14 and an arf words to sum up Afghanistan

1:Eyes. So many beautiful eyes in this country, the greenest green, set in dark, angular, beautiful faces...Also as a women, especially a western woman, you pretty much always have eyes following you.

2:Inshallah: God willing, used in response to almost every request, invitiation, suggestion...can you do this? Enshallah. Shall we meet again next week? Enshallah. I guess in a country which has seen so much war and death, people did put their faith in God that they would still be alive the next day.

3:Stories: Everyone here has a story, which surfaces nonchalantly in conversation and stops you in your track.

4:Dust: I'm not the tidiest person, I've seen dust in my life time, but nothing like this. It gets everywhere and in to everything, coating you and everything near you.

5:Innocence: Questions I was asked by my young, male Afghan colleagues..."So have you ever drunk alcohol Gemma Jaan?" (my response...ummmmm yes, once or twice I guess). In wonder..."Is it true that in Britain you can marry whomever you want Gemma Jaan" Asked by one of my colleagues who has had a secret girlfriend (they've never been alone together but speak on the phone lots) for 3 years, but he knows his parents won't ever accept her, they have already decided he will marry his cousin...even though she doesn't want to marry him either.

6:Family: Just like in Nepal, family and religion come first.

7:Traffic jams: I have been on a single carriageway into Kabul and at one point counted 6 extra lanes that people had made, most of which involved bumping across the central reservation and trying your luck on the other side of the road.

8:Unexpected beauty: Bamyan...

9:Parties: In houses with bars, in houses with swimming pools, on rooftops, in gardens, worlds of wonder and throbbing music and flirtation all hidden behind high walls in Kabul.

10:Beards: So many beards of different sizes, descriptions, lengths and textures. The head honcho of beards is one that you can grab in your fist and it pokes out the other end.

11:Headscarves: Turns out there are two kinds of women, those who can look effortlessly chic in headscarves and those who like a crazy, old, flustered peasant. I fall firmly into the latter...

12: Meat: There is only 2 choices here, embrace meat or go home. I embraced meat on sticks, on bones, in bread, with rice.

13:Laughter: Afghans love to laugh and although sometimes the humour is lost in translation...sometimes they have you in stitches.

14:Cynicism: So much cynicism amongst the ex-pat crowd here...

141/2 : Goodness...but luckily so much goodness too