Imagine driving in a large city with a LOT of traffic and every driver has the attitude that his/her destination is the most important.  Yesterday Zabi took me to meet his mother and his sister, across town.  And every driver is focused on his destination, honking and passing whenever or wherever he needs to.  Zabi even chose to drive on a stretch of road in the wrong direction at one point when that side of the road had less traffic.  Needless to say, I was biting my nails and observing as much as possible.  It was an unforgettable event.  As he drove across town, I saw many cars, taxis, rickshaws driven by scooters, scooters, pedestrians, donkeys, sheep, vendors pushing large carts full of tomatoes or grapes, cows, beggars and all kinds of shops!  It is amazing to me to find, for example, all of the jewelry shops in the same location, lined up next to each other.  And when we went to purchase a glass pitcher, we went to the “dishes” section of shops, all next to each other and all selling virtually the same things but will negotiate the price. 

 

The women of different cities dress differently – sigh.  I was very thankful to Awagul for bringing me the traditional dress of Jalalabad.  I was especially glad that it fit me.  The women here are very small.  Yesterday I bought the traditional covering for women of Herat.  And while in Kabul, I should be okay to just wear a scarf over my head.