Yes, I’m sitting on the edge of my bed, 2:23 am in San Francisco. I’m home safe and sound. Tomorrow I’ll submit my ventures out of Afghanistan via car and plane. Anything could have happened, much of it did, but I’m home!

Sitting in a British Airways lounge in Dubai, UAE, listening to the rudest kids in the world. I haven’t heard kids like this in America, Afghanistan, or the Friends School. Yellers, screamers, and very demanding and the parents are sitting there rolling their eyes. I haven’t given “the eye” all summer, so they were getting it 20 fold and didn’t pick up on it at all. Finally the “lounge attendant” asked them to please quiet down or they will need to leave because there are others here. I’m giving that lady a $100 bucks, but if I hear one more word out of them, they will not be making the flight. Just don’t look down into the toilet bowl, as there could be a few floaters by the end of the night.

Yup – free gin and tonics, bloody marys or any drink one would like, and seeing that AFG is a “pretty dry” place, I’m trying them all on for size. My flight leaves at 2 am, it’s 11:50 pm, so I have plenty of time to tank it up, write some reflections, and fall into my seat on the plane. Starting with a Gin and Tonic,

I’m not a business person, unless it involves knowing someone else’s business in the form of a question and answer interview, so I might be hitting into left field – don’t business people look at the gains and losses at review meetings? If so, darn I’m smart and if not, I do education. Thought I’d do a “Gains and Losses” list from the trip. Start with the positive and then hit ‘em with the tough news.

Gains

• Uhm, uhm, made a few new friends (yup they live half way around the world)
• My pores are filled with quality Kabul dust. I bet there might be gold in that dust.
• Convinced a few conservative Pastuns that women CAN be considered genius.
• I can iron when required.
• A 12 hour course can be written in 2 weeks.
• Helicopters aren’t to be feared – I have been petrified of them my whole life since I nearly lost my brother in a copter crash in our back yard. I loved it.
• Ponds Facial Moist Wipes are very good.
• Parasites in my digestive system.
• Wonderful heart rock additions to my collection.
• The ability to make a phone call on a public phone in the United Arab Emirates.
• Women with weight on them are highly desirable in other parts of the world.
• Admiration for teachers who have NOTHING, even a pay check, and they show up to work because they believe they can help rebuild a very broken country.
• Negotiating skills with governmental officials, the Army, and the State Department.
• A great appreciation for Immodium.
• A stomach that is much tougher than most.
• The awareness that tax dollars prepares a lot of food for hard working soldiers.
• Appreciation for high speed internet and good bandwidth.
• Better ability to understand both Dari and now some Pashtu.
• A most wonderful and sweet new friend.
• Appreciation for toilet seats (no matter the color) and quality American toilet paper (see the section on parasites, Immodium, and weight loss).
• Continued devotion to Neosporin.
• Fondness for Dogh – a yoghurt drink that puts you right to sleep

Losses

• 12 Kg ?
• The need to have ice cold drinks even on 110 degree days.
• Good people who lost their lives helping the Afghan people and educational system.
• A summer on the beach with my nieces and nephew.
• A scarf, bra, all my make up, money, sleeping pills, and a really nice pair of shoes – to the people who clean my room.
• An earring in the bottom of the river when I went swimming in Afghanistan.
• My heart in a tearful good bye at the airport.
• My soft heals – they are crackly and very “worker” looking. Good thing I am.
• The time I thought I would have to listen to the 12 books I loaded onto my iPod. Though there are quite a few flights left to move this into the “gains” category.
• My bum – it fell out so many times this summer.
• Lost my skill for looking people in the eye – turned to Afghan woman.
• My mind – couldn’t take it on one of these last days – I need room to move as an independent, educated women.
• Good grammer – I either speak in limited slow English, or I swear really fast so no one can understand.
• The obsessive cuticle picking – it’s down to a slight rip now and again – open soars in Afghanistan isn’t good.
• My book. I gave it to a friend. Happy for them, sad for me as I’m bored, but another drink will help.
• Money – someone “borrowed” some money and never returned with it. I hope they use it for food for their family, or to buy petrol, or repair a leaky roof. My roof is fine – I think and I am very fortunate to have enough cash to buy food, and we will continue to note the excellent gas mileage my Vespa gets.

