Day 142: Male Bonding

As an Afghan medical mentor, one of the things I have learned about their culture is the high value that they place on social relationships. Friendships represent trust, promises are never empty, and bonds are rarely, if ever, broken. Today, our medical mentor team decided to strengthen the relationships that we have built over the past couple of months by inviting our Afghan counterparts for a meal in our dining facility.


They came to visit on a rather festive night...Mexican! I think they really enjoyed fajitas, tacos, and salsa. Hopefully, they didn't think it was too spicy...nothing a little ice cream didn't cure. As much as they enthusiastically mentioned how delicious the food was, you couldn't tell from their facial expressions.


After, dinner we escorted our visitors around the base and stopped over into the Troop Medical Clinic. The interpreters and I got them to loosen up and they finally cracked a brief smile just long enough to be caught on camera!


Major Probus, my fellow medical mentor, convinced Doctor Sami to try on the traditional Santa hat. We considered getting him to say, "Ho Ho Ho..." but that would be asking for a bit much.

I thought the evening went very well as they were all especially grateful for the unique cuisine. We're making plans to invite them over for breakfast some time to see how they handle french toast sticks, pancakes, and cheesy omelets. I'm sure that will add some flare to their usual morning chai time!