definitely not on myspace

As mentioned in a previous post, I have been able to glom on to a social network of ex-pats living in my hotel.

What's crazy about this is that for the first time in a very long time, I am considered a youngster. These guys and gals are all veteran international consultants that have worked and lived all over the world. I am still just getting a taste.

Its definitely a rarity for me to be the youngest of the group. I am the eldest in my family, eldest of my 15 first cousins, one of the oldest of the UCLA lads (Escalante has me by a couple months), senior member of the NYC posse, and oldest of the SF homies besides KDo (also only a two month difference). Not sure what this role has played in social interactions or hierarchies (if any), but I'm sure it means something, making this time in Kabul even more interesting.

Just last night I mentioned that I had just seen Dog Day Afternoon for the first time yesterday. I went on to say that I thought it was great and how awesome the young Al Pacino was in the movie. (As an aside, Pacino was so money in this flick that I thought for sure he won an Oscar for it. Great one liners..."Attica! Attica!" among others. This flick definitely set off a lifetime of great Pacino lines most recently from Heat, Devil's Advocate, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Scent of a Woman. FYI- he was nominated but lost to Jack in Cuckoo's Nest. Tough to argue that one. 1975 was a good movie year.)

Anyways, rather than getting some responses from the crew, I was asked whether I was even born yet, and stories about what they were doing in 1975. Pretty funny. One guy immediately asked if I had seen Reservoir Dogs. Now, anybody of my generation knows that Tarantino's first flick influenced a whole genre of movie making and everbody I know has seen it multiple times. I guess what's interesting is that I wanted to talk about Dog Day some more, but the conversation shifted to a movie I've seen and talked about a billion times already.
Maybe they didn't remember the flick as well as I did, didn't like it, or simply didn't care. I'm probably making a bigger deal about this than is actually there, but the point is I think after 33 years, I got my first taste of being treated like a little brother amongst peers...at least I consider myself their peers. The interesting thing about this role is that they have gone out of their way to offer advice about good restaurants, invite me to parties, tell me about good Afghan rug stores, etc. In other words, they made sure I was taken care of.

I guess this is noteworthy because I think I have been more of a nurturer than nurturee (for better or worse) over the course of my life, and rarely am I in this position. It doesn't necessarily feel awkward, but worthy enough for me to write about. When placed in a forced social settings, roles within a group dynamic seem to reveal themselves pretty quickly. I think I'm just not used to being a pup after all these years.