It’s heavier now and I got rid of stuff. I’m leaving behind most of my stuff.

Flight is in an 2 hours. Not enough time to say goodbye to anyone. My final Tuborg beer is being consumed at 11:43 AM. I don’t want to leave as I just got a very very cool project with the Ministry of Education. I needed this project 10 days ago.

Need to figure out how to have a life in both the US and AFG, my job just gets in the way. Any wealthy folks out there that want to find me a husband.

I’m signing off and will come back online in Dubai, if I get out of here alive. Lots of hours in Dubai in the Irish Pub to write about my “Summer in AFG”

… I had to bust out my ‘best suit’ for some MInistry of Education Meeting at 7 pm the night before I leave. The guy was nice and he had just survived a bomb attack today!! It’s hard being a minister and then on top of that to be supporting education. Some people in this country are foolish. They think that learning is so bad. I’m just not so fond of these folks and so I should that by training teachers in rural areas so that everyone gets some education.

New outfit for tomorrow when I meet with his colleague about how to iron out the teacher training situation here. They are interested in my ideas! Imagine that, an advisor about how to get teachers qualified to teach. So I’ll squeeze that in between breakfast and getting to the airport.

Always happens, the best meetings, folks asking for me to stay one more day etc. Where were they all 10 days ago when I was bored off my gourd. I can’t wait to be bored on the plane, though it will be heard seeing that I got upgraded

….. when it’s the Taliban, I’m cracking up. Check out this article. I’ll investigate it’s authenticity but in the meantime, a bit of good chuckle.

2 Taliban militants bitten by coalition dogs in Afghanistan By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. coalition dogs bit two fleeing suspected Taliban militants during an operation in eastern Afghanistan in which a total of eight insurgents were detained, the coalition said Friday.

The raid Thursday in the Paktika province targeted a Taliban sub-commander wanted for kidnapping, killing Afghan soldiers and involvement in roadside attacks, it said.

During the operation, “two militants attempted to flee and were pursued by coalition military working dogs,” the coalition said in a statement. “Both militants received dog-bite injuries, one of which required treatment on scene by coalition medical personnel.”

1st Lt. Nathan Perry, a coalition spokesman, would not say what kind of dogs were used in the raid, but said the troops will “use dogs when we need to.” Perry did not know if the targeted Taliban sub-commander was among those detained and the statement did not specify.

In Islamic tradition, dogs are shunned as unclean and dangerous.

In the southern province of Helmand, a roadside bomb in Gereshk district killed four police officers and wounded five, said Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, the provincial police chief.

In the province’s Marjah district, Taliban militants attacked a high school serving 300 students, burning books and classrooms, Andiwal said.

Elsewhere in the south, a battle between militants and police killed four insurgents, said Juma Gul Hirat, the provincial police chief of Uruzgan province. He said one policeman was wounded.

Rockets Fired At Kabul Airport, Two Hurt - Interior Min

KABUL (AFP)–Two rockets were fired at Afghanistan’s main international airport in Kabul Thursday, injuring two civilians but causing little damage, the interior ministry said.

One of the rockets, fired from a nearby mountain, landed on empty ground near the main runway but caused no casualties, the ministry’s press office told AFP.

The other landed at an outer entrance to the heavily secured airport and wounded two passers-by, it said.

No one claimed responsibility for firing the rockets. There are periodic rocket strikes on the city, blamed on Taliban insurgents and other rebel groups, but few cause significant damage or casualties.

A similar rocket attack on the airport two years ago resulted in no damage or casualties.

Kabul is heavily secured because of a spike in suicide bombings and other attacks, with extremist-linked violence and crime said to be at the highest level since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban regime.

Most attacks are in the southern and eastern areas of the country, near the border with Pakistan’s tribal areas where militants have sanctuaries.

Great sorrow at the Kabul office for the IRC. Three of their workers were killed today in Logar, which is just south of Kabul and has been the spot were death and kidnappings have happened this summer. The work that the IRC does here in AFG is FANTASTIC.

