Tuesday, March 9, 2010


Met with State Department guy today. Good man. Wants to get the job done and has an amazingly huge portfolio. Wears a suit – very nice gabardine with a blue plaid shirt and multi-hued tie – to a meeting in a beautifully appointed conference room with some smelly Army guys carrying guns.

Our State guy mentioned that he didn’t see why anyone would take the embassy seriously when they were living in squalor, so the posh living conditions were to send a message to the Afghans, “See how we live? We’re Americans and you should trust us because we know how to roll in style.”

We were having culture shock over the swept streets, fresh paint, suits and shiny faces. To the Army guys, living in luxury when the rest of your mission is living in the dirt, seems a bit much. Complaining about it seems beyond believable.

Justifying it by believing you have to maintain appearances? I am just not sure how to touch that one…

So a picture of a guy driving a minivan full of sheep seems to say what I am trying to express: huh?

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