The photos from the previous post don't illustrate the real impact of our walking through town. That was because I thought it would be impolite to take pictures of people's reactions. We traveled the under two miles distance in a convoy of 9 MRAPs, which, if you've never seen one up close, are much, much larger than any other vehicle you've ever seen, unless you routinely commute to work in an industrial mining truck. They're significantly taller than a tank, about as wide, and depending on the model just as long. They're not exactly low profile. Anyway, you sit in the back and listen to the chatter over the headset. In Charikar, I heard: "You're too distant. Close the gap."
"I'm trying. I'm stuck behind a truck with cattle."
"Well, go around it."
"I can't yet. There's a black SUV trying to pass on the left."
"Speed up and close the distance. You can go faster."
"I'm speeding up."
"Watch out for the bunch of school kids coming up."
"They're cute."
And finally, "Little f**ker flipped me off!"
We flew on a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. This wasn't the first time I've been on one - more like the fifth or so - but the safety briefing this time was different. "If anything happens," we were told, "just tuck your head down, hope for the best, wait for it to be over, and hopefully someone will be able to tell you what to do next." There were flight safety cards in all the seats; they were completely in Russian. The word for "exit" (vychod in Czech, spelled differently but pronounced the same in Russian) was the only word I recognized.
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