![\"During](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/during-nowruz-the-persian-new-year-soldiers-patrolled-and-slept-on-the-rooftops-in-the-center-of-mazar-i-sharif.jpg\")
As an independent contractor, Partensky traveled freely around Afghanistan with credentials that allowed him access to U.S. Army bases, but he also "had the local garb and faithful friends" to guide him around the interior of the country.<\/p>\n \tAs an independent contractor, Partensky traveled freely around Afghanistan with credentials that allowed him access to U.S. Army bases, but he also "had the local garb and faithful friends" to guide him around the interior of the country.<\/p>\n
\t <\/p>\n
\tPartensky agreed to share snapshots of his life in Afghanistan with Business Insider <\/em>and i<\/span>f nothing else, they're a reminder that Afghanistan is almost impossible to define.<\/p>\n \t <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t <\/p>\n \tAs an independent contractor, Partensky traveled freely around Afghanistan with credentials that allowed him access to U.S. Army bases, but he also "had the local garb and faithful friends" to guide him around the interior of the country.<\/p>\n \tPartensky agreed to share snapshots of his life in Afghanistan with Business Insider<\/a> <\/em>and i<\/span>f nothing else, they're a reminder that Afghanistan is almost impossible to define.<\/p>\n \t <\/p>\n \t <\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tHameed Tasal<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tLouisa Bukiet<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t \tPeretz Partensky<\/a><\/p>\n \t![\"No](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/no-weapons-are-allowed-in-the-hospital-but-many-places-have-lockers-where-you-can-check-them-in.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Kids](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/kids-become-comfortable-with-guns-at-an-early-age--here-they-are-with-afghan-soldiers-who-are-guarding-a-populated-intersection-in-mazar-i-sharif-during-the-persian-new-year.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/this-is-the-son-of-a-gun-shop-owner-who-sells-mostly-soviet-made-shotguns--theyre-happy-to-take-you-behind-the-counter-to-show-you-more-if-you-ask.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Bigger](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/bigger-afghan-cities-tend-to-have-underground-bush-markets-where-stuff-that-falls-off-the-back-of-the-truck-like-these-mres-intended-for-american-troops-are-sold-for-as-little-as-20-cents.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"You](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/you-can-get-anything-at-the-bush-markets-though-isaf-has-cracked-down-on-the-sales-of-army-uniforms--this-is-a-body-builders-stall-in-the-kabul-market.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"I](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/i-bought-army-boots-from-this-bush-market-stall--i-smelled-hashish-when-we-walked-in-but-i-didnt-expect-the-shop-keeper-to-take-a-break-from-bargaining-to-toke-on-an-apple-core-bowl.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/this-rug-shop-which-accepts-american-express-is-located-in-the-old-quarter-of-herat.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/this-beggar-in-herat-suffers-from-elephantiasis-which-afflicts-over-120-million-people-primarily-in-africa-and-south-east-asia.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"During](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/during-a-picnic-at-the-walls-of-the-ancient-city-of-balkh-sheikh-center-right-unfurled-the-red-carpet-and-served-us-fatty-lamb-flat-bread-sugary-tea-and-coca-cola.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"You](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/you-can-get-a-haircut-on-the-street-for-1--this-one-involved-a-straight-razor.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"For](\"http:\/\/static4.businessinsider.com\/image\/4f7c8e45ecad04a670000074-900\/for-my-second-haircut-i-got-a-full-treatment-at-a-salon-allegedly-run-by-a-gay-hairdresser-which-involved-13-beauty-products-and-tonics-the-guy-in-the-yellow-tarp-remarked-that-the-amount-of-vanity-i-have-to-indulge-in-this-service-is-shameful-even-for-a-woman.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"View](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/view-north-from-the-roof-of-our-home-in-jalalabad-green-fields-the-kabul-river-hidden-golden-hills-and-then-the-beginning-of-the-hindu-kush.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"To](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/to-cross-the-river-you-have-to-take-a-ferry--the-passenger-is-one-of-the-guards-from-our-compound-who-came-along-for-a-hike.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/the-guard-on-the-right-had-just-finished-trimming-his-mustache-with-this-razor--our-guards-were-paid-200-a-month-of-which-50-went-directly-to-the-strongman-who-had-brokered-their-hire.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Our](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/our-guest-house-manager-mehrab-said-that-cotton-gin-operators-were-frequently-mis-identified-as-militants-with-large-weapons-and-were-blasted-from-soviet-helicopters.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Instead](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/instead-of-an-ipod-workers-in-the-field-bring-their-song-birds-to-entertain-them-through-the-day.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"There](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/there-arent-enough-schools-so-much-of-the-learning-happens-outdoors-on-carpet-classrooms.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Pre-game](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pre-game-prayer-huddle--i-coached-a-team-from-jalalabad-to-a-national-tournament-in-kabul.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"My](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/my-afghan-translator-haji-najib-bismil-who-had-grown-up-as-an-afghan-orphan-in-the-soviet-union-goes-for-a-layup-at-a-prt-base.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/this-is-the-jalalabad-kabul-highway--this-section-has-been-called-the-most-dangerous-road-in-the-world.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Ornate](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ornate-jingle-trucks-from-pakistan-are-among-the-most-common-vehicles-on-the-road.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Along](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/along-the-road-vendors-sell-freshly-caught-kabul-river-fish-or-scavenged-mountain-flora.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n
![\"View](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/view-of-the-hills-of-kabul-from-tv-mountain--since-kabul-is-among-the-worlds-highest-capitals-the-winters-are-bitter-and-snowy.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n![\"Downed](\"https:\/\/noi3.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/downed-soviet-mi-8-helicopter--decades-old-war-debris-is-commonplace-in-the-countryside-especially-the-panjshir-valley.jpg\")
{{all}}<\/p>\n