His & Hers

In honor of this blog's anniversary, I've got a little present to share with all of you.  You may recall that my friend Dan had been serving a tour of duty over in Afghanistan and sent me a most fascinating gift. Well, Dan has safely (thank God!) returned home to his family...and sent me another care package about a month ago--this time, with a piece of headgear that I could be photographed wearing without causing either cross-cultural or cross-dressing scandal.  The hat is called a "pakul" (or "mujahideen cap") and, together with the accompanying "man scarf," is as popular in Afghanistan as a baseball cap is here in the States.  Dan was kind enough to include directions on how to properly roll the cap and wear the scarf.  I could not, however, find instructions on how to take a picture of me in them that didn't look either rather frightening or mostly ridiculous...

Thanks again, Dan!  I miss your blog...but we're so glad to have you back safe and sound!