House-hunting-odysseia I

There is an anecdote going around among the internationals of Kabul. Suicide terrorists are promised 40 virgins after their death. When yet another terrorist arrives to the gate of heaven, he was told: “There are too many of you. Sorry, we have run out of virgins…”

Despite the ramadan-time, recently there have been many attacks of suicide-bombers. Fortunately, some of them are not very skilled and blast themselves before they harm anybody. We heard that some of them blast themselves during the preparation. Unfortunately, almost always some afghan passengers-by are killed. They just happened to be too close.

It looks dangerous, but as the civilians, we don’t really feel that we are in constant danger. Suicide-terrorists are more attracted to military convoys or important ministries than just any internationals.

Internationals-civilians living in Kabul try to build up their own little secure world: there are lots of restaurants (but quality of food is always a subject) and some entertainment (hash-club runners, Monday quiz, even a night club).

But most important for people staying here for a long time, is the question of home. Easiest way is to live in guesthouses, but it is not a good solution to stay for a long period. After eating same guesthouse food for months it doesn’t seem so attractive. And hearing the same story – with some variations – for the third time could become quite boring…

Some internationals form their own communities where they live together in the same compound. We lived in such compound for some months: there were five houses fully equipped. We shared the garden, guards and running costs. It was a reasonable solution and good alternative to renting a separate house. Unfortunately, our compound was overtaken by another organization and we had to move out. So we started our own house–hunting-odysseia in Kabul.