Kabul - Post Report Question and Answers
If you move here, you can leave behind your:
Ability to have a normal life for a year. - Jul 2019
Favorite items; it's very dusty here and the communal laundry facilities can be hard on clothes. There are MANY books and movies available in the CLO. - Jun 2014
sense that it will be just like Baghdad or Islamabad; or that you will be making a difference here. Also leave behind your 4th and 5th suitcases that you won't have room to store. - Mar 2013
Good clothes and shoes - anything you don't want to toss before your tour is over. Your need for sleep....because you won't be getting much while you are here. - Dec 2010
Tank tops and mini-skirts, nice shoes, furniture. - Aug 2010
taste buds. The food in the dining facilities is awful. Very high in fat and calories, and sky-high sodium content. Seriously. There's 950 mg of salt in the rice pilaf. Daily recommended allowance is 1,000 mg. Clothes that are dry-clean only. The dry cleaners here will just ruin them. Usually they just throw the clothes in water. Leave behind your thoughts that this is going to be an exotic post, unless you're out in the field. Life on the Kabul compound is like living in America's tiniest, most poorly-stocked college town. Interaction with Afghans and local culture is limited for most people. - Jul 2010
idea that you will find a husband if you are a gal. Most people are not looking for long-term relationships here. Also: any idea that you are entitled to go to restaurants/clubs in the city; the idea that the food in the dining hall is healthy; the idea that you will get sleep - get used to being tired; the idea that everything is equitable, because it isn't. Some folks have their own staff and never eat in the dining hall and never have bugs crawl on them when they sit outside. Don't bring too much stuff because there isn't a lot of room in the apartments/hooches. - Sep 2009
Poor attitude, negative people, and the thought you are going to travel the whole country. - Mar 2008
