I interact with local Afghan staff on a daily basis; over tea, we discuss their families, their homes, their weddings, their holidays, their hopes and aspirations. I try to help women overcome their diffidence, push young professionals to think outside the constraints defined by societal values, and encourage local staff to take on individual accountability – something that is unfamiliar in a post-communist, post-Taliban era. The experience is unparalleled: I have had the opportunity travel to ISAF-run Bagram Air Field and meet with U.S. Majors in charge of Public Affairs in an attempt to get advertising up on the base. I participate in meetings with USAID officials to help educate international embassies about the benefits of mobile money transfers.Through Roshan social programs, I have helped to brand fresh water wells in remote regions, install solar panels for basic living infrastructure, and touch the lives of women and children who are fed and clothed at Roshan-sponsored soup kitchens and orphanages.

Orphanage outside of Kabul

Gandamak Restaurant and Pub

I live and work with my colleagues and my new friends from India, Canada, Croatia, Poland, Australia, Bosnia, the United States and Ireland, in addition to Afghanistan. We hold meetings in the compound after work, followed by a glass of wine. On Sunday evenings, we play cards and we cook dinner in someone’s room. We go out to restaurants and bars on the weekend, where I am introduced to Swedish aid workers and British war photographers. For Thanksgiving, I searched the city for turkeys and ended up inviting sixteen friends to share the meal. We turned it into a potluck and the menu included stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans apple crumpets and pumpkin pie. Our Facilities Director from New York, excited about the celebration away from home, set table cloths, lit candles and hosted a cocktail hour.

Thanksgiving in Kabul

My friends have become my family. On a good day, we celebrate with homemade rahkia from Eastern Europe and cheese from Dubai. On bad day, we commiserate with stories of how frustrating it is to be locked up and how terrible the compound food is. And honestly, the bad days are bad. Working within the constraints of the language barrier, bureaucratic process, constant mentoring/teaching structure and security restrictions can be exhausting. But we all see the difference we are making - the impact is palpable. Despite the frustration, we are a part of the reconstruction of a country plagued by thirty years of destruction, and we watch as our colleagues learn from us every day. Roshan, after all, means hope in Dari.