Afghan Spirit...images from my trip into Pakistan

I just returned from a great trip to Pakistan with Mahbouba, her husband Hassan, and Ariane-all Afghan Americans with deep family roots in Afghanistan. Here are some whimsical images...I keep trying to find ways to express how funny, whimsical, creative and unexpected the Afghans are and I am getting some good pictures. We traveled down through Jalalabad, spending the night in Hassan's family estate...warm air and orange blossoms-palm trees. Onto the Khyber Pass and through hellishly chaotic border crossing...the austere looking gentleman owns the peacocks and he coaxed the male into showing his beautiful tail. Afghans love birds and this man was incredibly gentle with his birds and animals. The Afghan gentleman in the beautiful Russian scarf turban was on the border...homeless, hungry, slightly mad but happy in spirit and he had an amazingly stylish flair in his dress....the hard part about understanding the Afghan's and their plight is that there is really nothing pathetic about them. When we visited a model orphanage in Rawalpindi, the director commented about the difference between local cultures during the earthquake crisis and how many, many communities used the crisis as an opportunity to get as much in the way of services and money as possible...but the Pushtuns invoved that lived on the Afghan/Pakistan border were proud, gracious and they were barely willing to accept basic help from the donor agencies. She had utmost respect for the Afghans...the photo of the truck and mountain is the exact border crossing.