What Would Socrates Do?

Life at Embassy Kabul is so bizarre that it's best not to try to make it seem normal. Except I'm still trying. I recently bought two small pieces of furniture at the mini-bazaar held on the compound once a week: a small end table and a footstool. Both are nice pieces and do a lot to make my hooch feel less like a storage container. But it is still a storage container.

I'm in a constant philosophical struggle between resignation and delusion. Should I resign myself to the fact that I live in a storage container and that life here is what it is; or should I delude myself into thinking I can make my storage container, ergo my life here, better than it is.

I usually end up resigning myself to reality, but somewhat comforted by the fact that this job is teaching me things I wouldn't have learned anywhere else. Ooh! That's a good line, I should remember to put that in my EER.

Culinary Diplomacy Afghan Style

Recently the State Department launched a new culinary diplomacy initiative. Embassy Kabul launched its own version of culinary diplomacy this week when embassy employees participated in the Afghan version of Iron Chef. Our brave amateur chefs went head to head with a professional Afghan chef using the secret ingredient - turnip!

The American chefs working hard while the camera crew does its best to distract them.
 Note the product placement items in the foreground.

Both teams had to create a soup, a main dish, and a dessert within 60 minutes using the secret ingredient. The American team did very well and demonstrated some of the creativity of American cooking. When it came time to taste the dishes, I think the Afghan judges were a little puzzled by some unfamiliar food presented to them. But the American team's pancake dessert with a sweet caramel topping rocked!

Getting ready to present the dishes to the judges.

One of the judges was an FSO from the embassy. He gave his comments in Pashto, which impressed a lot of Afghans sitting around me in the audience (could this be the inspiration for a new FSI language test format?). In the end, the Afghan team had the advantage and won the title of "Golden Chef." Even though the American team lost, I think it was a public diplomacy victory. And I went home with a Golden Chef mug, so it was a good day all around.

Jack Frost Ripping Off My Nose

Jack Frost has moved into Kabul and made himself at home. Seriously, it's cold. I'm one of the fortunate ones because my hooch is upstairs and in the middle, so it's well insulated and doesn't get too cold or damp. My commute to the office and to the DFAC is less than 60 seconds. Same goes for the laundry hooch; however, to do laundry still requires me to bundle up in a hat, gloves, and boots, and carry a bag of laundry down the icy metal staircase of death. But I'm getting hardship and danger pay, so it's all good.

If life here was dull before Jack arrived, it's even worse now. I spend a lot of time in my hooch. And with the arrival of my NetGrocer shipment, I have one less reason to leave my hooch. When I feel especially stir crazy, I force myself to go to the gym (blech). This place needs a coffee shop, or just someplace to hang out.

Happy new year. Let's hope 2013 brings some peace and goodwill.

Mythbusting

Diplomats often hear the accusation that we barricade ourselves behind high, concertina-covered walls. After the tragedy in Benghazi, I saw one article that suggested diplomats would "cower" in the corners of the embassy even more now. Let me dispel that myth.

I openly admit that the embassy in Kabul is not a normal place. I cannot simply walk outside the embassy gate and stroll along the main boulevards. I don't have informal conversations with shopkeepers. And there are certain times when we are not able to leave the embassy. The threats are real and I'd be a fool to ignore the security precautions designed to keep me alive.

That said, RSO has never denied my request to go off-site for a meeting or event. I have been fortunate to meet some incredible Afghans, from orphans and teenagers to media moguls. All the officers I know are eager to get out as much as possible, and I haven't seen anyone cowering in the corner.

There was an op-ed in the LA Times recently that articulated (better than I could) the balance that diplomats seek when working in dangerous locations. There is no one-size-fits-all security solution. We know the risks and we take precautions, but we're also here to do a job.