Moving In and Starting to Work

Now that things have been finalized, I can share what I have known for about a week. Read on...

This has been one busy day. After the normal early morning ritual that I have been enjoying here, classes ended shortly after noon. The U.S. contingent commander was at the training facility because the senior State Dept representative in Afghanistan was there to speak to us. After she was finished speaking, the big boss(es) asked if I was packed and ready to go. The remainder of the class had just been told that the assignments had been delayed for another day and to cool their heals for 24 hours. The boss was asking me because I am now working for him/them. I have moved into my new living accommodations/work place. It is in downtown Kabul. For obvious security reasons, I cannot disclose any of the details of where I am living. However, to put your minds at ease regarding security and safety, I am living with every senior member of the contingent in Afghanistan. We are guarded by the very finest.

The location is very nice and feels almost home-like. It is nice to walk outside, or open a window, and hear the sounds of a city not unlike any other city around the world: children playing, horns honking, people talking. The more I travel, the more I know for certain that people everywhere are more alike than dissimilar.

When I get a minute in the next days, I will take some photos of the city from the rooftop of my house. The city is really quite stunning from here.