The families of these three aide workers will be in our hearts as they wait for the bodies and wonder why such horrid events happen.

From the BBC

Three female international aid workers have been shot dead along with their Afghan driver near Kabul.

The women worked for the International Rescue Committee (IRC). It said one was American, one Trinidadian and another had dual British-Canadian citizenship.

A second Afghan driver was hurt when unidentified gunmen fired on two cars carrying the group in Logar province.

Aid agencies are frequently targeted in the Afghan conflict, with convoys attacked and staff abducted or killed.

International aid groups have been unable to operate in many southern provinces for some time because of insecurity. More recently, violence has been spreading to other areas.

Logar - which lies just to the south of the capital - had been relatively stable but has become increasingly violent in recent months.

The BBC’s Alastair Leithead in Kabul says the United Nations now classifies the province as high risk.

Bodies

The Afghan interior ministry and local police say the three women and their two Afghan colleagues were travelling through Logar to Kabul when they were attacked.

They were in a two-vehicle convoy. They were American, Canadian and Irish Abdul Majid Latifi, Logar deputy police chief

Logar’s deputy police chief, Abdul Majid Latifi, said those killed had been travelling in two cars when another vehicle carrying armed men opened fire on them.

The bodies were taken to the governor’s compound in the provincial capital, Puli Alam.

No group has said it carried out the attack.

The IRC says it is alerting family members and is expected to issue a statement shortly.

Earlier, police in Logar said the nationalities of the women were American, Canadian and Irish, but IRC officials say this is not correct.

‘Grave concern’

Earlier this month aid agencies warned they may become unable to operate in parts of Afghanistan once seen as safe, because of the intensifying conflict.

AFGHAN AID ATTACKS 2008: An estimated 84 attacks on aid agencies so far, 21 in June July 2008: Two French aid workers abducted, but later freed May 2008: UN shuts a repatriation centre in the east amid unrest Jan 2008: US female NGO worker seized in the south July 2007: Two South Korean aid workers shot dead April 2007: Two French aid workers seized in the south-west March 2007: Gunmen shoot dead a German aid worker in the north

The Agency Co-ordinating Body for Afghan Relief (Acbar), an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), pointed to a 50% increase in insurgent attacks compared to last year.

It expressed its “grave concern about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and the serious impact on civilians”.

June saw more attacks on NGOs than in any month since the Taleban’s overthrow in 2001 and some agencies had been forced to scale back operations, the statement said.

Nineteen aid workers had been killed so far this year - more than during the whole of 2007, said Acbar.

Some 2,500 people had been killed this year, up to 1,000 of them civilians, Acbar said.

Kabul blamed the rise in insurgent attacks on the Pakistani government’s attempts to negotiate peace deals with militants in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Nato commanders have said violence is up by some 40% in eastern Afghanistan since spring this year, partly due to troops patrolling more areas.

I haven’t written in days. I’ve been here in Kabul just writing and working on the computer. My return to SF is going to be full and hairy, so I’m getting the writing of my course syllabi and some speeches I’m making done here, though I will admit that I spend more hours sleeping than I do writing.

This has been a full summer and I’m really tired from the adventures and emotions. The next couple of days will include: donating these 6 microscopes to a girls school, bringing a huge box of children vitamins to either an orphanage or to the women in prison who have their children with them, and having lunch and dinner with friends whom I haven’t seen despite my living here.

Of course there is the standard “I should probably buy something here, since I did live here all summer.” The only trinkets I’ve gotten are a collection of rocks - when haven’t I returned home with these. My heart rock collection has just quadrupled with the collection I got in Ghor. I would like to get some Herati Glass and a Istalif Ceramic Bowl. Good auction items to fund raise.

I’m really looking forward to returning to CA - that is the first time I’ve felt or even said that.

I’m fine. The news is reporting more insecurity in Kabul. It’s true, but I am safe. My friends are hovering close and not letting me go out. No worries.

Despite the dust, pollution, noise, and general city mayhem of Kabul - Afghanistan is a natural wonder. The mountains, the terrain, the power of the stone here is overwhelming.