So last Saturday, I moved in with the doctor I'll be working with this fall. She and her husband rent half of an Afghan family's house, so its kind of like living with Afghans too. I am really enjoying the new situation, Dr. H and I are able to leave frequently and another team family lives just down the street, so its very convenient for us to visit them too.
Last night, we had one big dinner together, so everyone could get acquainted. This was quite an experience, as the mother of the family had decided she was going to teach Dr. H how to cook Afghan-style. So we started at 4:40pm and we finished cooking around 7:30-8:00 ish. So when we khoreji (foreigners) go over to some Afghan person's house and the lovely food is suddenly served to us, I now know exactly how much work and how many hours go into it. Its crazy that they are used to doing this every day.
The dinner was great! But this is really abnormal, for Dr. H's husband to be able to sit and eat with the women from this Afghan family, seeing their faces and everything. However, this family just returned from Iran, where they lived for 25 years. So they don't have a problem with it. When I covered my face in front of one of the men, he was like, "Why are you doing that?" Sometimes it is difficult to know what to do here. There's such a range of ideas among families as to what is appropriate and what is not. This family is ok with an unrelated man seeing his wife and daughters. But other families don't let their wives' husbands see their other daughters. So just being flexible and going with the flow is key.
I do love it here. The food is awesome. No sickness as of yet. Its getting so cool that last night I got up around 3 and changed out shorts for pants! It was actually a little cold!
4 comments:
I am sooo happy to hear you made it.... I wish I was there :) was that bit about it being cool one of those local jokes? I am a yarping for you daily my friend and we discussed you just yesterday as we ate with some locals here... tell everyone hi
Lisa
I would like to hear more about the meal you had. I have no idea what is typically eaten there. Is someone cooking for you, or do you normally fix your own meals, or what?
Your Aunt Deb
I'm glad you're finally moved and situated for the next few months. I'm praying for you and your family as well. I just want to thak you for allowing me to fly out there with you. My time there was amazing and God showed me much and changed the direction of my heart. I love you Erin. See you when you get home.
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