A Short Walk

So long, Central Asia.

I'm in London now. 48 hours ago I was in Afghanistan.

It's strange to think that. Driving east to Jalalabad and Torkham was the first time I really had a sense of "leaving" or of what I had accomplished. For all the danger of the vehicles, the poor quality food that had me sick three times, the pollution in Kabul, etc, I do think I'll miss it. Life moves at a very different pace there. The lack of overt familiarity with my environment is something I thrive on. London feels wholly mundane now, to say nothing of how the even more familiar environs of Albuquerque and San Francisco will feel. I do like being able to accomplish things quickly and easily here, but I think a big part of me is still in "Central Asia mode." I look every direction at least two or three times before crossing the street. "Salaam Alaiykum" feels more natural than "Hello." The first words that spring to my lips when I want to talk to people are in Dari. "Bebakshid, miduneed... kohjust?" I'm sure that'll end soon and I'll forget every word of it.

The trip to the border from Kabul and the border crossing itself took quite a bit longer than anticipated. I arrived in Peshawar after dark when I'd hoped to arrive in the mid-afternoon. I think our driver took us on a slower road, while claiming it was faster, in order to avoid paying a 300 Afs fee on the other, truly faster road. I don't really blame him, considering how much money 300 Afs is there, but... blah. I didn't have any time to buy souvenirs in Peshawar. With a local helping me out, we literally ran through the back alleys of Peshawar to find shops still open to pick up goods. I ended up only finding a few small things for my mom and a few tasteless gag gifts. Perhaps it's better to bring back stories than souvenirs anyway.

The next morning I barely made it to the airport on time and then was heavily vetted by security. They pulled everything out of my bag, literally. The guy even opened up my little dirty laundry bag and held up my underwear, looking it over, pressing on the seams to make sure nothing was hidden in them, etc. They confiscated my expensive camera batteries and told me I couldn't take them in carry-on and would have to check them. I didn't want to just give them to security as "baksheesh" -- I'd have sooner taken them out of the airport and given them to a passing taxi driver or something. After four more times through security and lots of talking with the guys at the Emirates counter, we finally put my batteries in a tiny, 8" long box and checked it. I made it onto the flight three minutes before takeoff. Of course, the box never made it to London. It's only batteries, but at something like $40 worth it's still meaningful to me and I filed a missing luggage claim. I can't imagine they'll be found, so whatever.

For all the hassle in Peshawar, I did get a free bump to business class. Leg room, movies, excellent food from Dubai. In Dubai, I got another free bump to business class. The economy flight to the States is going to feel miserable after the fully reclinable seats for the last two legs. :)

At customs in London, there was a gentleman in a suit waiting for me. He was with "Special Branch" police -- "political, if you get my drift." I did. I spent about an hour with him going over all sorts of shit. Was I married? What religion was I? Did I live alone in San Francisco? What flights was I on? "Do you speak Arabic?" No, but in Afghanistan they speak Persian, not Arabic. "Do you speak Persian, then?" A little now, yes. "Do you speak Pakistani?" They speak Urdu in Pakistan and no, I don't speak a word of it. I didn't bother mentioning that the hairy areas of both Afghanistan and Pakistan are Pashtu speakers, not Urdu or Persian or Arabic. He didn't really seem to know the area at all but he was quite nice and polite despite refusing to give his name. We went over more details of my trip. Cities visited, timetable of return, how I paid for the visit, etc. He photocopied my passport, visas, plane tickets, etc. We went through my backpack item by item, with him asking me to drink from my water bottle, unpack and show the gag gifts I bought, etc. A few of those gifts raised some eyebrows, but I don't want to say what they are here because they're surprises for people who're reading this. According to the Special Branch man, it's quite possible they'll get confiscated stateside anyway, though they're merely tasteless, not illegal. We'll see.

I was initially thinking it was good that my first stop in the States was a three hour layover. If the FBI wanted to talk to me at all, I figured three hours would be enough. I'd make my connecting flight no problem. Now I'm not so sure. After this, I feel it's almost certain that I'll get dragged aside in States, and if this took an hour just for casual, quick stuff here, a more thorough discussion is likely to take much longer. The guy with Special Branch agreed. "I think you're going to have quite a looooong talk in the States." Teasing him about not giving his name, I joked that he should give me his email address and I'd let him know of the gifts got confiscated. He laughed and replied, "I'm sure I'll hear about it." Hah. Anyway, I'm not sure I'll even make the connecting flight now, but we'll see. If we can get down to brass tax right away, it shouldn't take more than two and a half hours, I think. Hopefully.

I feel out of place and mildly uncomfortable here. I can't tell how much of it is merely (reverse?) culture shock and how much of it is from the police at the airport. I really should've expected it. I fit a certain profile that means it was definitely the right thing to do to stop me and talk to me, but it has me in a state of mild paranoia. What sort of dossier are they compiling? Am I being followed now? Will people I know be called and interviewed? The last item has me most concerned. I don't care what information they have on me nor do I care if they want to follow me around London for two days, but I don't want to bring any hardship upon my friends because of my atypical travel destinations.

That's neither here nor there. I'm in London now and have two full days of sightseeing, theatre, movies, good food, etc. Anything I want. Acclimation to Western culture. :) I want to see a play, wander Piccadilly, wander Soho. I walked around for a few hours last night and that was quite nice. If I had more clean clothes, I'd go for a jog in Hyde Park. A cafe for people watching and some time to reflect and read sounds just about perfect right now. I think I'll go do that.

posted by daviduri @ 4:02 AM