Life in the Land of the Pure

Catching up on my blog posts after my R&R. Back in April, someone in the diplomatic technology office    was wondering if anyone at Post is hosting a … Passover Seder?”    And since I got to go to one in 2022 hosted by a British colleague, I figured it was my turn.    After all, how hard could it be?    I even had copies of a Haggadah with me already.   And a quick search of my office kitchenette turned up the plastic Seder plate I had left behind in 2020.    Getting easier by the minute! Guest list …. The Tribe was represented by myself, David from DT, Nomi the consular chief, and Sarah who works in our Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts—unfortunately at the last minute Nomi couldn’t make it. Jacqui and Nikki from my office, plus my friend Lisa from consular, were our designated non-Jews, a tradition that focus dates back 20 years to our New Delhi days. Mind you Nikki had di done extensive research and...

  I’d like to take a moment this time to write about some people who have been in the news lately.    Not by name but by category.    Probationary federal employees, USAID, and FBI.  Lisa is a consular officer and a double vet.    She was a veterinarian in a private practice, then joined the army and served as a veterinarian overseas.    Her skills saved one of the Embassy dogs that was attacked last November. She has four daughters, and because her commissioning papers have not been voted out of the senate, she remains on probation—some government agencies are starting to lay off probationary officers.    In the government it’s called a reduction in force (RIF), but it’s being laid off not for any cause on the employees’ part but … just because.       Same with Susan, who bikes, golfs, and plays tennis.    She spent over a decade as an arms control specialist, then as a state department civil serv...

 I know, it’s been literally months since I’ve published.  Bygones.  Things have been both busy and crazy. But for now let me just tell you about last Saturday.   Started off with the weekly 90 minute, 5 Mile wellness walk that I’ve previously posted about.  Then I washed up, met a few friends, and drove to the animal rehabilitation center, the same one we went to with ruth and heather. This time there was a crew from FourPaws, an Austrian based NGO that sends veterinary surgery teams around the world.  They’d been in Karachi when the Islamabad center called to ask their help in removing the restrictive nose ring from a bear that had been used in bearbaiting.  One was a Vienna native, one from Bulgaria, and the team lead was born in Egypt. We spent two hours talking with them and visiting the other The lion who was beaten to monetize a tik tok Nilu the leopard, who was found with multiple pellets under her skin  A white Eagle who was injured falli...

  Hey, they are older ! Heather and Ruth arrived on 24 December, giving    me about a day and a half after Tasha & harrison departed.    24 December, why is that date familiar?  We walked around the US embassy compound and had an embassy expert give us a birding tour-/over 100 species have been discovered on just embassy property    alone! We went out for kebab at the famous New Kabul restaurant (following the young couple’s footsteps).  Of course rug shopping … and we did buy some … My favorite ice cream joint in Pakistan.  We walked around the diplomatic zone, stopping to visit the German embassy’s welcome bear, and explored the embassy itself.  Visited a wildlife rehabilitation center.    The volunteers try to heal injured and confined animals so they can be reintroduced to their native habitants.   Two Saturday lunches in a row at the Dome restaurant led to many staff whisperings of “Mr Howard of US embas...