Afghani = Money. Aghan = Person

Wikipedia led me astray.

It defined "Afghani" as both "currency" (correct) and "a native or inhabitant of Afghanistan" (not correct ... or, at the very least, poor form). I thought to avoid the use of "Afghan" out of respect for the residents of Afghanistan (I mean, haven't they been through enough?) and to help you, dear reader, refrain from pulling out your decades-old one-liners about "grandma blankets", dusting them off and foisting them on whoever innocent happens to be nearest you every time you read about the Afghans I meet. Alas, I could not save you from yourselves. Go ahead and get it out of your system: the residents of Afghanistan are, and in fact prefer to be referred to as, Afghans.

Afghanistan is, actually, very much like the United States in one respect - it is a melting pot, or "crossroads", of culture and diversity. Everything I know is still just "book learning" but Afghanistan is an ethnically and linguistically mixed population as a result of its location "astride historic trade and invasion routes". Interesting, huh? So, all sorts of cultures came through while on conquering missions (Darius the Persian, conquering, Alexander the Great on his own conquering binge, Buddhists going down the Silk Road, and conquering, the Muslims, conquering, the Mongols, obviously conquering, and the Persians again), and left their footprint in the landscape (see picture accompanying this post - it's Afghanistan country-side but very Asian in influence), culture and bloodlines of Afghanistan.

Not to worry, I'm not a bookworm so any further history lessons on the life and times of all things Afghanistan will not be discussed in these pages - you'll have to investigate for yourself and bore your own friends.

Better days a'coming: I have a line on an interpreter who, I hear, speaks fondly of the Province in which he grew up and who may share stories of his childhood with which I hope to regale you in future posts. I also hear he knows a guy who might hook me up with a tasty eggplant and rice dish while telling me aforementioned stories of youth. mmmm, yummy. Stay tuned. . . . In the interim, I am participating in a kickboxing class taught by some of the special forces on base and I hope to tell you all about my bloody knuckles and my butt-whoopin' tomorrow.