KABUL — Canadian and German troops fanned out across the southern and western sections of the Afghan capital Friday, conducting their first combined patrols in what will become the Canadian area of operations.

The NATO peace-support soldiers, patrolling in vehicles and by foot, weaved through an area the size of Ottawa encompassing an estimated 800,000 of Kabul's 3.5 million people.

"It's been interesting, to say the least," said Master Cpl. Ross Lewis, a native of Sudbury, Ont., on his third overseas tour.

"It's been a little bit of a culture shock." he said. It's going to take some getting used to -- I've been out three times and I still don't believe it. They live a hard life here."

Already this week, soldiers doing reconnaissance patrols have encountered street children wielding handguns, a man carrying his dead child and the traditional roadside slaughter of a goat -- by slitting its throat.

On Friday, the Muslim Sabbath, the markets weren't quite so crowded, the streets vacant of crammed buses, the people a little more relaxed.

The commander of the Canadian battle group, Lt.-Col. Don Denne, travelled the northwest reaches of his soon-to-be area of responsibility with his German counterpart, Lt.-Col. Helmut Remus.

At one stop, the pair met with Col. Abdul Jamil, deputy police chief of Paghman District. Speaking through a Pashto-German interpreter, Jamil lauded German efforts and welcomed the Canadians, who take over Aug. 21.

They will conduct at least half their patrols in the company of local Afghan police.

"You have to have patience," said Remus. "That is the first rule. You can't go to the authorities, pick up two police guys and then go out."

"That's not possible because they think you are impolite then. You have to drink a cup of tea; you have to talk with them and make small talk. To me, it's a kind of force protection because if you have good relations with the people here, your force will be protected."

Until now, platoon commanders and their NCOs have been touring their areas of responsibility, familiarizing themselves with the lay of the land and the mood of the people, which has been welcoming at best, indifferent at worst.

Now, platoon sections of six to eight soldiers have begun transitional patrols with their German colleagues as part of the 31-country International Security Assistance Force helping maintain peace around the capital and stabilize the transitional government of President Hamid Karzai.

Dressed in their relish-green combat fatigues, distinguishing them from the unpopular Americans, the Canadian troops endured 35- to 40-degree Celsius heat and clouds of dust laced with fecal matter.

For many, there was also a first glimpse at the kind of poverty few believed even existed.

"The average home, the children," marvelled Lewis, a paratrooper. "They seem very happy and pleasant but their clothing is worn and tattered; they're very dirty and I'm not sure how much water they have access to."

Lewis, 35, said there is no comparison with Bosnia, where he's been twice.

And the driving is also like nothing the Canadians have ever encountered. Afghanistan is the only country in the region where drivers are relegated to the right side of the road.

Everywhere else, drivers are relegated to the left side. So the only cars available here are left-hand drive which, when combined with the fact there are no centre lines anywhere in Afghanistan, makes for some interesting motoring for the newly arrived Canadians.

Already, the Canadians have been in some serious accidents with their armoured vehicles, although none are known to have been fatal. There were at least three crashes on Friday alone, although otherwise the patrols were incident free, military authorities said.

The pace of patrols will pick up over the next week as more of the 1,950 Canadian troops assigned to mission arrive from Petawawa, Ont., and elsewhere.

"You've got to come at them with a smile on your face," said Denne, adding the Maple leaf will figure prominently on every vehicle and every shoulder patch.

"Every Canadian rides with us, whether they like it or not," he said.

In Paghman, Denne and Remus saw the palatial grounds of one of a half-dozen properties belonging to Abdur rub Rasool Sayaf, a powerful warlord. Sayaf's loyalties are unclear but his district is a stable one, Remus said.

It is believed, however, that criminal elements launch operations into Kabul proper from the area at the edge of the Canadian zone.

The two commanders visited several districts, including an area where Remus attended regular weekly graduation exercises for new Afghan police recruits trained by German MPs.

On one recent visit, Remus's Afghan host -- the police chief, known by his single name, Zmare -- was called away. An hour later, he was dead, gunned down by neighbouring Paghman rivals settling a 25-year-old score.

"It's a shame that people have to live the way they're living here," said paratoop Lieut. Jay Feyko, a native of Parry Sound, Ont.

"It'll make everybody realize how good we have it back in Canada, for sure. It's like nothing I ever expected. The poverty -- it's a whole other world. I couldn't even imagine it if I didn't see it."