On why water is very important

This has been quite the interesting week. On Thursday I started feeling really sick...kinda like my insides were rotting. A few of the staff were pretty sure I was dehydrated, and one of them made me this evil sugar/salt water concoction to try and rehydrate me. All I managed were a few swallows before it all came back up (luckily I was outside, so a nearby rosebush bore the brunt of my intestinal wrath). This started an unfortunate process of vomiting every hour or so, which I'm told is a sign of severe dehydration. I couldn't even keep an ounce of water down. They finally had to get me on an IV to rehydrate me, and after 20 hours I stopped vomiting. It still took me two days to get back on my feet, but suffice to say I learned my lesson and now drink 3-4 litres of water a day, regardless of how hot it is. It was a scary reminder of how quickly you can get dehydrated here. So drink water, kids.

I had a fun cultural experience this afternoon. Here in Afghanistan the main way of socializing is to go "visiting". And visiting here is very different from visiting in the states-you just show up. No need to call or prearrange, if you go and knock on someone's door they will invite you in, give you tea and candy, and expect you to stay for several hours. This usually extends into an invitation to dinner, which almost always leads to an invitation to stay the night (which you are generally expected to refuse). So today I went with two of the staff girls to our neighbor's house, without giving them any notice. We were invited in and ushered into the special guest living room and had tea and candy within minutes. I could really only sit there and understand every three words or so, but the girls told me later that the woman had been married at 14 and had 8 kids, and her husband lived in Kabul but had another wife in a different province. He hadn't been to Mazar in several years and she was afraid that she was getting to old for him. It was so sad to hear, but even worse to know that her story is pretty common in Afghanistan. She and her daughters said we were welcome to come back anytime we liked. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to get closer to this family. We are the only ones who have access to the women of this country, and the women here are so welcoming and loving and take you into their homes and tell you all about their lives. I'm excited for more opportunities to come in contact with them.

In other news, I got a real mattress! I am, however, still on the floor in one of the staff girl's rooms. But a new room has become available (construction on my original room has ceased, with no immediate plans to start again) so maybe the other girl student and I will have our own room soon. I think it will really help us to get settled, it's hard to feel at home when you are a guest in someone else's room, still living out of your suitcase. But the good Lord has given me the grace to stay calm and peaceful in all situations, which is a lifesaver in a place like this!

I meant to take pictures last weekend of the city and my clothing but being sick got in the way...soon though! And most of my new clothes shrunk when I washed them, so I'll probably have to get a whole new wardrobe. Boo. But I think I'll try and be more creative this time, try and look more like the locals. We'll see, there is some craaazy fabric in this city. I miss you all back home but it's so rewarding to be in a place where I'm learning and serving in a different culture. Now if only they had mexican food...