Why a Blog?

I decided to try blogging because in the places I work, e-mailing is generally slow and difficult. A blog, I thought, might simplify things. I also wanted to let folks know what I was up to, especially now.

There's been a lot of talk in the media about how much the world hates America.

Baloney.

In my ten years as an aid worker in second and third world countries, ingratitude hasn't been my experience. I've only encountered appreciation and hospitality from the host-country nationals (HCNs) I've worked with. The most common "complaint" I heard was that the US government provided more assistance than the local government did.

Of course, neither are we universally loved. But does America really want to be? Universal popularity is neither realistic nor desirable, in my opinion. I think we have the right and the duty to choose our friends carefully.

My first trip to Afghanistan was in September, 2004. I was nervous, largely because I hadn't heard much about Afghanistan in the news. I should have guessed that no news was good news. But I was also nervous because I'm an American female, and it wasn't so long ago that we'd been at war with Afghanistan. How would I be treated?

Answer: like an honored guest. The positive response from the Afghans I encountered was overwhelming -- so much so that I was suspicious. Were they just kissing up to the "rich foreigner?" Lying to make me feel good?

So I began pressing the Afghans I met on just *why* they liked America so much. After all, we'd bombed them!

The universal response was a look of disbelief. "The Americans bombed Afghanistan for 40 days. We bombed each other for over twenty years! And now America is helping us rebuild. Why *wouldn't* we like America?!"

I finally got one Afghan to admit that he thought American soldiers were bad drivers. This seemed a bit rich to me as the chaos on the streets of Kabul rivals that of Cairo. But in the interest of fairness, I'll grant that there is a white-knuckle driving "style" in Kabul and foreigners used to white lines on the pavement and stoplights that work probably do muck things up.

I'm returning to Afghanistan in two weeks and this time, I'm getting outside Kabul. Will my experience be the same? Have things changed since their election for better or worse?