Sunday, December 2, 2007

Sare ko barf nast!

Sometimes the smallest and seemingly unimportant things can make me feel happy and smile for an entire day. This morning, when driving out from my yard onto the street, blended by a huge red early morning sun, I turned my eyes away from the sun and looked into the other direction. And there, not far from the city, I could all of a sudden see an entire mountain range, shimmering in a bright white, illuminated by the red sun. How comes that something so simple as snow can be of such beauty? I felt like jumping out of the car and running towards the mountains, so as to touch this first sign of winter, so amazed I was by this white powder in the mountains above the city. Instead (my driver wouldn't allow me to jump out and run around the car like a mad person), I learned how to talk about snow in Dari:

Sare ko barf nast - there is snow in the mountains
Dar shar barf nes - there is no snow in the city
Badan barf mebatab - there will be snow in the city

asman - sky
zamin - earth.

So at least when I am turned again into a small child when seeing snow, I can share my happiness with people around me :)

2 comments:

Andy said...

Has it snowed at all in Kabul yet? I was thinking that all the houses on the hillsides with their oil lamps would look amazing in the early evening after a fresh snow. I hear that it's snowing in Ohio right now and my family is talking about hunting for a Christmas tree when I get home. Simple pleasures...

Africa is also leaving an impression on me this week. I'm torn.

miss you,
andy

Johanna und Mia said...

hey andy,
good to know that you arrived safely back in the states, after travelling across half of asia and africa :)

It didn't snow in Kabul yet, only the mountains around Kabul are covered with snow. But it is getting colder and colder, and at least verbally I am preparing for the winter (my Dari is, as you can see, getting better and better)

Hope to see you again one day

all the best in new mexico

Jo