I have just had one of those moments when you catch a glimpse of someone in the mirror and think "who's that?" and then you realise its you! I've never been the most fashion conscious, there are photos of me as a teenager where I am dressed like a 50 year old woman, but I'd like to think that in the west I would never dress the way I am today. To begin with all seems normal. A smart pair of black trousers and a cotton peron (a long tunic top) are my staple work wear and are fairly smart. The temperature outside is creeping up to 30 degrees and so what happens next is a little wierd. The streets of Kabul are not the most even. I am grateful for the Japanese government repaving some of the roads in my neighbourhood, however the dry, dusty mud roads still exist and require good footwear. So when leaving the house in the heat I slip on my Birkenstocks. These are referred to by my colleagues as kharaji shoes (foreigner shoes), no self respecting Afghan woman would ever wear these clunky shoes. Its smart stilletos or ocassionally a ballet pump but never sandals. So picture it (I'm not going to post a picture so you're going to have to use your imagination). Lilac flipflops, smart black trousers, cotton peron. Then because I'm going outside, whatever the weather, I need to wear a black coat. So now not only do I look like I got dressed in the dark I am sweating like a pig (not very culturally appropriate on any level) under all the layers. And then to top it all off I put on a scarf. Not quite the wooly kind your grandma knits but large enough to keep the heat in and create another layer on the top half. Somehow Afghan women manage to look smart and glamorous at all times, I just feel like a sack of potatoes most of the time. I find myself thinking, "you should see what I look like in normal life" and then I realise this is my normal life. 
Last week, for reasons I will not go into here, I acquired a burkha (or chadori as they are known here). I put it on in my house and took a look in the mirror and actually thought I quite liked the anonimity it gave me. I seriously considered donning it on the street.
But only for a few minutes as I realised my lilac kharaji shoes would still give me away!
