Banking in Kabul... and lunch

I recently had a small project to complete that required visiting several banks here in Kabul. Not your everyday banking experience… Some variances bank to bank, but the procedure goes something like this: leave your car and driver outside as it’s easier to walk in alone than to try to get a car into the compound, pass thru the heavily armed gates, sign in with ID, check your guns and laptops if you got ‘em, pass thru the metal detector, then maybe if you’re lucky, get frisked… and that’s just to use the ATM. The up side is that once you’re in, you’re in.

I happened to be at one of the banks during lunch time. After I’d finished my business and was getting ready to leave, the receptionist informed me that they were just getting ready to serve lunch and asked would I like to join them. I respectfully declined, as I still had a few more friskings to look forward to that day. This was during the first few days I was here so did not realize the significance of it, but every office I have been to serves lunch to their staff and everyone eats lunch together everyday. (You can't just run across the street for a kebab.) We do it at our office, and I always thought it was a really nice thing to do, something really special (and it is special), however, it is not unusual. I look forward to it everyday.