I'm changing my life style for 4 months so that I can help Afghans to change their lives forever! by AmandaCurley

23 January 2010

LYCRA and NAAN BREAD

So what do these two things have in common?  We'll they happen to be key components of my marathon training.  Last week I traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan for a 10 day retreat at our Head Office.  It was a surprisingly calm flight though it arrived only a day after an awful attack on the center of Kabul.  Always resilient and all to familiar with these types of events, Kabul was vibrant and bustling and right back in the swing of life when I arrived on Tuesday.

This winter Afghanistan is particularly warm.  With little to know snow or rain fall it's likely to have devastating affects on both agriculture and water supplies for the next year.  This time of the year the mountains surrounding Kabul should be covered with snow, but instead they are brown and the air is dusty.  Without any snow cover, the winter wheat will most likely be killed off by the frost.  So as if ordinary Afghans didn't have it hard enough.

I have been able to get out into the city a bit this last week and visit a number of historical sites -- Bagh-e Babur (Babur's gardens), the old Kabul city wall, National Museum and Darulaman Palace (former king's palace which was bombed and nearly destroyed in the 90's). I've taken a few photos you might enjoy too:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=192284&id=553111240&l=bdffd4d2f.

So amidst meetings and sightseeing I've not lost track of the training regime. And though I can't hit the Kabul streets I have been able to hit up the Afghanaid staff house treadmill. The electricity is fairly weak and sometimes unreliable in Kabul, so we have to flip on a second
generator to keep the treadmill alive.   But it's good fun and definitely worth it.

For those of you who've made it to my fundraising page www.justgiving.com/amandacurley and donated thank you tremendously!!! It's so motivating to both get encouraging emails and generous donations whilst taking on this incredible challenge for an amazing charity!!

More updates to come! www.justgiving.com/amandacurley