Our adventures started as Noel dropped us off at a teammate’s house on his way to the airport to catch his flight. Our teammates had invited us to join us as they had Koko Nieem (Koko means Uncle) and his family over for lunch. Do you remember Koko Nieem? We usually visit his house for eid. Here is a picture of Noel and him from one of our visits.
Koko was disappointed that Noel was not there but quite happy when I promised him Noel would have him over and make him pizza once spring arrived. We had a nice lunch talking and getting caught up with Koko’s family. His grandsons enjoyed playing outside on the trampoline and other play things with our teammate’s girls.
Soon our time there ended, and we walked the short three or four blocks home. For us, walking home is an adventure since it is a recent addition back into our security guidelines. Our evening was spent at another teammate’s house. They invited us over for a yummy supper of grilled chicken and veggies with mashed potatoes. As my friend cooked, I snuggled with her 2 year old who had just woken up from a nap. After supper, we played a game called Resistance. Let me just say, Winter makes a good spy since you would never expect it. It was good to be out and be more social. The weather was warmer, and school was settling into a good routine. It was good to connect with members of our team and Koko Nieem’s family.
The next few days were a little more low key with school going on as normal. We spent more time outside with the warmer weather and worked hard at school. Maybe we watched a few extra episodes of Stargate. I tried out a few recipes for homemade cleaners and completed some projects around the house. One evening we had friends over for supper and ended up playing some sequence and rummy. It was good to have some quality time with these friends before they leave at the end of the month.
The next day, I made a visit to our neighbor’s house. We are at least the fourth foreign family that has lived in our house. One of the former inhabitants wanted to send a message to the lady of the house next door. Mirwais, our chakidor, helped me find the right door and introduced me. I enjoyed an afternoon of talking to the ladies in the house plus two of the boys. Very typical of an Afghan home, the family was a mixture of a husband and wife with sisters, brothers, and a few nephews in the home. Our conversation was a mix of Dari and English with a few gaps of silence when neither party knew what to say. They didn’t believe me that I only had a son and daughter. They were sure I had three sons. I guess they have been watching Winter and David and their friends play outside on school days. On Friday, the wife and two of the boys came over to our house for a visit. Soon the boys were outside playing soccer with Winter and David as the wife and I chatted. It is times like these that I wished my Dari was better. It is great motivation to keep working at learning more. After soccer, the boys played Mario cart with Winter and David. The little one is probably three years old, but he had a fun time trying to drive his car with David’s help. Sorry the quality of the picture below is poor but the little guy was so cute, I could resist. Our visit ended with an invitation to lunch on Sunday.
Well Sunday turned out to be Saturday. Somehow there was a mix up in translation. As I was busy teaching Personal Finance, I received a text that my new friend was expecting me today. Not sure what to do, I tried to explain that I thought we were suppose to come on Sunday. She insisted we all come for lunch-me and all my students so our lunch break was a little longer than normal. We were entertained with conversation, antics by the little one and his parrot, the Afghan version of minute to win it, and some really good Qabli Palau. I think my neighbors were glad to meet my “other two sons.” The day wasn’t what we planned but was a fun opportunity that came our way. We even were able to complete all the lessons we needed to complete and my “two other sons” didn’t mind the long lunch and meeting our neighbors. My prayer is that we will be able to get to know our neighbors better in the weeks to come. I pray also that our conversations will be seasoned with salt and that God will guide our conversations.
We still have a day left before Noel returns. Nothing excited planned except maybe a trip to Finest or another visit from our neighbors. It would be pretty exciting to find out that the my house lady has had her baby. She is overdue. According to her, she has been pregnant for 11 months. She is expecting a boy. It will be her 7th child. Pray that the baby will come soon and that all will go well. Healthcare has come a long ways in terms of mother’s giving birth but it is still not where it should be. Pray for health for both mother and child. Blessings, Teresa
I was slow in reading this update, but I’m glad to know of your developing friendship with your neighbors! Hope to hear of your house lady’s delivery!
Love and miss you guys!