Well, we were out and about in Jalalabad, and we happened by Jan's place. Again, palatial by Afghan standards. Jan being Jan, he ran out to greet us and immediately invited us in for dinner, as his wife was just starting to prepare food.
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In Afghanistan, everything is communal. Huge plates of food are just plunked down in front of you, and you use your hands to shovel everything onto a big piece of naan bread. Strange at first, but you get used to it quickly.
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We all sat down on the floor and exchanged pleasant conversation and jokes for about twenty minutes over some amazing coffee, and then Jan's wife rolled the eats out.
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Goat kebab, authentic ghata rujay (rice), shinwari tikka (lamb), mantu (dumplings), and a creamy dill sauce. You just grabbed big fistfuls, dumped it in the naan, covered it in sauce, and ate it.
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We hadn't eaten since breakfast at 0600 and it was 1700 by this point, so we fucking destroyed it. No surprise there. But that isn't really what made it an amazing meal. I mean that was part of. But.....
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I firmly believe everything we enjoy in life, we enjoy partially because of the situation in which it happens, and not just because of the thing itself. That goes for films, books, games, anything. Yes, even food.
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It wasn't just the taste of the food. It was what it meant. Not only as a means to sate our hunger, but an act of kindness by a family that had every right to resent our presence.
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Cultural and religious differences didn't matter, nor did the ugliness of the situation surrounding us. At that moment we were all just people sharing a meal and learning that goodness and decency aren't gated by differences in culture, but rooted in acceptance and tolerance.
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I often wonder how Gul Jan is doing. I often wonder about his family. He was so kind to us. I hope the Taliban didn't pay him a visit after we left. We could have done so much more to protect the people who aided us and gave us comfort and support :/ We failed so many people.
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But, despite my regrets, of which I have more than I care to discuss, I like to think we (me and the guys I was with) were given a gift by Gul Jan that day. A little more perspective never hurts :) And that is the story of the best meal I ever had.
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Thank you so much for sharing this.
Wydaje się, że ładowanie zajmuje dużo czasu.
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