Tagged

I've been tagged three times in two days, by the lovely Meg, Gem and Susannah, to share eight facts about myself that I haven't already shared here. I feel as though I've bared my very soul here, but there must be eight things that have have slipped under the radar...

1. When I was a wee girl my parents were missionaries in Papua New Guinea. I spent a year as a pre-schooler in Wewak, one day scaring my mother half to death when she came out on the veranda to find me exclaiming in delight at the sight of a huge boa constrictor snake.

2. I'm godmother to two extremely special boys - the first is Archie, the son of my super-cool and totally alive cousin Marc (18 months ago when he was diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme brain cancer he was told he had a 3% chance of living until now...) and the second is Atticus, the son of my friend, super-talented movie director and full-time mother Reina. I look forward so much to being part of their lives as they grow. One day I expect them to take care of their wrinkly, wayward godmother, so I plan to put in the investment now!

3. I love "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and like to take Buffy as an inspiration for fantasies of myself kicking evil ass all over Afghanistan and the world.

4. I grew up on a dairy farm and I love cheese but I can't stand milk. No allergies, no lactose intolerance, just cannot stand the smell or the taste of it. I drink my coffee with soymilk and take my cereal with yoghurt. I've no argument with icecream, mind you, nor any other dairy product. Just milk. Who knows what repressed memory from those early days in the cowshed may be behind this very random and irrational distaste, but I do not take milk. No, never.

5. On that theme, I'm a fussy eater. Most people who travel as much as I do become pretty flexible about their eating. It helps to avoid starving, especially some where like Ghor where the only veggies in the market this week were tomatoes, onions and potatoes. But I am not flexible. I don't eat meat if I can avoid it (except seafood - an uncommon sight in the Hindu Kush), I insist on soymilk for my morning coffee, I eat only sugarfree cereals and try to avoid white bread, pasta and rice. It's madness in this country, but it makes me feel better so I ship food up from Herat (boxes of fruit and vegetables) and even placed an order with Organic Kingdom to have a box of organic brown rice, quinoa and flax seeds delivered to me via the APO address of the military base this week (I am slightly shame-faced about this indulgence and feel I must point out it is the first time in 18 months).

6. I like to go to bed early and wake up with the sun.

7. I'm (not so) secretly vain about my hair. It's naturally a shiny dark brown and it goes curly on humid days (i.e. never in Ghor).

8. I used to be a bit of a fitness nut - I taught step aerobics at the local gym, ran with a Marathon club every Sunday, did 21km races for fun and trained with my fabulously fit and smart friend Wendie six days a week. Here in Afghanistan the opportunity to run almost never arises but instead I've discovered yoga which takes care of my body, mind and spirit, can be done anywhere anytime and requires no equipment making it perfect for a modern gypsy.

And the bonus number 9. I dream of being a marine biologist, I love scuba diving and sea turtles and I go on annual pilgramages to dive spots where I have a chance of being in the water with a manta ray or a whale shark. One day I will volunteer on a marine preservation project for a summer.

I tag MJ, HiK, Daffa, Margaret, Mahima, Mandi, Asma, and Pumukl

PS: If you follow the Buffy link you'll get to a totally cool (read: very silly and time-wasting) "Which Buffy character are you?" personality quiz.

Comments

[Shaji.k]

In my imagination, I can see you dance in child-like innocence before the boa constrictor. What a delightful scene!

[mahima]

hey frida.
thank you for the tag...and for the art making offer, if you manage the time. responded to your tag.
I loved reading this post. fun...and i love your marine biologist drea. it sounds glorious!

[Mandi]

Thanks for the tag, which I couldn't resist playing along with!

I'm absolutely with you on the inspiration that comes with surrounding yourself with people that are using their gifts and talents to make things better. I consider myself blessed in that sense, and am always overjoyed to meet other like spirits. And I agree with you, people need to own up to their own responsibility to humanity, instead of turning others into saints, which I'm convinced is just a polite way of detaching themselves from their responsibility by saying, "You're better than me. I could never do anything like that." I can't wait to hear more about your exploration of health and human rights -- in my mind, they are inextricably linked, and there is no way to improve one without the other.

I look forward to hearing more about your time in Ghor, and am glad to find an anchor to sink in the reality of all the news coming out of Afghanistan these days.

Cheers,
Mandi

P.S I listened to your radio interview and thought it was fascinating!

[Susannah]

oh my sweet sister, i am so with you on the milk thing. i can take it in my coffee, cos, ya know, i can't taste it, but that stuff on its own? no thanks. i was the girl in primary school who always had to hide her unopened milk bottle back in the crate (the teachers never understood... idiots).

:-)

[Mardougrrl]

i am so with you on the milk thing LOL...my little Madam doesn't like it either. I love it in my coffee and cereal but drink a glass of milk just because? Uh, no.

I LOVE your facts...and Buffy is one of my inspirations too.

xoxo, M

[susanna]

What a great meme! You're an interesting gal, Frida! A boa constrictor? Well, no wonder your mother freaked out. I would have, too. But then, perhaps that event was telling in that you would be the fearless woman you are today. Maybe it was God's way of giving your mom a heads up to your future. :) And I betcha you are a terrifically fun godmother.

PS - I'm going to listen to your radio interview tomorrow morning while I paint.

[mahima]

frida!
i have more to add to my 8 things. i met a face reader cum head hunter ( i think she was the other way round, but anyway...) and she has some things to say about my EYEBROWS that i had no clue about. lol. posted on blog ... complete with bad squiggles and photographs. :)

[pumuckl]

oi Frida jan.... 8 things i have not said so far? probably coz i want them unsaid :-) gimme some time... or let me shortcut it to an old post of mine, the 30 thingys about me... ha, just found another one while digging the archives: the thing that made me most proud, was the fact that I've been shit-listed :-)

hm. maybe my humour does not go along well with the rest of the comments here. tha's why I usually just read your posts and dont leave any traces.

[HiK]

Cool, Im back and will think of 8 things I have not revealed yet (and plan to catch up on your old posts!)

[ceanandjen]

Wonderful tidbits about you. I also now take Soy in my coffee (and have found I like the taste so much better!) I don't believe that your ordering food is indulgent at all. You do work for a living (hard work, I might add), and you deserve to fuel your body in the way that is best for you. (that being said, I would probably question myself too. *wink*)

xoxoxo

[Paris Parfait]

Such fascinating things about you, Frida. Don't feel ashamed about wanting a few home comforts. Life where you are is difficult enough without the occasional form of solace and sustenance. Your work is important and you need to keep up your strength. And I am envious of your beautiful hair! :) xo

[[a}]

Heehee...real-life Buffy.
xxoxoxo