Yesterday was my birthday and I turned twenty-seven. To celebrate, some friends took me out to Red Hot Sizzler on Friday night, where we ate nachos, fajitas, fake guacamole and sour cream and drank Long Island Iced Teas. My friend Dildar told me that according to Afghan tradition, it's usually the other way around: I am supposed to take all of my friends and family out to celebrate. Didn't happen that way, but it was a blast regardless - good company and good conversation. The day itself was pretty tame: in the morning, I got into a minor car accident with the Director of Security. He was was driving a large Toyota SUV and as he was taking a left hand turn, a mini Corolla came out of no where and smashed into the back left tire. Not much harm was done to our car, but the aftermath was pretty chaotic. There is no insurance in Afghanistan and everyone drives like a freaking maniac, so accidents happen often. Following an accident, a crowd forms in the middle of the street, a police man rolls up, traffic gets congested, and everyone just yells really loudly at each other until it is decided who's fault it is. Then the other party pays for the damage. In cash, right there on the street. Since I was with two high level security guys, they simply called back to the office for another car/driver and we were wisked away after about fifteen minutes of hand gestures and yelling in Dari. I followed the security rules and stayed in the car and kept my eyes down. Car accidents are a legit way "they" can coax people out of the car to kidnap them.
Then later on in the day, just when I thought I was going to get out of the office early, we got a Security text saying that there were demonstrations on the road and that all locals and ex-pats were locked down until further notice. So, I was stuck working at the office until about 7:30 pm. Like I said, the day was pretty tame.
On another note, people say I'm lucky because I share the same birthday as the Aga Khan. He turned 74 yesterday, and has popped up all over the news recently. If you don't know who he is or what he does, check out the video below from MSNBC and article from CNN. He is a very insipirational man who is doing amazing things around the Middle East and Africa. His vision is also the reason Roshan exists today.
http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/10/healthy-speed-of-change/
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