Language
"I put my ear to his mouth. He whispered it again. 'Tashakor.'...Then his lips twisted, and that time, I knew just what he was doing. He was smiling. What is Tashakor.
Translates to "thank you" in Farsi
“We sat at a picnic table on the banks of the lake, just Baba and me, eating boiled eggs with kofta sandwiches - meatballs and pickles wrapped in naan.” What is naan.
Bread - it's a staple food of Afghani culture
What is Ramadan.
The ninth month of Muslim calendar, in which strict fasting takes place in order to get closer to God.
"'A rupia each, children. Just one rupia and I will part the curtain of truth.'" What is rupia.
A coin.
“But at the moment, I watched in horror as one of the chapandaz fell off his saddle and was trampled under the score of hooves.” What is chapandaz.
A buzkhashi player, horse racer
Muslisms often perform 5 daily namaz ______
A Islam prayer
"If the kite was the gun, then the tar was the bullet in the chamber." What is tar.
"'Good morning, kunis!' Assef exclaimed, waving...Hassan retreated behind me as the three older boys closed in." What is kunis.
What is Watan.
Homeland
"People hugged and kissed and greeted each other with 'Eid Mubarak'. Happy Eid. Children opened gifts and played with dyed hard-boiled eggs." What is Eid.
The festival which takes place at the end of Ramadan.
"We talked about whatever film we had just seen and walked amid the bazarris. We snaked our way among the merchants and the beggars, wandered through narrow alleys cramped with rows of tiny, tightly packed stalls." What is bazarris.
Bustling crowds
"People were stomping their feet, clapping, whistling, chanting, 'Boboresh! Boboresh!'" What is boboresh.
"Cut him! Cut him!"
“We would hear their caravans approaching our neighborhood, the mewling of their sheep, the baaing of their goats, the jingles of bells around their camels’ necks.We’d run outside to watch the caravan plod though our street, men with dusty, weather-beaten faces and women dressed in long, colorful shawls, beads, and silver bracelets around their wrists and ankles.” What is Kochi.
Pashtun nomads
"A few blocks away, from the Haji Yaghoub Mosque, the mullah bellowed azan..." What is azan.
“I think I have saratan,” I said…Baba lifted his head from the pages flapping in the breeze.” What is saratan.
"Assef waved a dismissive hand. 'Bakhshida. It's done.' His voice dropped a little. 'Of course, nothing is free in this worlds and my pardon comes with a small price.'" What is Bakhshida.
Translates to "Forgiven"
"He held out his hand and favored me with a smile that had nothing feigned about it. 'May I have it, Amir jan? I would very much like to read it.'" What is jan.
Persian word for soul(term of endearment)
"'Some day, Inshallah, you will be a great writer.' Hassan said." What is Inshallah.
God-willing
A shoemaker.