a golf course? in kabul?

yep. and a beautiful lake.

after finishing up interviews with families in barek aub (i'll blog about that in a bit...look up for it) and after our daily seista, we went back out into town for a tour of the sights. first stop, kabul golf course. i wish i had a picture to post for y'all. driving past the gate one of my teammates hollered "there's hole four"; a pole (pvc pipe) with a big yellow flag that had a large "4" markered onto it. needless to say, it was hilarious. the landscape here is like the southwest, and the gofl course was no different. brown wild grasses, green weedy thorny things, random dogs wandering about...and the obligatory armed policeman wandering around. gives a whole new meaning to the term "in the rough"! :) though we didn't golf, we shot some pictures and enjoyed some good laughs. (and for those of you wondering, i'm actually getting pretty good at reigning in my big laugh...but am always on guard.)

after a good laugh at the golf course, we drove up just a bit to the stunning view of qarbagh lake/reservoir. in such a dry land (and city) it was totally inexpected. the water was topaz blue, the rugged mountains behind made the gentle waves that much more inviting. we were all quite tempted to jump in (the fact that we haven't had water to shower for the past day and half didn't help), but cultural norms kept us dry on the shore. there is a wonderful restaurant/picnic area, nicknamed "engagement park" (i trust you can guess why). beautiful lush gardens with brilliant green grass and blooming flowers all around the grounds, which were surrounded on three sides by water. we sat around a table there for what felt like hours, sharing stories with our host (and the four guards with us), drinking tea & delicious nescafe, and eating the best lamb kebabs i've ever tasted. simply wonderful. incredibly relaxing.

it is hard to imagine that this idyllic spot would exist in a dry land...a cramped, dirty, war-torn city. but it does. again, there is hope. there is growth.